Gibson EB4 $599 @ American Musical Supply

[Skillet]

I know Gibson is currently viewed as the Antichrist of music manufacturers round these parts.
Well, I'm a sinner, and I couldn't pass this up. A US built bass for this price would test the most fervent of believers......... plus I'm not that fervent.

Invalid Link Removed

It's available in trans black or natural satin.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Sin at your own risk....... oh and you can blame @aproud1 as he hath led me from the paths of righteousness into the valley of darkness..... Thanks man.

 

[jimmyb]

That's a hell of a deal

 

[jumbodbassman]

black for me.....i'm in

 

[Barticus]

I played a couple of those at the Gibson factory showroom in Memphis a couple years ago, and thought they were decent basses.

That's a great deal for a US made instrument.

 

[Skillet]

Looks like Zzounds has it at the same price...
Invalid Link Removed

 

[aproud1]

I know Gibson is currently viewed as the Antichrist of music manufacturers round these parts.
Well, I'm a sinner, and I couldn't pass this up. A US built bass for this price would test the most fervent of believers......... plus I'm not that fervent.

Invalid Link Removed

It's available in trans black or natural satin.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
Sin at your own risk....... oh and you can blame @aproud1 as he hath led me from the paths of righteousness into the valley of darkness..... Thanks man.

I’m not known for being a good influence. I have a black version and it is my #1. Not a perfect bass but so very right for me. I’ve tried to like “better” and more expensive basses but this one just does it for me.

Looks like Zzounds has it at the same price...
Invalid Link Removed

I believe they are the same company.

 

[carbonfold]

Thanks for this post. Pulled the trigger on a 5 string in black!

 

[Skillet]

The complimentary next day shipping is great. I ordered mine yesterday afternoon and I'm playing it right now. A few quick points before I get to work on it.

It's Light! I must've gotten a light one. It shows around 7.5 lbs on my goofy luggage scale. Hangs great, feels great. It does seem "long", much like my Dano '64. That usually has me shifting the bass a bit to the right and playing the neck in a more upright position. I like it.

Bass feels solid. Set neck of course. It's so light. Tuners are very smooth, and I like that it showed up the way I ship basses, tuned down a half step but with the neck under tension.
Fit and finish are fine.

One problem, some sharp fret ends on the treble side from the 9th fret up. Fretboard looks dry. It's about to get oiled up, and Dunlop flatwounds put on it.

Humbuckers are aggressive sounding. Pulling the pots to go single coil does a pretty decent tonal change. I'll have to play with it and explore mixing the possibilities.

Needs intonated (close) strings, relief set, saddles set up. I'm already a fan of the Babicz bridges so no complaints there.
No time to chat, wanna set it up. Oh, the zero percent financing sealed the deal for me. I'm out of pocket $125 then pay 125 for 4 more months no interest. (bought a set of Dunlop saddle loks too).

Will You Stop Typing and Go tweak your Bass????
Big gig bag, memory foam.

 

[GoLeafsGo]

Sweet! Just looked to see what these cost up here...Long & McQuade have them going for over $1,200 Cdn. Crap.

 

[aproud1]

Thanks for this post. Pulled the trigger on a 5 string in black!

The complimentary next day shipping is great. I ordered mine yesterday afternoon and I'm playing it right now. A few quick points before I get to work on it.

It's Light! I must've gotten a light one. It shows around 7.5 lbs on my goofy luggage scale. Hangs great, feels great. It does seem "long", much like my Dano '64. That usually has me shifting the bass a bit to the right and playing the neck in a more upright position. I like it.

Bass feels solid. Set neck of course. It's so light. Tuners are very smooth, and I like that it showed up the way I ship basses, tuned down a half step but with the neck under tension.
Fit and finish are fine.

One problem, some sharp fret ends on the treble side from the 9th fret up. Fretboard looks dry. It's about to get oiled up, and Dunlop flatwounds put on it.

Humbuckers are aggressive sounding. Pulling the pots to go single coil does a pretty decent tonal change. I'll have to play with it and explore mixing the possibilities.

Needs intonated (close) strings, relief set, saddles set up. I'm already a fan of the Babicz bridges so no complaints there.
No time to chat, wanna set it up. Oh, the zero percent financing sealed the deal for me. I'm out of pocket $125 then pay 125 for 4 more months no interest. (bought a set of Dunlop saddle loks too).

Will You Stop Typing and Go tweak your Bass????
Big gig bag, memory foam.
View attachment 3508276 View attachment 3508275

Sounds like there will now be 5 or 6 people who own these thanks to this sale.

Fret sprout is a pain but pretty easy to fix. I've had it happen on $3k + basses! Glad you're happy. Now it's time to get some pics of the actual bass!

 

[ShortyGetLow]

I buy a lot from the place I got mine, so I got another $50 off

 

[Skillet]

Top of the class for the moment

 

[aproud1]

Top of the class for the moment
View attachment 3508369

Way cool.

 

[JTE70]

Oh my!!!

 

[Skillet]

Kept picking it up and playing it, so I decided to take it to the gig. I dug it. The crowd loved it. This outfit does classic rock / metal. Ozzy, ozzy, Bad Company, VH, some modern stuff, but I get to be badass hard rock bassist and I try to make the most of it (smallish but appreciative, riveted crowd). Worked best slung low and wielded mercilessly against any non-rock particles in the nearby soundscape.
Here she is next to my luxuriously outfitted and modded 'Stang. The Fender only saw sporadic use through the evening, as the EB just felt good and played good. Love my mustang now, don't get me wrong. I don't think I could've chosen 2 more dissimilar guitars to show up with, and it was all good, once I relaxed on the EB and stopped fighting it.

I played most of the night either with both pickups in single coil, or the front in humbucker mode and the rear singled and dialed in enough to add some sparkle. ----> PF-800 into 2 x 12
On the downside the new guitarist hasn't learned all the songs so ....... anyway, there you have it. A report from the outside world.

 

[carbonfold]

Ok... just received the 5 string in black so quick open box impressions.

Def has some neck dive but I assume with the extended high horn that it won’t with a strap. The finish is so so. Lots of spotty staining and wood grain bleed through. Arrived with a scratch on the neck pup.

As others stated, the setup is horrible. I mean straight up boo boo. Shame on you Gibson! It is so bad that it isn’t even funny and the nut looks barely cut in. My cheap HB JB75 was setup 10 times better. Fretboard is super dry and will need some love.

All this said, not sure how I feel about it. $700 for an American 5 string is impressive IF it is up to par to an MIA instrument. I think I could get it there with my own love but very disappointing how Gibson shot this down the pipe. Staining is poor... I don’t think this was on purpose. I may return it for the natural...

 

[Skillet]

Much of what you speak of I attribute to just being the nature of a transparent finish. The different pieces of wood are going to show variations in how the grain absorbed the dye or stain. Especially the back of the neck, as the middle piece of the neck is quartersawn wood. It's not going to look like the side pieces, which are flatsawn.

However, that picture of the side of the neck is harder to explain away. It does resemble what we in the trades refer to as a "holiday" rather than some natural variation in the wood. In other words, a better job could've been done but wasn't.

As you said, you might be happier with the natural. How does it play after you've gotten it set up?

 

[carbonfold]

Pictures can be deceiving. It is more splotchy looking in person. The faded bits on the neck are the best parts of it and the not completely filled grains are not too bad. It is a little excessive but not bad. The bad parts are the splotchy staining. I have a good bit of experience of staining wood and it straight up looks poorly prepped for staining.... or not stained enough and re-sanded. In my experience, Mexican pine and NA maple will do this because the wood doesn't take the stain well enough. You can still stain them pretty good but does require more efforts. Anyways, I wouldn't accept the poor staining to why it is sold so cheap. Pac rim and Chinese guitars have looked way better on their worse days and that would be sad to accept that from Gibson. Maybe why Gibson doesn't offer black on the 2019?

 

[bthrem]

+1 on your comments. I played the new Gibson Les Paul Junior bass locally and was completely underwhelmed at the craftsmanship - particularly for a $999 bass. Gibson has to do better.

 

[ShortyGetLow]

Dood!

Cobalt Ernie flats....

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]