Got an Epiphone ET-285 with a case today...

[radioripster]

Great looking bass! What do they sound like?

Hey 25oclock,

I think they look good too. They're different.

As far as sound, the neck pickup sound is what you might expect being right at the neck; marshmallow bottom with some definition. The bridge pickup is not as bright, but fuller than a typical Fender single coil. You can add some upper mids and it will certainly cut in more of Fender way. It does sound good though like it is.

Being as close to the bridge as it is, mine will carry more bottom than a stock Fender single coil at the position, and that's where its sweet spot is to me.

Having both pickups on work in humbucker mode and it sounds flat to me, but with a little eq, it's usable for sure.

With my playing style and approach, it works for me...and pretty well at that.

 

[jasper383]

A few years ago I received a bass via FedEx in just a gig bag like that.

 

[epimaster]

Good to see one of these relics! I managed to buy 2 of these in the distant past for incredibly low cost. Always liked the feel of the neck - I play upright so the chunkiness is appreciated. The black one came with a broken pickguard; I made an aluminum replica. Might have come from a Stones fan - Paint It Black? Neck super straight and frets amazingly fresh after years of pounding with roundwounds. The fretless custom started as a rip the frets out job, was pretty good, but the body wood was really crappy (black bass has much better wood), leading to a once-in-a-lifetime adventure. Birdseye maple body, ebony board, real ivory nut, Grover tuners. By dumb luck, balance turned out perfect. I'm convinced that high nut height leads to super growl - that it has plus super sustain. Both basses have series wiring with individual volumes and a phase switch - very versatile range of tones. Small caps on the volume controls compensate for cable and amp loading - no loss of tone at lower settings. Oversize strap buttons and Badass II bridges (added slots for easy string changes) complete the package. The only drawback is the hum potential of the single coils. There were some really bad dives back in the day with the worst wiring - invariably the hum would only go away if you were standing at right angles to the audience! Wiring nowadays tends to be much better, don't play out too much anymore anyway (also have humbucker basses for that). These are great for studio, church music, and general grins!