I bought it thru a member here, I think a little over 2 years ago. I do not gig it, as I am mostly an upright player. I use it in my home studio with some regularity, but it it not heavily played. A couple of times a month, but more if I'm recording with it.
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I bought it thru a member here, I think a little over 2 years ago. I do not gig it, as I am mostly an upright player. I use it in my home studio with some regularity, but it it not heavily played. A couple of times a month, but more if I'm recording with it.
Here is mine again:
Built like a tank. Pickups/eq works fine after all these years of playing it live and in the studio. Great bass !
Built like a tank. Pickups/eq works fine after all these years of playing it live and in the studio. Great bass !
Flaked Beans- thanks for sharing the pic. It's always nice to see each others' Zeniths. A fretted amber- I have a fretless amber.
Epi apparently made both fretted and fretless models in each of the three finishes- natural, amber and transparent black. It would be interesting to know the production numbers of each of the six configurations, if it were possible to find out. I think the only one I haven't seen a pic of is a fretless black.
There is so little information about Zeniths out there. This thread is one of the only sources you come across in a web search.
Bassinthemudd - if you have a chance, get one!
Epi apparently made both fretted and fretless models in each of the three finishes- natural, amber and transparent black. It would be interesting to know the production numbers of each of the six configurations, if it were possible to find out. I think the only one I haven't seen a pic of is a fretless black.
There is so little information about Zeniths out there. This thread is one of the only sources you come across in a web search.
Bassinthemudd - if you have a chance, get one!
Not a recent owner, but I don't think I've posted here about it before. I bought a natural finish fretless Zenith from someone on this forum. The fretboard had some high spots, the string-to-string output balance was wonky, and the stereo output jack was intermittent. I had a luthier work on it, and he did a great job, except he couldn't resolve the intermittent stereo jack issue. After this work, it sounds fabulous and plays pretty well. I've found the black nylon tapewound strings produce the sound I like better than SS flats.
Now some 7 or 8 years later, I still enjoy and play the Zenith. Recently, the bridge pickup stopped working - well, I should say there is no signal when I select the bridge pickup. Not sure where in the signal chain the problem is, but I'll have to sort that somehow.
At one point, the knobs became so sticky that I couldn't stand playing the Zenith. I tried all the usual remedies - except replacing the knobs - with only limited success. Finally, I tried soaking the knobs in Simple Green, and that removed all of the stickyness. We'll see how long it lasts. NOTE: The Simple Green treatment produced a slight, blotchy blue-grey tint on the knobs. Do not try this unless you are willing to live with the resulting color degradation!!!
There are two issues which probably keep me from playing the Zenith more often. 1) I find it extremely uncomfortable to play sitting down. The shape and position of the lower bout just doesn't fit my frame at all, and I'm constantly hiking the bass back up into playing position. Standing up, it's OK. 2) The finish on the back of the neck gets sticky very quickly when I play and it just seems to prevent my thumb from sliding up and down the neck smoothly. Not ideal, especially for fretless. Has anyone else noticed this or found a solution? I've heard of people lightly sanding a neck to give a more satin finish but I'm afraid of causing more damage than good.
Now some 7 or 8 years later, I still enjoy and play the Zenith. Recently, the bridge pickup stopped working - well, I should say there is no signal when I select the bridge pickup. Not sure where in the signal chain the problem is, but I'll have to sort that somehow.
At one point, the knobs became so sticky that I couldn't stand playing the Zenith. I tried all the usual remedies - except replacing the knobs - with only limited success. Finally, I tried soaking the knobs in Simple Green, and that removed all of the stickyness. We'll see how long it lasts. NOTE: The Simple Green treatment produced a slight, blotchy blue-grey tint on the knobs. Do not try this unless you are willing to live with the resulting color degradation!!!
There are two issues which probably keep me from playing the Zenith more often. 1) I find it extremely uncomfortable to play sitting down. The shape and position of the lower bout just doesn't fit my frame at all, and I'm constantly hiking the bass back up into playing position. Standing up, it's OK. 2) The finish on the back of the neck gets sticky very quickly when I play and it just seems to prevent my thumb from sliding up and down the neck smoothly. Not ideal, especially for fretless. Has anyone else noticed this or found a solution? I've heard of people lightly sanding a neck to give a more satin finish but I'm afraid of causing more damage than good.
cfraz, thanks for joining in here. The sticky rubber knobs are a known problem, probably all of us here in the thread have run into that. Different folks have tried different cleaning products, with varying results. The rubber does stain when it's been cleaned, seemingly doesn't matter what product is used.
The non-functioning piezo pickup should be fixable by a tech, assuming it's the pickup itself or the wires. Piezo elements are pretty standard. If it's a board problem, those are unique to the bass and probably can't be replaced. I'm not sure if the components can be replaced. Again, a good tech can figure out what to do..
I don't think anyone in the thread has said that they've sanded the neck, but that's pretty standard for any bass and not specific to the Z's.
Zeniths are quirky basses. In the years since this thread started, quite a few of the original owners have moved on, but there are still some of us that still have ours (AFAIK.) I have not played mine in a while. I am about to start a wall hanging project and will get my Z's out and hanging where I can grab one easily.
I agree that the Z's are a bit uncomfortable to play sitting down. The body edge is pretty hard on the forearm. I have an Ibanez AFB200 that has a deeper body than the Z's, but is more comfortable to play!
Again, welcome to the thread! This isn't a club, so we aren't assigning numbers, but you should post a pic of your Z.
The non-functioning piezo pickup should be fixable by a tech, assuming it's the pickup itself or the wires. Piezo elements are pretty standard. If it's a board problem, those are unique to the bass and probably can't be replaced. I'm not sure if the components can be replaced. Again, a good tech can figure out what to do..
I don't think anyone in the thread has said that they've sanded the neck, but that's pretty standard for any bass and not specific to the Z's.
Zeniths are quirky basses. In the years since this thread started, quite a few of the original owners have moved on, but there are still some of us that still have ours (AFAIK.) I have not played mine in a while. I am about to start a wall hanging project and will get my Z's out and hanging where I can grab one easily.
I agree that the Z's are a bit uncomfortable to play sitting down. The body edge is pretty hard on the forearm. I have an Ibanez AFB200 that has a deeper body than the Z's, but is more comfortable to play!
Again, welcome to the thread! This isn't a club, so we aren't assigning numbers, but you should post a pic of your Z.
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I could never bring myself to sand the back of the neck on such a gorgeous special instrument. I've seen where no abrasive car was used (Carnauba) to get rid of the stickiness, but it has be done a few times in between playing. Saw this on a Fender vid from someone involved in the Fender Custom Shop. Wasn't a hack talking out his mule hole.
B-Mac - glad you are here. You have a Zenith! Let's see yours.
I have never sanded or abraded a factory bass neck. I believe you should play the instrument the way it is. I think neck feel is something that the player needs to check out and be okay with before buying an instrument. Maybe on some really inexpensive instrument, but not on a pricier one. I do agree the Zenith neck is a pretty thing.
There are not many Zeniths out there. I think any kind of a mod needs to be carefully thought through. I don't know that they will become very sought-after collectables, but it's probably better not to mod them just in case.
I have never sanded or abraded a factory bass neck. I believe you should play the instrument the way it is. I think neck feel is something that the player needs to check out and be okay with before buying an instrument. Maybe on some really inexpensive instrument, but not on a pricier one. I do agree the Zenith neck is a pretty thing.
There are not many Zeniths out there. I think any kind of a mod needs to be carefully thought through. I don't know that they will become very sought-after collectables, but it's probably better not to mod them just in case.
Nope...didn't say I have one. I want one. Been looking for a while.
B-Mac! I wanted a Masterbuilt also! I fudged around about it, and Gibson only made those basses one year. Grr.
Is that your memory of it? About one year availability?
I don't know if they'll ship, but it can't hurt to ask.
This came up as no longer available the moment I posted the link. I went back and refreshed, and it's still there. Search Epiphone Zenith in Minneapolis, MN.
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Hello! I only recently learned of the Epiphone Zenith basses, and I have to say that they intrigue me greatly. I primarily play guitar, but decided in 2020 that I should also get a bass for writing and recording even though I had not played bass for over 40 years. After trying several different makes and models, I bought a pre-owned 20th Anniversary Epiphone Jack Casady Signature bass, which I am very happy with. NEVERTHELESS, that one demo/review YT video and the photos and descriptions I was able to find sure make the Zenith look appealing to my tastes. I am therefore sorry to have only discovered their existence a decade after Epiphone discontinued manufacturing them, so I don't know if I will ever have an opportunity to try playing one.
ANYWAY, the reason for my posting this comment is that on reading through this thread, I learned that the rubbery control knobs used on these basses all seem to degrade and develop a sticky surface residue. I saw various comments reporting poor results and even damage from attempting to clean the knobs, which made me wonder: Have any of you tried replacing those knobs (yes, even the concentric double knobs) with new control knobs made of plastic or metal, which are presumably available from electronic parts suppliers? I would think this is a modification/resolution worth trying if the basses are otherwise still sounding & looking good. Perhaps amp, guitar, & bass techs or luthiers would be able to suggest likely vendors.
I am fine with my knobs as they are- it's not as big an issue as it would appear from the earlier posts in this thread. It's not unusual for any older instruments to have some kind of discoloration or tarnish, etc. I think any vintage guitar owner would probably be okay with knob issues if the rest of the instrument was in good shape! Honestly, only the Zenith owner would notice anything. The knobs look a bit gray instead of black.
There isn't a source for these exact knobs, that we're aware of, and they may have been unique to the Zenith basses. People have asked Gibson about getting them, and they don't have any. There is nothing unusual about the pot shafts, so if anyone wanted to use standard metal, plastic or wooden knobs to replace the originals, those can be sourced from many suppliers.
If any of you owners who are still following the thread have replaced the factory knobs, consider sharing a pic or two of how the bass looks with the new knobs. I'm sure if they are chosen well, new knobs could enhance the look of the bass.
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Click-Clack, I hope you (and @B-Mac) DO get the opportunity to own a Zenith someday. They do turn up here and on Reverb from time to time. They are very attractive, sound great and play well. I think that they would have continued to sell had Gibson/Epiphone kept them in production. Gibson has that history of doing limited run instruments, like the Masterbilt basses, and I'm sure they never intended to keep the Zenith bass in production for more than a couple of years.
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Thanks for your reply, @Michael Vee! Indeed, I have spotted a handful of the Zenith basses on eBay (seemingly all being sold by sellers located in Japan) and on Reverb, but I am reluctant to risk the purchase prices without being able to try playing one myself with my admittedly limited bass skills. Nevertheless, I sure do love the design, both the body shape and details, plus it sounds so good in that YT video, given my personal taste.
