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Epiphone Newport looks like a winner.

#144
Got the Embassy , It’s ridiculously good. It could use a fret polish which will take me 5 min when I put my usual strings on it next weekend. But the shaping is nice with nice ends. Epiphone has really up’d their game here. It sounds awesome, a little darker than a P which is not a neg. Ballsy , punchy and totally rock. The TB pickups are awesome. It does not have a phase issue. Gat damn cool axe. She’s a keeper. Also feather weight at 7.3 lbs. balances and feels great. Fit & finish is excellent. Need bass ? The current sweetwater deal is hundred bucks off , so 399.00. And 150 in sweetwater bucks. So I’m gonna go score a nice case for it. Also has a nice pearl inlay.
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#146
From what I gather, the Newport's bridge pickup is a "TB Pro," whereas the Embassy is sporting "ProBucker 760" units. I'm hearing folks say the Newport has the same bridge pickup as the Embassy, though. Did Epiphone rename these, or are we talking about 2 different pickups altogether?
 
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#148
bobyoung53 said:
No, you'll have to reverse one of the pickup's wires, they're wired out of phase, same thing happens when you wire two speakers out of phase, instead of boosting the bass they cancel each other out, when one goes out the other goes in, so they vibrate opposite each other.
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I suspected that my Newport was a victim of this malady, with the telltale symptom being that the total volume dipped down when the blend control was centered. So I unsoldered and reversed the two wires on one pickup, and voila, the difference is amazing. Thanks for the advice.
 
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#149
Pearcga said:
I suspected that my Newport was a victim of this malady, with the telltale symptom being that the total volume dipped down when the blend control was centered. So I unsoldered and reversed the two wires on one pickup, and voila, the difference is amazing. Thanks for the advice.
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I wondering who's wiring these things? Don't the pickups have a braided wire surrounding an inner wire?
 
#153
Outta phase is a very distinctive tone. Its cool. Especially on a guitar but I don’t think I would want it on a bass. Having said that its “normal” for a passive bass to be slightly less out put with a pan in center. That is not a outta phase sound. Who wants to go to the electronics forum :D Please report your findings, I’ll stay here :smug::cool:
 
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#154
Pearcga said:
I suspected that my Newport was a victim of this malady, with the telltale symptom being that the total volume dipped down when the blend control was centered. So I unsoldered and reversed the two wires on one pickup, and voila, the difference is amazing. Thanks for the advice.
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So you simply changed the wires from one pick up at the mixing poti? Was there a problem with the shielding? Which pup did you change? I am gonna do it in the evening today.
 
#155
mijcstille said:
So you simply changed the wires from one pick up at the mixing poti? Was there a problem with the shielding? Which pup did you change? I am gonna do it in the evening today.
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That's right. I just selected the pickup that looked easier to unsolder and re-solder. Swap the locations of where the two wires attach. In my case I chose the one that didn't have the braided wire, rather just two "normal" wires.

Now I should mention that a poster with more knowledge than me is apparently of the opinion that what I described was not an out of phase condition. I did this swap with the expectation of a 50/50 chance of it not sounding better, and I was prepared to swap it back to the original state if needed, but the difference was substantial and beneficial and whether it was a phase problem or not I'm glad I did the change.

I don't have any shielding problems with this bass. Wishing you the best.
 
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#156
Pearcga said:
That's right. I just selected the pickup that looked easier to unsolder and re-solder. Swap the locations of where the two wires attach. In my case I chose the one that didn't have the braided wire, rather just two "normal" wires.

Now I should mention that a poster with more knowledge than me is apparently of the opinion that what I described was not an out of phase condition. I did this swap with the expectation of a 50/50 chance of it not sounding better, and I was prepared to swap it back to the original state if needed, but the difference was substantial and beneficial and whether it was a phase problem or not I'm glad I did the change.

I don't have any shielding problems with this bass. Wishing you the best.
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Worked like a charm! I pretty much did the same as you. For me, the un-braided wire was the most accessible too. The soldering was easy enough and the difference is huge! Really glad I did it, mixing both pups sound awesome now. On the other hand, it's a shame, of course, that you have to rewire the pickups to get the bass to work as it should.
 
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#157
BassDaddy77 said:
From what I gather, the Newport's bridge pickup is a "TB Pro," whereas the Embassy is sporting "ProBucker 760" units. I'm hearing folks say the Newport has the same bridge pickup as the Embassy, though. Did Epiphone rename these, or are we talking about 2 different pickups altogether?
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I thought it was a 760 Pro Bucker until I read the Epiphone specs. I've no idea if they are the same as the as TB Pro, great sounding pickup regardless.
 
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#158
mijcstille said:
Worked like a charm! I pretty much did the same as you. For me, the un-braided wire was the most accessible too. The soldering was easy enough and the difference is huge! Really glad I did it, mixing both pups sound awesome now. On the other hand, it's a shame, of course, that you have to rewire the pickups to get the bass to work as it should.
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Just tried it.
Conclusion: wasted 15 Minutes and a burnt cuticle. Like I thought, one of the pickups will hum like a mofo when touched, and it was the Mudbucker.
 
#159
So y’all have been getting outta phase problems on some of these Newports ? Some one should email Epi. Can you guys snap a pic next time you are in there. Would love to see the control set up. There are also easy tests with a multi meter to determine it. Gibson certainly has done this too and sometimes still does. Greenie for example. But sometimes the magnetic is installed wrong but wired per the install spec but its out wack because the mag was put in opposite poles. Anywho glad you got it sorted out. But for giggles put a meter on it or pole tester if you have one. Like a compass.
 
#160
Drucocu said:
Just tried it.
Conclusion: wasted 15 Minutes and a burnt cuticle. Like I thought, one of the pickups will hum like a mofo when touched, and it was the Mudbucker.
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This is because the shield and the ground are tied together, so when you switch the + and - the shield is no longer grounded. The best way to combat this is to get a pickup like the 30k mudbucker which is four conductor plus a separate shield wire, that way you can always ensure the casing is grounded. I suppose you could just run a wire from the casing/shield and separate the existing ground wire too.
 
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