A less-than-pleasant GC experience turned out all right, and I ended up walking away with this:
Long story made short, I got the price tag switcheroo on a new model I'd been pawing over for about a month, and what with our sales tax, it would've made more sense for me to just buy online. But then I spotted this used one sitting in a corner, for $250 less than the new one. It was grimy, but looked solid, so I tried it out. Sounded as good or better than the new one, and seemed to have less poly coating on the neck, too (I didn't like the heavy layer on the newer one). When the guy told me it had just come in the day before with a hardshell SKB case (rather than a "gig bag"), I was sold.
First thing I did when I got it home was pull off the neck and adjust the relief, and lower the saddle pieces to get the low action I like. Then I cleaned it up good. There are only two small chips I can find; one in this picture is on the lower right bout:
The markings in the neck pocket identify it as made in November 2002. I think one reason I like the neck so much is that it feels so similar to the first bass I ever had, a mid-60s Hagstrom (advertised as having "the fastest neck on the planet"). And the tones! The guitarists commented on the different sounds at practice Saturday evening. And just playing around with my effects/modeler board last night, I stumbled onto that unique Chris Squire tone he used to have with his Rickenbacker. I spent an hour or more pulling the bass phrasings of Survival, Heart of the Sunrise, and others from the depths of my memory.
It makes me want to go back and pick up the learning process from where I left off before becoming a hack mercenary oh-too-long ago. I still love the the EB-3, but this may ultimately become another favorite!
Long story made short, I got the price tag switcheroo on a new model I'd been pawing over for about a month, and what with our sales tax, it would've made more sense for me to just buy online. But then I spotted this used one sitting in a corner, for $250 less than the new one. It was grimy, but looked solid, so I tried it out. Sounded as good or better than the new one, and seemed to have less poly coating on the neck, too (I didn't like the heavy layer on the newer one). When the guy told me it had just come in the day before with a hardshell SKB case (rather than a "gig bag"), I was sold.
First thing I did when I got it home was pull off the neck and adjust the relief, and lower the saddle pieces to get the low action I like. Then I cleaned it up good. There are only two small chips I can find; one in this picture is on the lower right bout:
The markings in the neck pocket identify it as made in November 2002. I think one reason I like the neck so much is that it feels so similar to the first bass I ever had, a mid-60s Hagstrom (advertised as having "the fastest neck on the planet"). And the tones! The guitarists commented on the different sounds at practice Saturday evening. And just playing around with my effects/modeler board last night, I stumbled onto that unique Chris Squire tone he used to have with his Rickenbacker. I spent an hour or more pulling the bass phrasings of Survival, Heart of the Sunrise, and others from the depths of my memory.
It makes me want to go back and pick up the learning process from where I left off before becoming a hack mercenary oh-too-long ago. I still love the the EB-3, but this may ultimately become another favorite!
