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New Gibson EB bass
- Thread starter Primakurtz
- Start date
You know, I'm really tired of people saying that. A Mosrite has the long horn on the bottom and there 's no taper at the top of the body where your arm makes contact. Perhaps a reverse Mosrite, but that's still not correct. More like a twisted Mosrite or a Mosrite crossed with a jazz bass. I think it looks unique and that's what I like about it. Sure it reminds me of other basses but it a makes its own statement.
It's been mentioned elsewhere on the thread (I think): the more I look at the five-stringer, the more I'm convinced that it would be perfect for a player who needs a low B in an image-conscious band whose visuals are in the retro (or "rootsy," "organic," whatever) side of the spectrum.
Could this be the impossible Lenny Kravitz Five String Bass?
Referring to the famous-ish anecdote where, at an audition for the bassist seat in his live band, he had everyone who'd shown up with a fiver sent away before the actual auditioning had begun.
Of course, 1) more power to everyone who prefers to bring his favourite instrument to gigs unirregardlessly of shape, finish or number of strings and cutaways, and 2) Gibby designers' fine effort might still not be enough to have Lenny budge from his convictions...
Could this be the impossible Lenny Kravitz Five String Bass?
Referring to the famous-ish anecdote where, at an audition for the bassist seat in his live band, he had everyone who'd shown up with a fiver sent away before the actual auditioning had begun.
Of course, 1) more power to everyone who prefers to bring his favourite instrument to gigs unirregardlessly of shape, finish or number of strings and cutaways, and 2) Gibby designers' fine effort might still not be enough to have Lenny budge from his convictions...
Well, I don't know what's going on but the wife was up at 4:30am today for Cyber Monday and she purchased an EB Natural for me on Amazon.
I mentioned it a few weeks ago and she found the last new one they had at a reduced price. So, I had to ask her, what's up with this, because she's never been fond of me buying basses. She said she thought I might buy one for myself anyway, might as well get a deal on one. Plus, out of the blue she said I should own a Gibson.
I'll have to let everyone know when it shows up and I put it through its paces. Very excited.
I will now own a MIA Jazz, RIC 4003 and the Gibson EB.
Thirty years ago, I owned a RD Artist with the Moog circuitry. A divorce overseas and the bass was stored at the ex-father-laws basement. Funny enough, never saw it again
Solid Maple, heavy as all get out, but that bass could rock. I wish I still had it but now I get to look forward to a new Gibson.
Did I mention my wife is awesome??? She is!!
I mentioned it a few weeks ago and she found the last new one they had at a reduced price. So, I had to ask her, what's up with this, because she's never been fond of me buying basses. She said she thought I might buy one for myself anyway, might as well get a deal on one. Plus, out of the blue she said I should own a Gibson.
I'll have to let everyone know when it shows up and I put it through its paces. Very excited.
I will now own a MIA Jazz, RIC 4003 and the Gibson EB.
Thirty years ago, I owned a RD Artist with the Moog circuitry. A divorce overseas and the bass was stored at the ex-father-laws basement. Funny enough, never saw it again
Solid Maple, heavy as all get out, but that bass could rock. I wish I still had it but now I get to look forward to a new Gibson.Did I mention my wife is awesome??? She is!!
Well, I don't know what's going on but the wife was up at 4:30am today for Cyber Monday and she purchased an EB Natural for me on Amazon.
I mentioned it a few weeks ago and she found the last new one they had at a reduced price. So, I had to ask her, what's up with this, because she's never been fond of me buying basses. She said she thought I might buy one for myself anyway, might as well get a deal on one. Plus, out of the blue she said I should own a Gibson.
I'll have to let everyone know when it shows up and I put it through its paces. Very excited.
I will now own a MIA Jazz, RIC 4003 and the Gibson EB.
Thirty years ago, I owned a RD Artist with the Moog circuitry. A divorce overseas and the bass was stored at the ex-father-laws basement. Funny enough, never saw it again
Did I mention my wife is awesome??? She is!!
She is indeed awesome. I think you'll really like the EB. So far I've managed to coax Jazz, PB, Ric, EB-0 and other tones from it. They say it sounds like a Music Man too but I'm not familiar enough with that tone to say. Nevertheless it's a very versatile instrument. It's kind of like the Swiss Army Knife of basses!
I didn't notice the first time I looked that they changed the pick guard to black. I'm not a fan. Also, did anyone notice that the two red ones are different? One is solid red and the other has darker shading on the edges; sort of like a red burst. Really unique. That's the one I would go for.
They changed the case and once again the dating convention, i.e. the first two numbers are now the year. I wonder if that will continue or if they're just doing it because it's an anniversary model. Gibson dating obviously isn't confusing enough already.
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Anybody want to buy my case when I get mine? I hate cases. Never use them, and they take up way too much space. If anyone is interested let me know. If my bass is a keeper, which I'll know by the end of next week, I'll be happy to unload the case to anyone who has any use for it.
My delivery date has been moved to Wednesday instead of Thursday.
My delivery date has been moved to Wednesday instead of Thursday.
I've been eyeing up the Sunburst 4 or 5 string EB bass. I've usually stayed away from Gibson basses, but even in the UK the price, including a proper Gibson hardcase, is exceptionally good value.
I haven't bought a bass for my more indie/rock orientated bands for a long time, and I think this might be the perfect one!
I think I might wait it out for a 2014 model...any idea what the differences are on the case??
I haven't bought a bass for my more indie/rock orientated bands for a long time, and I think this might be the perfect one!
I think I might wait it out for a 2014 model...any idea what the differences are on the case??
- Oct 7, 2000
- 18,619
- 38,939
- Disclosures
- Endorsing artist: Musicman basses
Got the bass. Been fiddlin with it for a while hour. Have some very mixed impressions that may change.
First the good. I like the way it looks, I'm cool with the finish all round, especially the satin neck. The neck dive has been IMO greatly exaggerated in this thread. Had it not been mentioned I'd have never noticed it. It has just about as much dive as all the rest of my basses, and I don't consider that dive. If I let it go on the strap it tilts a wee bit and sits kind of straight. My Jaguar has a lot more, and I don't even consider that to have neckdive. A tiny little bit of neck lean maybe. Let it be known too that I hate neckdive. Not an issue with this bass.
After tweaking the trussrod and bridge I've got the action super low, and it feels awesome. When standing it feels like a shorscale bass compared to my Bongo, Jazz, and other basses. Not sure what that's about, but I kinda like it. Feels like it fits nicely on my body. I like the weight too. Feels like nothing around my neck.
What I don't/didn't like. Adjusting the bridge. I felt like I was the only idiot here that couldn't figure it out. Took me some googling and fiddling with the allen wrench for quite a while till I got it. And even now that I've got it, I'm not too sure I do. Have to have the angle on the wrench just right or you can't get it in, and that angle is different according to how the saddle is seated.
The one thing I'm disappointed in is the versatility factor. As with the neck dive, I think the amount of versatility in this bass is greatly exaggerated. I was expecting a whole lot more, but you put this thing next to my Big Al or Bongo and it turns into a one trick pony. I guess I'm spoiled. There are a lot of tones in the EB, but the bass holds tight to a certain character. With 4 band EQ, and passive active options on some of my other basses I can transform them into completely different animals. I would not call this a chameleon, or swiss army knife of basses. If that's what you're looking for trust me when I tell you a Big Al goes light years beyond this. The one thing I will give it in this area is that it's more versatile than any passive only bass I've ever player. And that has it's merits.
The kicker in all this however is the chorusy phasing deal. What's up with that? I dropped the pickups pretty low, but it's still happening. It happened with an SG bass I bought not too long ago and wound up returning. If I can clear this up, it may be a keeper. If I can't, as much as I like some other things here it's going to have to go back, as I know it will just sit in it's case until I need the space or money for something else.
That's all I got for now.
Anything else I can do about the built in chorus?
First the good. I like the way it looks, I'm cool with the finish all round, especially the satin neck. The neck dive has been IMO greatly exaggerated in this thread. Had it not been mentioned I'd have never noticed it. It has just about as much dive as all the rest of my basses, and I don't consider that dive. If I let it go on the strap it tilts a wee bit and sits kind of straight. My Jaguar has a lot more, and I don't even consider that to have neckdive. A tiny little bit of neck lean maybe
. Let it be known too that I hate neckdive. Not an issue with this bass.After tweaking the trussrod and bridge I've got the action super low, and it feels awesome. When standing it feels like a shorscale bass compared to my Bongo, Jazz, and other basses. Not sure what that's about, but I kinda like it. Feels like it fits nicely on my body. I like the weight too. Feels like nothing around my neck.
What I don't/didn't like. Adjusting the bridge. I felt like I was the only idiot here that couldn't figure it out. Took me some googling and fiddling with the allen wrench for quite a while till I got it. And even now that I've got it, I'm not too sure I do. Have to have the angle on the wrench just right or you can't get it in, and that angle is different according to how the saddle is seated.
The one thing I'm disappointed in is the versatility factor. As with the neck dive, I think the amount of versatility in this bass is greatly exaggerated. I was expecting a whole lot more, but you put this thing next to my Big Al or Bongo and it turns into a one trick pony. I guess I'm spoiled. There are a lot of tones in the EB, but the bass holds tight to a certain character. With 4 band EQ, and passive active options on some of my other basses I can transform them into completely different animals. I would not call this a chameleon, or swiss army knife of basses. If that's what you're looking for trust me when I tell you a Big Al goes light years beyond this. The one thing I will give it in this area is that it's more versatile than any passive only bass I've ever player. And that has it's merits.
The kicker in all this however is the chorusy phasing deal. What's up with that? I dropped the pickups pretty low, but it's still happening. It happened with an SG bass I bought not too long ago and wound up returning. If I can clear this up, it may be a keeper. If I can't, as much as I like some other things here it's going to have to go back, as I know it will just sit in it's case until I need the space or money for something else.
That's all I got for now.
Anything else I can do about the built in chorus?
any time i've had that chorus effect on a bass, it was either from the pickup being too high or an issue with the string(s). if you still have the stock strings on, swap them to your preferred set. outside of that, i got nothin.
I got rid of the stock roundwounds and put Chromes on it, and dropped the pickups about as low as they'd go. It was fine after that.
re: the tonal versatility, yeah - i think the context has to be passive basses. I do think it has a very wide range of useful tones - but if you're an active fan it's not surprising that you're not impressed.
re: the tonal versatility, yeah - i think the context has to be passive basses. I do think it has a very wide range of useful tones - but if you're an active fan it's not surprising that you're not impressed.
Joe nerve the chorus thing can indeed be the strings. I've seen that happen if the string is manually wrapped around the tuning post instead of using the tuning key to wind it on. Manually wrapping the string can cause a "twist" of the windings on the core causing a weird choursy effect. Try removing the string and reinstall winding the string using the tuning key and keeping a slight tension on the string. That might cure it. It's worked of me in the past. Personally I've never had that chorus sound from PU height but that's not to say it can't happen.
Mine came by UPS today. I was lucky, the case was in good shape. After I let it warmed up, i took it out. First impression, incredibly light. I couldn't get over it compared to my MIA Jazz or RIC 4003.
I ordered the natural and I like the finish. Set neck doesn't bother me, I've owned them in the past and never a problem. The neck felt good in my hands. Relief wasn't too bad, I didn't have to mess with the truss rod.
The Babicz bridge is very impressive. I did have to lower the action a bit though. I didn't find it hard to do and I liked the locking screw as well. Once the action was set, plugged it in and WOW! I did have to lower the bridge pickup though.
I tried many combinations. neck solo, bridge solo, neck hum bucker/bridge single, neck single/ bridge hum, both single, both hum
I found it pretty in versatile in sound. In hum bucking mode found the bass very powerful with great thump. In single I liked how it sounded when soloing. Neck was smooth and fast. A couple rough fret ends but nothing really bad. More nit picking than anything. Very different Gibson than my RD Artist I owned 30 years ago. Though different in a good way.
Will be trying it out at rehearsal with the band. I love that wife of mine for getting this for me for Xmas. I will put up pics hopefully soon.
Amp/cab during test: Genz Shuttle 6.2 and Genz NEOX112T
I ordered the natural and I like the finish. Set neck doesn't bother me, I've owned them in the past and never a problem. The neck felt good in my hands. Relief wasn't too bad, I didn't have to mess with the truss rod.
The Babicz bridge is very impressive. I did have to lower the action a bit though. I didn't find it hard to do and I liked the locking screw as well. Once the action was set, plugged it in and WOW! I did have to lower the bridge pickup though.
I tried many combinations. neck solo, bridge solo, neck hum bucker/bridge single, neck single/ bridge hum, both single, both hum
I found it pretty in versatile in sound. In hum bucking mode found the bass very powerful with great thump. In single I liked how it sounded when soloing. Neck was smooth and fast. A couple rough fret ends but nothing really bad. More nit picking than anything. Very different Gibson than my RD Artist I owned 30 years ago. Though different in a good way.
Will be trying it out at rehearsal with the band. I love that wife of mine for getting this for me for Xmas. I will put up pics hopefully soon.
Amp/cab during test: Genz Shuttle 6.2 and Genz NEOX112T
just snagged a 5-banger (natural) off ebay; let u know how it goes...
here's the best video i've seen so far demo-ing the bass.
here's a short demo of the 2014 model from gibson.
re gibson vs the world - too funny - like seinfeld, a show about nothing.
i have tons of gibbies...why not? Invalid Link Removed
here's the best video i've seen so far demo-ing the bass.
here's a short demo of the 2014 model from gibson.
re gibson vs the world - too funny - like seinfeld, a show about nothing.
i have tons of gibbies...why not? Invalid Link Removed
I just received mine this week and checked it out this morning. I got the natural from Sam Ash (for $699), so very much sight unseen. The shipping box shows it was sent to Sam Ash in Dec 2012, so this is early stock and has been sitting for a while.
First impression... Definitely like the look - nice enough ash grain, good clean finish, thick piece of rosewood. Hard to get past the considerable fret sprouts along the entire board. It's light and sits comfortably on your lap, but the neck doesn't give you that comfy feeling. I guess rolled fingerboards add cost - quite a shame. Otherwise I'd say the quality of fit and finish is better than expected given what I've read. So I'd have to get this thing fret blocked before I could spend any considerable time with it, which is a big strike against and erodes the point of the deal.
Tone plugged into my PF-500 (set mostly flat) w/GK Neo-112 (tweeter turned almost off) was ok. Very hot - maybe too hot. I don't feel like you get much woodiness like you do with a t-bird. These pickups are very articulate and detailed considering it's a passive bass. A lot of nuances and actually quite a bit of brightness. I find the brightness conflicts with the otherwise darker tone of the bass. Rolling off the tone knob more than 1/3 to 1/2 gets muffled. I found myself favoring the tones from the neck pickup more but it's not doing a lot for me. The bridge pickup would likely cut through bricks in a mix, so there is versatility for sure. With the OCD pedal adding just a bit of hair it had a great rock tone to it - very thick and classic.
I don't know if I care to tinker with it enough so it might be going back. I was hoping to get in the realm of some t-bird tones with the added versatility but it's not doing it for me. I guess that reinforced why I spent more time with the non-reverse t-bird the day I checked this out in a store last year. Very forgettable. I'm a Fender guy, but I love the gibby tone from Allen Woody and others so I was hoping to add some of that to my stable. Will check it out more tonight, but I think it just confirmed I'd rather get another P-bass or maybe give the short scale SG a shot. When I plugged in my 62 reissue p-bass my wife immediately commented that it sounded richer. It's a great deal but I don't think the bass is worth a grand to start - the neck finishing alone is unacceptable to me - so I'm not sure whether this deal is worth it. If I have to pay for the frets to get blocked, then it starts to be more hassle and erodes the savings.
This is all IMHO, but I'm feeling a bit let down. Will try again tonight.
First impression... Definitely like the look - nice enough ash grain, good clean finish, thick piece of rosewood. Hard to get past the considerable fret sprouts along the entire board. It's light and sits comfortably on your lap, but the neck doesn't give you that comfy feeling. I guess rolled fingerboards add cost - quite a shame. Otherwise I'd say the quality of fit and finish is better than expected given what I've read. So I'd have to get this thing fret blocked before I could spend any considerable time with it, which is a big strike against and erodes the point of the deal.
Tone plugged into my PF-500 (set mostly flat) w/GK Neo-112 (tweeter turned almost off) was ok. Very hot - maybe too hot. I don't feel like you get much woodiness like you do with a t-bird. These pickups are very articulate and detailed considering it's a passive bass. A lot of nuances and actually quite a bit of brightness. I find the brightness conflicts with the otherwise darker tone of the bass. Rolling off the tone knob more than 1/3 to 1/2 gets muffled. I found myself favoring the tones from the neck pickup more but it's not doing a lot for me. The bridge pickup would likely cut through bricks in a mix, so there is versatility for sure. With the OCD pedal adding just a bit of hair it had a great rock tone to it - very thick and classic.
I don't know if I care to tinker with it enough so it might be going back. I was hoping to get in the realm of some t-bird tones with the added versatility but it's not doing it for me. I guess that reinforced why I spent more time with the non-reverse t-bird the day I checked this out in a store last year. Very forgettable. I'm a Fender guy, but I love the gibby tone from Allen Woody and others so I was hoping to add some of that to my stable. Will check it out more tonight, but I think it just confirmed I'd rather get another P-bass or maybe give the short scale SG a shot. When I plugged in my 62 reissue p-bass my wife immediately commented that it sounded richer. It's a great deal but I don't think the bass is worth a grand to start - the neck finishing alone is unacceptable to me - so I'm not sure whether this deal is worth it. If I have to pay for the frets to get blocked, then it starts to be more hassle and erodes the savings.
This is all IMHO, but I'm feeling a bit let down. Will try again tonight.
I have both, I find the EB more tonally versatile than the SG. Like 'em both, but...
I spent 10 minutes cleaning up the fret ends on mine - like pretty much every other new guitar I've bought. If you're kinda meh on it otherwise - ok, return it - but I certainly wouldn't think that a little fret dressing should be a big factor.
I spent 10 minutes cleaning up the fret ends on mine - like pretty much every other new guitar I've bought. If you're kinda meh on it otherwise - ok, return it - but I certainly wouldn't think that a little fret dressing should be a big factor.
To be fair to Gibson fret sprout very often happens after a bass leaves the factory and happens on pretty much any brand- I've even heard of boutique bass that got it. It comes from temperature and humidity changes shrinking the wood - wood shrinks but metal doesn't. I seriously doubt if it left the factory that way.
I don't want to turn this into a different discussion, but I do disagree slightly with your comment. I've had 4 of 5 US Fenders come perfect out of the box, and the 5th I knew I was buying some factory defects that scored me a major discount with a credible retailer. I've had EBMM's that were some of the most perfect necks I've ever felt. Even some Czech made Spectors. And I've moved from SoCal to NJ and back to SoCal. But regardless, whether fret sprouting is common or not, forking over $150 for a proper fret blocking after getting a $300 discount on a bass that doesn't blow my hair back just isn't worth it to me. If I found this particular individual in a store somewhere I would have put it back the moment I felt it. Plugging it in didn't make me forget about the quality issues either. IMHO wood selection and seasoning plays an important role because it determines how stable a piece of wood will be, and I think it's reasonable that Gibson cut a few corners to achieve the price point. I'm sure with a little attention this could be a great player, but I don't need it enough to make the investment.
