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Let’s see those Epiphones

Dang it - dropped my Thunderbird IV Pro off today since the E string sounded too metallic to me. It's getting a setup and the plastic nut replaced with bone. Well, here's a picture, just not the one of mine:


preview.jpg


Plus, I moved the strap pin from the top horn to where the neck meets the body, so no neck dive.
 
I have three Epiphone basses, and they are the ones that get played most often on gigs. I have a EB-0, a Viola, and a Fretless EB-1. My stable includes many basses, but the only other ones that come close to logging the gig time that the Epi's get are my Gibson Ripper, and Gibson Grabber. The Gibson's don't go out to venues where they may spend any time out-of-my-sight and out-of-reach. I find that the Epi's give me that heavy thump with an edge that I like. Missed a chance to buy a Epiphone Thunderbird last year; it was a good price used, but I didn't pull the trigger for some reason.

Thump on,

One_Dude
 
My first bass was an EB-0 with a fat ol' mudbucker flush against the neck - something like $250 for the whole starter package. I scraped it all together over the summer leading up to Y2K. It served me all the way though high school, and tbe round, overtone-free mudbucker sound has stuck in my brain to this day. I keep thinking of getting one again, and this thread is inspiring...
 
View attachment 4158372

I'm sure their basses are pretty nice too... if they made a Casady short-scale, I'd be on it like a duck on a junebug. :laugh:

Pretty guitar! Hardly look at basses anymore, but I still get frequent guitar gas, especially for Les Pauls.
Luckily, my pair of 1979 Epiphone are extremely versatile what with humbuckers and coil tap, so they talk me off the ledge.

5.jpg
 
Ooooh, I like this thread!

My two most sentimental basses are Epiphones. The black is a 1998 Accu Bass that was my first bass, and still gets a lot of love in its third phase, the current “murdered out” bass. The EB-0 was a $70 purchase that needed a LOT of TLC, so I worked on it with the help of my wife and my father. We stripped it by hand, stained it by hand, and put it back together by ourselves. Our initials are carved into the neck pocket. Epiphones can be real gems if you get your hands on the right one, and this is a great thread!

3B7F31E2-9794-4C00-A9D7-62AA8B70187C.jpeg
E3485D8E-1F54-4D85-8E4B-91DAE32F9B45.jpeg
 
Pretty guitar! Hardly look at basses anymore, but I still get frequent guitar gas, especially for Les Pauls.
Luckily, my pair of 1979 Epiphone are extremely versatile what with humbuckers and coil tap, so they talk me off the ledge.

View attachment 4158374

:drool:


That is one punk rock looking Tbird.

Ooooh, I like this thread!

My two most sentimental basses are Epiphones. The black is a 1998 Accu Bass that was my first bass, and still gets a lot of love in its third phase, the current “murdered out” bass. The EB-0 was a $70 purchase that needed a LOT of TLC, so I worked on it with the help of my wife and my father. We stripped it by hand, stained it by hand, and put it back together by ourselves. Our initials are carved into the neck pocket. Epiphones can be real gems if you get your hands on the right one, and this is a great thread!

View attachment 4158400 View attachment 4158402

Great backstory on that lovely EBO. I agree that the right Epiphone can be a complete gem. My shorty EB3 is probably the last bass I would ever part with.

View attachment 4158410
EB-3 Japan marked 2nd
First in my book!
I'm jonesing for an Embassy.

Ive heard nothing but positive things about those Japanese EB3’s. Pretty rare too. If you get the chance to pull the trigger on an Embassy, I don’t think you would be disappointed. Mine is great.
 
My EB3 Elite strung with D’Addario Chromes. Doesn’t get played anymore. Used it quite a bit awhile back with a project that covered quite a few Cream tunes. Short of a vintage Gibson EB3 from back in the late 60’s early 70’s, sound wise this is as close as it gets.

View attachment 4158323

I searched out a Japanese Elite before I built my EB3 but couldn’t find one at the time. That’s a beauty.

My first bass was an EB-0 with a fat ol' mudbucker flush against the neck - something like $250 for the whole starter package. I scraped it all together over the summer leading up to Y2K. It served me all the way though high school, and tbe round, overtone-free mudbucker sound has stuck in my brain to this day. I keep thinking of getting one again, and this thread is inspiring...

There’s nothing like mudbucker, for sure. Those that get it, get it. Those that don’t probably never will.


I might need a JC in my life. Very cool.
 
I know, no picture, no bass, but I usually don't document the stuff I have, though I probably should. I have a reissue Rivoli II, a Cassady, a Genesis, an EB5, and my favorites, two Les Paul 5 strings, one in transparent black over flame maple, and one in tobacco burst over flame maple.

Also have this (see pic) Japan built 70's Epi that has been an on going project (very slow due to the amount of time I spend with my job that pays the bills.) The photo is how it was when I got it. The neck-through neck had come unglued from the body wings on each side near the neck. Luckily this one was assembled with wood glue and I was able to take the wings off, clean the old glue up and glue them back on. Also, the neck built so the fingerboard was sitting right on the body and there and one couldn't get the action low enough to have decent action, so took the fingerboard off, added a bit of height by adding some paper think maple veneer, replaced the maxed out truss rod with a new one from StewMac, and also added carbon fiber rods. It has been sanded, and has a clear coat over the entire bass. Know I just need the time to assemble it, which will include new tuners, bridge and pickups, though haven't decided between a pair of Schaller BassBuckers, a pair of dual blade guitar humbuckers, or a pair of dual lipstick humbuckers. Which ever I decide to use, they will include a coil tap option.
Epi ET 28X Neck Through as I got it.jpg
 
I know, no picture, no bass, but I usually don't document the stuff I have, though I probably should. I have a reissue Rivoli II, a Cassady, a Genesis, an EB5, and my favorites, two Les Paul 5 strings, one in transparent black over flame maple, and one in tobacco burst over flame maple.

Also have this (see pic) Japan built 70's Epi that has been an on going project (very slow due to the amount of time I spend with my job that pays the bills.) The photo is how it was when I got it. The neck-through neck had come unglued from the body wings on each side near the neck. Luckily this one was assembled with wood glue and I was able to take the wings off, clean the old glue up and glue them back on. Also, the neck built so the fingerboard was sitting right on the body and there and one couldn't get the action low enough to have decent action, so took the fingerboard off, added a bit of height by adding some paper think maple veneer, replaced the maxed out truss rod with a new one from StewMac, and also added carbon fiber rods. It has been sanded, and has a clear coat over the entire bass. Know I just need the time to assemble it, which will include new tuners, bridge and pickups, though haven't decided between a pair of Schaller BassBuckers, a pair of dual blade guitar humbuckers, or a pair of dual lipstick humbuckers. Which ever I decide to use, they will include a coil tap option.View attachment 4158466

I wish I had the woodworking skills to save cool older basses like that.
The Rivoli is another model I wish they would reissue again. Handsome basses with a nice fat tone.