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Gibson EB?
- Thread starter StayLow
- Start date
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
Aside from those threads, I can say some things about them, because I picked one up used. As far as I know, there are no functional differences between a 2013 and a 2014 model. The earlier ones are matt finish. The newer ones are gloss. Some people have mentioned issues with fit and finish, but that's generally related to the 2013 finish, which has a minimalist quality to it, to be polite. Mine is a 2013, and my only quibbles with it are some weird shaping where the horns meet the neck and what I assume is a wiring issue with the tone pot. It functions similar to a master volume control as well as a tone knob for some reason. Maybe that's just how it is. The bass can be thunderous, as you would expect from a Gibson bass equipped with humbuckers. Pull out the coil taps and it can approach a Fender Jazz bass sound. My brother, who is a dedicated Fender Jazz player found a very familiar sound when he messed with the controls for a little while. It won't ever sound quite like a Jazz, and it won't come close to a P or a Ric, but it is plenty versatile. Balance is more like a Fender than the usual Gibson, meaning that the neck balances well in a more horizontal than vertical attitude. It balances with the headstock up more than the usual Fender, so there's that, if it matters to you. The neck shape is similar to a Jazz as well, so you can tell what it was aimed at when they designed it. I'm amazed at how light weight mine is. I can imagine playing it for hours and hours without any issues. I haven't swapped out the strings, so I only know what it sounds like with rounds on it, but so far, so good. It is different from the usual, and it was far cheaper than a US Fender Jazz bass, so I think it was a great value. That's pretty much it so far. I haven't decided if it has made any of my other bass guitars surplus or not.
The 2014 I had, had the output jack mounted on the side. it played well, but honestly, the fret job was lousy. It went back. I'm back to Fender Jazzes, or Precisions.
I recently purchased one of the closeout 2013 models, but also returned it for reasons that were referred to in the two previous replies. Mine also had a tone control that acted more like a master volume control, so every time I wanted to change the tone even a little bit, I had to adjust all three knobs to keep the volume level the same. Seemed very silly to me. Also, it had the sharpest fret edges of any bass I've ever had (even some really cheap basses!) and I found that very uncomfortable to play. I liked the light weight and it had a very nice piece of maple for the neck--but for me, that was not enough to override those other issues.
It really is a shame that Gibson can't get more consistent with the fretting of their basses. It's not just the EB Series Basses either.
Well, if the fretwork is no good, who needs frets?
I'd like to see Gibson make a fretless SG Std. Bass.
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
No fret sprout on mine.
Interesting that 2 people out of 12 posts in this thread sent it back. That's not the general consensus on this bass. The vast majority of people who have them, love them, including me.
I currently own 22 basses (I think), mostly MMs, Warwicks, and Fenders. Can't put my finger on exactly why, but this bass has become my main player. It sits really well in the mix, with lots of low end and cut... it's incredibly versatile for a passive bass (and all the sounds it's capable of are completely usable), I love the way it looks since I painted the picguard white, and while weight isn't something I ever think about when buying a bass I have to admit that I'm enjoying that this things weighs at least a pound or 2 less than all my other basses. Feels like a shortscale also, even though it's not.
If you're considering getting one, this is the time to do it. While I haven't been following prices, I'm pretty sure now is when they get rid of the previous year's models for around $600. I bought mine last year on credit from Sam Ash, 12 months to pay with no interest. I didn't even feel the purchase, and just finished paying it off last month. It kicked my credit score up, to boot.
Interesting that 2 people out of 12 posts in this thread sent it back. That's not the general consensus on this bass. The vast majority of people who have them, love them, including me.
I currently own 22 basses (I think), mostly MMs, Warwicks, and Fenders. Can't put my finger on exactly why, but this bass has become my main player. It sits really well in the mix, with lots of low end and cut... it's incredibly versatile for a passive bass (and all the sounds it's capable of are completely usable), I love the way it looks since I painted the picguard white
, and while weight isn't something I ever think about when buying a bass I have to admit that I'm enjoying that this things weighs at least a pound or 2 less than all my other basses. Feels like a shortscale also, even though it's not.If you're considering getting one, this is the time to do it. While I haven't been following prices, I'm pretty sure now is when they get rid of the previous year's models for around $600. I bought mine last year on credit from Sam Ash, 12 months to pay with no interest. I didn't even feel the purchase, and just finished paying it off last month. It kicked my credit score up, to boot.
Last edited:
Gaolee
Official leathers tester and crash dummy
I have lived with mine for a while now, and the weird tone issue seems to have gone away. How? Beats me, because I didn't do anything, but I played a show with it last night and was able to use the tone knob by itself without any volume changes. Strange, but there you have it. Plus, the tone control is pretty extreme, meaning you can get the bass to sound very different with just that control.
As far as body shaping is concerned, it is minimalist, as I said before. They made it to a price point in the USA, and there are some shaping shortcuts that they took, at least on mine. It's not an issue since you can't see any of those issues from very far away and they don't cause the bass to be uncomfortable in any way. The frets could use a little dressing on the ends, but there's no fret sprout.
Mine still has the stock roundwounds on it, and they are OK. It sounds very good with rounds on it, but I'm wondering what it would sound like with flats or semi-rounds on it. All of my other bass guitars have flats on them, and that's the end of the story with them. This one might not need flats.
I really enjoyed using the coil taps last night, because I could go from a really snarly sound with the humbuckers engaged to a much thumpier sound with the coils tapped. Once again, I didn't find much of a volume issue, so Gibson did something right. The only volume changes that I had to compensate for were when I shut down one pickup or another. That makes sense, because when you turn off half the signal, you would expect a change.
This bass is growing on me.
As far as body shaping is concerned, it is minimalist, as I said before. They made it to a price point in the USA, and there are some shaping shortcuts that they took, at least on mine. It's not an issue since you can't see any of those issues from very far away and they don't cause the bass to be uncomfortable in any way. The frets could use a little dressing on the ends, but there's no fret sprout.
Mine still has the stock roundwounds on it, and they are OK. It sounds very good with rounds on it, but I'm wondering what it would sound like with flats or semi-rounds on it. All of my other bass guitars have flats on them, and that's the end of the story with them. This one might not need flats.
I really enjoyed using the coil taps last night, because I could go from a really snarly sound with the humbuckers engaged to a much thumpier sound with the coils tapped. Once again, I didn't find much of a volume issue, so Gibson did something right. The only volume changes that I had to compensate for were when I shut down one pickup or another. That makes sense, because when you turn off half the signal, you would expect a change.
This bass is growing on me.
