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Epiphone Newport shortscale
- Thread starter Crobybass
- Start date
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- Tags
- bass epiphone newport
I've observed a couple of things:
The more I play this bass, the more I totally love it. I really hope my bandmates can get into the growly and delicious sounds this bass makes..... even more so when I mod the electronics!
This particular "Pacific Blue" color is a tad darker/greener than the one I sent back a number of months ago. Well, I always wanted an "Ocean Turquoise" bass and this comes pretty close. The previous color leaned more on the "Pelham Blue" spectrum, but not all the way over. I am most satisfied with this color. Now all I need to do is figure out what color pickguard to fabricate for this. I'd like it to cover more of the bass instead of the little "pickguard patch" that's on it. Soon........
I have all the Hipshot tuners for a 2+2, so I may convert it before getting my Drop-D in (just checked - due in this Monday, Dec 18th - I can force myself to wait).
The string change to DR Sunbeams helped a lot, but others have mentioned DR Hi-Beams as their favorites for this bass, so I'll spring for those pretty soon. I'm sure glad DR's have enough length to fit properly, as opposed to D'Addario's. Meanwhile, these current Sunbeams thump quite nicely (not hard to do with this pickup combo), yet have a subtle zzzing to them - icing on the cake.
More later. Thanks for reading.
The more I play this bass, the more I totally love it. I really hope my bandmates can get into the growly and delicious sounds this bass makes..... even more so when I mod the electronics!
This particular "Pacific Blue" color is a tad darker/greener than the one I sent back a number of months ago. Well, I always wanted an "Ocean Turquoise" bass and this comes pretty close. The previous color leaned more on the "Pelham Blue" spectrum, but not all the way over. I am most satisfied with this color. Now all I need to do is figure out what color pickguard to fabricate for this. I'd like it to cover more of the bass instead of the little "pickguard patch" that's on it. Soon........
I have all the Hipshot tuners for a 2+2, so I may convert it before getting my Drop-D in (just checked - due in this Monday, Dec 18th - I can force myself to wait).
The string change to DR Sunbeams helped a lot, but others have mentioned DR Hi-Beams as their favorites for this bass, so I'll spring for those pretty soon. I'm sure glad DR's have enough length to fit properly, as opposed to D'Addario's. Meanwhile, these current Sunbeams thump quite nicely (not hard to do with this pickup combo), yet have a subtle zzzing to them - icing on the cake.
More later. Thanks for reading.
Just a thought, if you love the sound it makes now why modify the electronics?
Maybe leave that part well alone and buy another one to mod?
Funny you should ask! I just emailed my Sweetwater Rep and told him I very well may buy another! Probably going with the Cherry Red one. To me, that one has the nice vintage vibe, looks-wise.
I'm thinking I'll mod this one. Nothing heavy-duty; just going to change out the magnets in the neck PU to Alnico V, per @YRPALJG recommendations. Reversing the wires on the bridge pickup so it won't be out of phase with the neck pickup, then changing the Volume/blend/tone pots to Volume/volume/tone. Too used to my Jag basses. Not sure if @godofthunder59 has modded his 2 besides what he has already posted. You there, Scott? Chime in if you have the chance - thanks.
It's not really a whole lot of modding and I already have some new 500K pots that are the proper length.
Not real sure about the bridge yet. I bought 2 MusicMan-style 4 string bridges that are coming from China, so once those are here I might have a look at installing one of them.
Looks like they should totally cover the mounting lugs. I may get lucky and the machine screws fit, but I'm not counting on it. - - Right now the action is pretty low and I'm satisfied. Intonated quite well, too. I haven't taken a straightedge to the frets yet, but will next week. If there's any way to lower the action just a wee bit more.........
I have been selling parts here on TB, Ebay and Reverb. Building up my "bass bank account" a bit, but I keep buying STUFF !! That's ok; I'm trying to get out of buying/selling...... hopefully over the next couple of months (Now don't go and do a search, where I have probably mentioned getting out of selling several times over the last 2 years...). I'd really like to turn the Bass Room into a Guest Room.... and my wife agrees. I also think she wants me to get out of doing this and getting a "post-retirement job". OK, I've blabbed too much!
Glad to hear they are working on qc a little. Maybe I'll pick one up...
Not yet for me, but I think the configuration you refer to would look killer. I have planned to make one, but not necessarily in that shape. I just think this one is, as another TB'er stated, was "an afterthought". Lots of potential here. I also think I may drill another hole for the blend pot and drop it down a bit, to where the pots/knobs kind of "swoop" in an arc. My pickguard will cover the old hole. And yes, I plan to keep mine!
My current "mod" update is as follows: I installed Hipshot cloverleaf tuners and a Drop-D extender and they turned out great. Also did the bridge wire swap and it opened it up quite a bit; no more weird out-of-phase mystery noises. I also snagged a new magnet set from @YRPALJG and installed them yesterday and it makes this neck pickup sound much more civil, IMO. Not as out-of-control, for lack of a better description. Plus, it definitely sounds better when both pickups are combined...... which leads me to the next part.......
I will be going to V-V-T soon. I was tempted to just use the cheapy 500k pots I have here, but I'd rather wait and get some higher-quality pots in-house and do a one-time soldering operation. Looking forward to having better control betwixt the 2 pickups.
-Lenny
I will be going to V-V-T soon. I was tempted to just use the cheapy 500k pots I have here, but I'd rather wait and get some higher-quality pots in-house and do a one-time soldering operation. Looking forward to having better control betwixt the 2 pickups.
-Lenny
Now THAT is totally cool looking! I know what you are saying about the color. What goes with California Coral? I'd peruse pics online and go for something that pops. Not sure of Brown or Red tort would look better.
Looking forward to the finished product!
Also, the weigh-in update: after swapping the ceramic 8 magnets with Alnico 5's on the neck PU, and installing bigger gauge strings and replacing the tuners with Hipshot (3ea ultralight Licensed Clovers and 1 Hipshot USA Drop-D extender) product, It's gone from 7lb 3oz to 7lb 4oz. I'll take it!
Nice. I have yet to pick up and play a vintage one. In all honesty, I'm not a whole bunch into the mudbucker tone, although my neck pickup has been tamed a lot from the recent magnet swap. I have played PJ combos for so long that I end up looking for that sound. I need to kind of un-learn the familiar sounds and see where this bass fits in. I took it to my last rehearsal and was fairly pleased, so I'll keep on keeping on.
D
I'm glad to see that some of you are more happy with their Newports than I was. Mine was a total mess that needed a LOT of work to be playable. It was by far the worst brand new bass I've ever purchased. I went over the details in an earlier post so I won't repeat everything here. After a LOT of work it has now turned out ok.
Not GREAT but a fun little bass nonetheless.
Anyway, I just want to mention a quick tip for anyone who thinks about upgrading the neck pickup with a mudbucker/sidewinder sized drop-in:
Keep the stock pickup cover! This is important!
Why?
The main problem with my Newport was fret buzz and the main reason for this fret buzz was magnetic drag from the neck pickup. The bar magnets on the sidewinder are VERY close to the strings on these basses. I replaced the stock pickup with a true vintage-style (30k) mudbucker. This was the main reason I got this bass. I wanted a cheap platform for a true, vintage mudbucker tone (which the Epi mudbuckers aren't even remotely close to).
So, I got the new pickup (Novak), including a new pickup cover, installed it and... the fretbuzz was even worse! It turned out that the standard mudbucker/sidewinder covers are taller than the stock pickup cover on the Newport, which meant the pickup got even closer to the strings! I changed back to the stock pickup cover (with the new pickup). This pushed the pickup lower again and away from the strings. The new pickup also seems to have less magnetic drag than the stock pickup because the fret buzz is now FINALLY acceptable.
I'm sure you can also grind down a standard mudbucker cover on a belt sander but it will get HOT and it's not the easiest thing to hold onto in the first place...
Not GREAT but a fun little bass nonetheless.
Anyway, I just want to mention a quick tip for anyone who thinks about upgrading the neck pickup with a mudbucker/sidewinder sized drop-in:
Keep the stock pickup cover! This is important!
Why?
The main problem with my Newport was fret buzz and the main reason for this fret buzz was magnetic drag from the neck pickup. The bar magnets on the sidewinder are VERY close to the strings on these basses. I replaced the stock pickup with a true vintage-style (30k) mudbucker. This was the main reason I got this bass. I wanted a cheap platform for a true, vintage mudbucker tone (which the Epi mudbuckers aren't even remotely close to).
So, I got the new pickup (Novak), including a new pickup cover, installed it and... the fretbuzz was even worse! It turned out that the standard mudbucker/sidewinder covers are taller than the stock pickup cover on the Newport, which meant the pickup got even closer to the strings! I changed back to the stock pickup cover (with the new pickup). This pushed the pickup lower again and away from the strings. The new pickup also seems to have less magnetic drag than the stock pickup because the fret buzz is now FINALLY acceptable.
I'm sure you can also grind down a standard mudbucker cover on a belt sander but it will get HOT and it's not the easiest thing to hold onto in the first place...
A small update on the custom pickguard - I ended up getting a cognac tortoiseshell blank. I know it won’t be for everyone but I like how it’s looking so far. It was a bit more transparent than I was expecting, so the yellow of the body comes through. Anyway, still lots more work to do to get the edges smooth and the cutout snug around the neck and pickup.
Yea a PJ combo is different for sure! I play with a pick a lot so the PJ thing wont sound the same as a neck mudbucker especially upper frets where the tone stays fat...playing with a pick is where they shine imho.
I refer folks to 'Johnny Cash Live at San Quentin' thats a 2nd gen Newport with only the mudbucker at the neck (same bass in house) thru a common Bassman, sounds like a P bass to my ears.
EQ adjustment goes a long way and certainly alnico 5 is the magnet set in the 60s mudbuckers but they commonly are not fully charged....ceramic magnets make little sense to me on a neck mudbucker type unless degaussed or the distance to the strings is far enough.
Dialing back 120 to 150hz a bit changes the tone quite a lot but i have semi parametric EQ which a lot of amps dont have.
I'll need to check that out! Funny, but I just ordered some spring-loaded picks (I have some nerve damage in the fingertips that causes my hands to spazz out and regular picks go flying, lol) and I plan on woodshedding with those until I'm good at pickin' again. Hoping I can practice enough before our Saturday gig.
I just ordered a set of aftermarket TB pickups and may install the bridge one before the gig. I'm also thinking of installing the neck TB pickup in place of the mudbucker, but no intention of doing so until I give it a chance; I want to do like you said and get picking a bit before making my decision. I know the TB pattern isn't the same as the Mudbucker, but I have the technology to change it up..... kinda like an Epiphone Embassy arrangement. Heck, I could even rout a little further away from the neck heel and cover the hole up with a newly-made pickguard. But..... first things first!
I use Micks Picks check them out, a synthetic felt very easy to hold onto i get the thicker ones....easy to grip and i sand the edges sometimes so they dont have as sharp attack.
The main thing with neck pickups is getting the pickup away from the strings and or weaker magnets...no issue getting clean sounds with my bros 65 Newport and i get very low action with GHS Pressurewounds and plenty of brightness but its the 2nd gen with the batwing headstock and offset horns as on the cover of Live at San Quentin.
Seriously check out the Micks Picks, i have nerve damage as well (im 64 lol)...for me its pick or thumb mostly, my index and middle fingers are already damaged.
Keep us posted on the TB pickups!
I think I will check those picks out. I need to train my thumb/finger to stay together, as they have a tendency to get the jitters and release hold of things...... I definitely use both hands to hold a cup of coffee, lol. Hey! I got one year on you..... funny how I really DON'T feel 65, at least in my mind, lol.
I love that Johnny Cash album. The live energy is amazing. I see what you say about the Newport having a P bass type of sound. I look forward to trying a pick out on my Newport, plus I very well may have a set of short scale GHS Pressurewounds. I do have a brand new set of Ernie Ball Slinky Cobalt Flats and they sound great on my Jag SS bass with EMG Geezers...... I can probably try them out on this 2+2 bass without having to cut them.
Meanwhile, the TB pickups are due in the mail today. More on that later.
-Lenny
