FYI I'n not "picking on Gibson" at all, just giving my impressions, which are mixed. Overall, I liked it and if it was more comfy for me I would have gladly kept it.
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New Gibson EB bass
- Thread starter Primakurtz
- Start date
A lot of conflicting comments, just showing up how hard it is to please everyone! It certainly doesn't look much like a Gibson - but then, Gibson has always been criticised for producing less than great basses generally (I have an old EB3 myself and must admit that while it's fun and useful for certain sounds, it could never be my only bass!). So, full marks for trying to come up with a bass that isn't just a version of one of their guitars, and one that seems to be a pretty good all-round bass too. I'll be surprised if it lasts, though - the Victory bass was also quite a departure in its day, again seemed more Fender than Gibson, and isn't exactly collectable today in spite of its quality as a bass....We bassists are rather traditional beasts, and once a company has been pigeonholed it seems to be very difficult for them to change our perception of them! So if Gibson produce a bass that isn't cr@p or idiosyncratic, it is immediately written off as "not a proper Gibson" - damned if they do, damned if they don't! I look forward to trying one of these.
As much as I (rightfully, IMHO) bag on Gibson CS, and despite the now-overcome initial QC issues with my EB5, I gotta say: It sounds freakin' great. I took the newly dialed in bass to Classic Rock band rehearsal last night and it really sounded good. I ran it mostly in dual HB mode fingerstyle w/GHS Pressurewounds straight into a TCE BG250. Punchy, and nice. It has some stiff competition ahead of it to earn one of the places in the Dual Bag of Gig-ness, but it's definitetly not going to be a closet-bound dust collector.
I have it up in the classifieds as of yesterday (pre-rehearsal), but I honestly don't think I'll be overly motivated to sell it, nor will I mind if there are no takers.
I have it up in the classifieds as of yesterday (pre-rehearsal), but I honestly don't think I'll be overly motivated to sell it, nor will I mind if there are no takers.
gregbackstrom
These aren't stock curves--things move around!
I spent some time today setting up my new EB5. After changing strings to D'Addairo ProSteel light gauge (w/ 130 B), reducing the relief, re-intonating the bridge and lowering the pickups, it sounds and plays great. I love the weight of the bass and the feel of the neck. The EB5's slap sound is pretty impressive too. I'm pretty happy with this bass!
gregbackstrom
These aren't stock curves--things move around!
A few days ago I received a brand black EB 4-string in what appeared to be a factory sealed box. It is very light, has excellent fret work allowing for low action, and sounds great after a few minutes of setup time.
As received, the action was set very high. The pickups were also set too high creating the phasey sounds others have mentioned. The neck relief was set just where I prefer... very little. The Babicz bridge makes for extremely quick saddle height adjustments and it only took a few minutes to dial in the action. I had to crank the pickups down lower than expected to bannish the wolf tones.
However, the fit, finish, and ergonomics are not to my liking or up to my standards and at this point I plan to returm it.
I could probably fix the grounding problem, put some dense foam under the pickups and replace the crappy knobs. I could hide the small chip with a black sharpie as I'm sure the finish will scratch very easily with regular use.
Why should a brand new, "Made in the USA" bass require such work?
What I cannot change is the ergonomics.The short upper horn creates a longer reach and uncomfortable wrist angles compared to my other basses.
My last Gibson was a 60's EB? that I owned in the late 70's. My recollection is that the fit and finish was very nice.
Hanging next to my MIA Precision, you would never imagine that this new EB is made in the same country.
It seems that this EB is just one more bass crossed off my GAS list.
As received, the action was set very high. The pickups were also set too high creating the phasey sounds others have mentioned. The neck relief was set just where I prefer... very little. The Babicz bridge makes for extremely quick saddle height adjustments and it only took a few minutes to dial in the action. I had to crank the pickups down lower than expected to bannish the wolf tones.
However, the fit, finish, and ergonomics are not to my liking or up to my standards and at this point I plan to returm it.
- The grounding is lacking and I get a loud hum if my thumb rests on the bridge pickup bass-side height adjustment screw. None of the other pickup adjustment screws have this issue.
- The pickup height adjustment springs are soft and don't secure the pickups solidly in place.
- The neck joint paint line is crooked on one side and missing finish on the other side.
- The satin neck finish is not consistently smooth along the length of the neck.
- The knobs are cheap looking and don't fit well. One already fell off.
- There is a visible paint chip on the edge of the bridge pickup route.
- The body paint looks like black primer applied over unprepped ash.
I could probably fix the grounding problem, put some dense foam under the pickups and replace the crappy knobs. I could hide the small chip with a black sharpie as I'm sure the finish will scratch very easily with regular use.
Why should a brand new, "Made in the USA" bass require such work?
What I cannot change is the ergonomics.The short upper horn creates a longer reach and uncomfortable wrist angles compared to my other basses.
My last Gibson was a 60's EB? that I owned in the late 70's. My recollection is that the fit and finish was very nice.
Hanging next to my MIA Precision, you would never imagine that this new EB is made in the same country.
It seems that this EB is just one more bass crossed off my GAS list.
Be careful what you repair. Gibson will invalidate your warranty for the smallest thing.
It is a shame that these basses seem to be getting out to customers with, at best, inconsistent quality. The pickups are, IMHO, really versatile and the bass is great sounding, once dialed in.
gregbackstrom
These aren't stock curves--things move around!
Be careful what you repair. Gibson will invalidate your warranty for the smallest thing.
It is a shame that these basses seem to be getting out to customers with, at best, inconsistent quality. The pickups are, IMHO, really versatile and the bass is great sounding, once dialed in.
I agree. I played Gibson basses exclusively when I was young. I always felt they were "instruments," while Fenders were "axes." Today, my best basses are Fender-inspired, and until the EB5 came along, I had pretty much written Gibson off.
My EB is well-finished and nicely made. But that's only because I was accidentally shipped two basses. The one I returned was too poorly finished to keep. I hope Gibson fixes their " fit-and-finish issues, because this design is really good!
Be careful what you repair. Gibson will invalidate your warranty for the smallest thing.
It is a shame that these basses seem to be getting out to customers with, at best, inconsistent quality. The pickups are, IMHO, really versatile and the bass is great sounding, once dialed in.
Yes, I read your tale of how replacing a broken nut and "bad" pot voided your warranty.
I let mine rest in the case for the past 2 days. Today I broke it out and played it for about ten minutes after playing 3 of my other basses.
It's fate is now sealed... literally... back in the box to be returned.
This thread is starting to get painful, because this bass initially seemed like a winner. Tapable humbuckers, set-neck, ash, maple, rosewood, passive. Seemed like a nice combo of traditional Gibson features with some new (to them) twists. But alas they seem to have a lot of teething problems.
As I've said before, once the QC issues are resolved (like on mine), it is a comfortable and great sounding bass. Very resonant and very light. The pickups are excellent. FWIW, a suede lined strap (ala Italia) seems to negate any dive...
gregbackstrom
These aren't stock curves--things move around!
Agreed! Mine sounds great and my 4" straps seem to mitigate any tendency for the neck to dive. I also find it comfortable to play seated.
It's a shame to hear about the inconsistency of these basses. I had high hopes given that I'm always in search of lightweight basses. As an otherwise pretty successful company, it's kinda hard to believe that weren't able to get this right, mostly in terms of the quality. From all accounts, the neck, pickups are design are solid and sound good. Issue seems to be where they made trade offs. If the Made In USA is important, then charge a little more to do the QA/QC to get it right. Use a little better finish. Improve the parts quality. Fender Am Std Jazz is roughly $1350, Musicman Stingray $1470. While the ~ $1000 price tag is attractive, would anyone balk at something closer to these is the quality was there? Seems like they are targeting the American Special or whatever the Highway One replacements are these days. Pretty tough to compete with Fender in this space since. They can simply use a cheaper finish or slightly less desirable wood and still crank out a decent bass due because of their volumes and experience producing thousands of basses. Or build an almost identical bass in Mexico for even less.
And personally, I'll take a quality gig bag over a hardshell case that will sit on the shelf with all my other hardshell cases.
And personally, I'll take a quality gig bag over a hardshell case that will sit on the shelf with all my other hardshell cases.
I'm liking mine so far, but I haven't gotten to play it much yet. I have shipped my pickguard off in order to have a custom one made because I'm not a big fan of the tortoise shell, but hopefully will be able to put everything back together and have a playable bass by the end of the week.
That being said, there does seem to be a lack of quality control for a bass in this price range.
And this is just personal taste, but in my opinion, the "grain-textured" finish does not have the look and feel of what I would expect from a professionally made guitar, much less one in this price range.
I feel like I'm making a lot of complaints about this bass, but other than the "grain-textured" finish, these are pretty easy fixes.
That being said, there does seem to be a lack of quality control for a bass in this price range.
- After having this bass about a week, I picked it up and heard a rattling beneath the pickguard. I removed the guard and found an extra pickguard screw in the cavity. I guess up until then, it had been wedged between some of the wires so it wasn't moving around and finally got knocked loose.
- There is a little spot of the nitrocellulose lacquer in the arm relief area that sticks up and needs to be sanded down. If it were about an inch further up the body, it would be constantly scratching the underside of my forearm.
- The setup took a little tweaking to get the intonation correct, but that's not too big a deal since I am changing strings and adjusting the action to my liking anyway. But I did have to raise the bridge pickup slightly because it was noticeably quieter than the neck pickup.
And this is just personal taste, but in my opinion, the "grain-textured" finish does not have the look and feel of what I would expect from a professionally made guitar, much less one in this price range.
I feel like I'm making a lot of complaints about this bass, but other than the "grain-textured" finish, these are pretty easy fixes.
I was hoping the "grain textured" finish on these wouldn't be so prominent. I absolutely detest those finishes in the lower end LP's and SG's. Feels like a guitar that left the factory before it was done being sanded. I can tolerate a satin finished instrument but at least sand it smooth before spraying it. Don't understand why Gibby didn't just charge a bit more and put a nicer finish on.
Well true, but why should you have to? The new basses I've purchased over the last few years (couple Am PBasses, Squier CV, SR5) need nothing more than some setup tweaks (truss rod mostly) and new strings to sound and play great. no finish flaws, bad frets, extra parts - nothing. My SR5 was perfect - and I mean spot on perfect action, tune, etc - right out of the box. My Fender 57 AVRI is like more like a custom shop instrument. Granted, all of these were slightly more money but even the Squier CV was flawless and had awesome fretwork and finish.
I totally agree. I think a lot of the price tag is based on the name Gibson (this is my first Gibson instrument). I feel like I overpaid for the quality of instrument I received, but the issues I've come across so far aren't so much that I need to return it for a refund.
I'll see how I feel once I get my new pickguard installed and have spent a little more time with it.
I'll see how I feel once I get my new pickguard installed and have spent a little more time with it.
The inconsistent quality is not excusable. But with that said I did nothing to mine other than I've done with every new or used bass I've ever bought. New strings, set up, adjust pickup height, tweak relief. And I've ended up with a unique, excellent playing, versatile instrument that makes me smile every time i pick it up. I have no complaints with the as-purchased quality of mine.
Sure is a lot of griping about the finish though. If it's that big of a deal to you and makes you think the instrument is low quality, by all means don't buy one. It's not like this should be a surprise to anyone considering purchase...
Sure is a lot of griping about the finish though. If it's that big of a deal to you and makes you think the instrument is low quality, by all means don't buy one. It's not like this should be a surprise to anyone considering purchase...
Actually, I really like the finish. I knew what I was getting based on pictures, and I think it's cool and unique.
