https://www.talkbass.com/threads/gibson-epiphone-3-point-bridge-setup.1102322/#post-16373891 This post in this thread is what i refer everyone who wants to set up the 3 point bridge. I've used it countless times, it's very useful.
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Jack Casady bass laminate version and feedback
- Thread starter deleted_user_389618
- Start date
I've owned a few and always thought Casady basses had laminate top back and sides. I would be super skeptical if anyone claimed earlier models to be solid wood. Every vintage USA Gibson Eb2, ES335, ES125, etc are laminate. Same goes for Guild Starfires of every type and era. Typically only the absolute premium hollow body jazzbox archtop guitars are actually solid wood construction and the costs are astronomical.
*This does not apply to flat-top acoustic guitars. Flat and braced solid is far simpler and cheaper to do than arched solid.
Also important to note, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a laminate semi-hollow or hollow guitar or bass. To me there is nothing better than my vintage Guild basses.
*This does not apply to flat-top acoustic guitars. Flat and braced solid is far simpler and cheaper to do than arched solid.
Also important to note, there is absolutely nothing wrong with a laminate semi-hollow or hollow guitar or bass. To me there is nothing better than my vintage Guild basses.
If the laminate is made like normal plywood with grain alternating directions on adjacent plies, then over time, the expansion and contraction of the grains work against one another, and it will tend to pull itself apart. This is more true if the thing is outside - inside it will last considerably longer. If the laminate is made with the grains running the same direction, then it will last about like a solid piece, assuming the glue lasts.
A solid piece of wood does age - it gets harder, stiffer, and lighter as the moisture dries out, and the resins crystallize. This make it more resonant, which is generally a good thing in an acoustic instrument. This is very well known not only in acoustical circles, but carpenters (and anyone who works on old houses) know it too - young studs, you can drive screws into, and they go in without complaint. Old Fir studs will, when you drive screws into them, literally scream at you, because of how the wood changes - it is VERY different acoustically - it's not at all subtle, you can easily tell the difference listening from next door.
A laminate, as it has glue at every interface, even if the grains are running the same direction, that glue will not dry out or crystallize over time like lignin (the natural "glue" in wood) does, so it will not "age" as much acoustically.
How much time are we talking? Because I can't seem to recall hearing of any '63+ Hofner Violin basses, Casinos, or 335s grenading. In fact, they're pretty valuable and highly sought after. Care to square things up for me?
micguy, as the longtime owner of one of the first plywood-bodied uprights ever made nearly a century ago, everything you said is refuted by my bass.
Basvarken
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- Dec 3, 2010
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I had no idea that these basses had ever used solid wood for the body panels.
D
A solid top on an archtop guitar can be pressed too. They're not always carved.
If we're talking about ACOUSTIC instruments the properties of a laminate top doesn't really deteriorate more over time any more than a solid top. A laminate top is also more stable, and FAR less likely to crack. The tone of a solid top will IMPROVE significantly over time though and usually end up with a much nicer tone than laminate. But both laminate and solid tops will eventually reach a point where the acoustic properties start to deteriorate. This will usually take a lifetime or more, so not really relevant when buying a brand new instrument.
If we're talking about the acoustic properties of HOLLOWBODY instruments the top is too thick/stiff to have much acoustic properties at all. The top will still affect the tone, but nowhere near as much as on an acoustic instrument. It's more comparable to the affect of body wood in a solid body instrument.
As for solid vs laminate in a hollowbody instrument, lots of FAR more expensive instruments have a lamitate top. Guild Starfire basses have a laminate top. Most Gibson archtops, like 335s are laminated. I still think they sound pretty good...
D
It might be BS (and yeah, the main reason for doing this is PROBABLY to save costs) but a good quality laminate can be stiffer than wood. Which could perhaps reduce feedback. This means it could also affect the ACOUSTIC tone of the instrument marginally but this won't really matter much as the solid top is already too stiff/thick to have any real acoustic qualities. We play these instruments through amps, using magnetic pickups. The amplified tone is what matters.
Don't get me wrong, I definitely think the wood matters, but not much more than in a solid body instrument. Lots of SUPERB hollowbodies are made with laminate tops. But they should be judged by their amplified tone, not by their acoustic properties IMO.
If it was an ACOUSTIC instrument it would have been a different story of course.
D
There's one thing I would like to mention though (in addition to the potential issue with the saddles that I mention before):
Epiphone use EXTREMELY poor quality jack sockets and they've been using the same junk for YEARS, if not decades. The threads on the shaft deteriorate over time and breaks. If you want to make sure the jack socket doesn't suddenly end up inside the bass at an inconvenient moment (like just before a gig or a recording session) you might want to replace it with a decent quality jack socket.
I'm not saying this happens with ALL Epis but it is a VERY common issue. Replacing a jack socket on a hollowbody is a little bit more hassle than on a solid body...
Epiphone use EXTREMELY poor quality jack sockets and they've been using the same junk for YEARS, if not decades. The threads on the shaft deteriorate over time and breaks. If you want to make sure the jack socket doesn't suddenly end up inside the bass at an inconvenient moment (like just before a gig or a recording session) you might want to replace it with a decent quality jack socket.
I'm not saying this happens with ALL Epis but it is a VERY common issue. Replacing a jack socket on a hollowbody is a little bit more hassle than on a solid body...
D
Yes they can be purchase separate as sets. That's what I had to do with TWO of my brand new Epiphone basses (EB-0 and T-Bird). Both had the wrong saddles installed at the factory and as a result they couldn't be set up properly. Shocking quality control. I should have just returned them but both were out of stock so it would have been a refund rather than a replacement. Apart from the saddles (and the jack socket...) they were good instruments so I decided to keep them and buy new saddles myself.
I've seen the issue with the saddles on several other factory fresh Epis with 3-point bridges too. I'm almost starting to suspect that the general dislike for these brigdes is partly caused by this. These bridges are JUNK if the saddles aren't the correct numbers, in the correct positions. But with the correct saddles they work great!
Just be careful when you remove the strings, or both the saddles and the bridge itself can fall off the bass. Nothing will be damaged (except maybe your floor...) but it can be EXTREMELY annoying.
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I'm pretty sure you didn't play the thing a century ago, so on sonics you don't have the data - plus human audio perception is so short that you really can't make a case there anyway.
As to longevity - does the thing have cross plies or are they aligned? That makes a lot of difference, as I said before. Also, if the thing has been stored in a house in a moderate climate the whole time, it makes a difference compared to one that's been in and out of cars in the winter (in a place that has real winter) being taken to gigs on a regular basis for that century.
And we should also remember that anecdotal evidence is never definitive.
There are a lot of variables here. I'm glad you like your bass.
By the way, the design of violins, including basses, (the shape in particular) is optimized for a solid wood top - the velocity of waves traveling with or across the grain is far different. Violins aren’t round - they’re stretched to accommodate this, which enhances the resonance of the top plate (I studied acoustics with one of the world’s experts on this). A top with crossed grain plywood as a top is not optimized this way, as there is no grain direction. They can be good instruments, but they are definitely different. In the case here, feedback rejection is likely better with a plywood top (as it isn't so resonant).
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Back to the question....my 2013 JC has yet to feed back at loud volumes. So you should be good.
it has a center block that runs as far as the bridge but otherwise is open in the center, so it's a bit of a hybrid.
when I bought mine new the Jack was junk and fell out in the store. The local repair dude -- who was awesome -- fixed it on warranty with a Switchcraft.
mit is heavy enough to already be laminate, though.
it has a center block that runs as far as the bridge but otherwise is open in the center, so it's a bit of a hybrid.
when I bought mine new the Jack was junk and fell out in the store. The local repair dude -- who was awesome -- fixed it on warranty with a Switchcraft.
mit is heavy enough to already be laminate, though.
If only they applied the concept of using grain direction to their advantage when creating a neck.....
Turnaround
Commercial User
The Tom Ribbecke Halfling bass is carved from solid wood. I haven't seen a new one in a while, but used they get around $7000.
In one direction (compared with bending the wood across the grain), it is stiffer. In the other (compared with bending the actual grain of a solid piece), it's less stiff.
I poked around the net and everything supports TN’s post.
Doesn’t seem the Casady ever had a solid top then, does anyone have info that states otherwise?
