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New Gibson EB bass

#645
I've had 3 EB's. All 2013's which I liked better. Only cause for some reason I like the jack on the PG. I did like the brown case from pics but never saw one in person. But holy smokes that case :woot:, it is one of the most lush things I have ever seen.

I had an aged Cream EB I bought off a TBer, and sold it to another TBer. In it's place I bought the Sunburst finish when Sweetwater was blowing out the 2013's. I acutally thought it sounded and played slightly better anyways. Then over the summer I got the EB5, it wasn't for me and I parted ways with it. I also sold my last EB, but my dad bought it so I an use it whenever I want HAHA.
One comment and I'd like to know what you all thought of it, but I found the necks on the 4's vs the 5's pretty wildly different. I found the EB4 is very much like a Jazz neck, and perhaps a bit thinner. Where the EB5, I thought was even thinner than the 4 back to front, but the fretboard width was quite wide, especially near the 12th fret.
 
#646
swamp2 said:
Finally got notification my Creamer shipped, almost a day after ordering. I was getting a little nervous, usually MF is a bit more prompt than that!
Click to expand...

They are super fast. Ordered mine Monday morning and it was already at my local UPS office Tuesday afternoon. Mine is out for delivery today (Wednesday). And that's the normal free ground shipping which I think is listed at 4-6 days or something like that.
 
#647
UPS delivered it tonight, along with my new iPhone 6, so it was a double whammy! Dang that is a very nice case it came it, the bass that is. It was lesson night, so I only have a few minutes to mess with it and I had to run. So after that I messed with it some more and set up the action more to my liking. It seems to play real nice so far. I think the neck is probably the best part of the bass. Feels nice, no issues. Seems most of the weight is in the neck, body feels light. Didn't put a strap on it yet so I don't know if the headstock will dive, but I don't really care since I use thick fabric straps that will keep most anything from dipping down. Strings are ok but I did pick up a new set at the shop and another set of Dunlop Straplok's. Since it's been sitting around since 2013 the frets will need some polishing, so i'll probably do that and oil the fretboard a bit in the next few days or so. I see what everyone says about the pickups, man those things are LOUD. I dropped them down quite a bit but still high enough that I can rest my thumb on the neck pickup. The way they finish the body it reminds me of a really really old instrument. Doesn't bother me because I knew what to expect and I prefer it to play good more than I care about how it looks. Anyone else notice that the tone control doesn't have much effect on the tone? Same with the push/pull on the pickups, very subtle. Maybe the pickup height has a big affect on how the controls react?
 
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#648
image.jpg
Got mine yesterday,and it's got action like a ski ramp,hoping i can get it under control,otherwise it will be going back. My pickups were adjusted so high I was getting overtones,so i lowered them considerably-these are very powerful pickups,which sound great in both HB/SC modes. I do find the tone control to work quite well actually.
Overall impressions,super lightweight,very slim neck which would be fast if i can get the action down. I am a bit afraid that the neck may not want to complie after sitting around for so long. I really like the bass overall,think it might sound fantastic with flats too,frets need a bit of polishing at the edges. I think the tort will be fine,but i'm not taking the shrink wrap off it till i determine if it's a keeper.
 
#652
To be honest, I don't pay much mind to the setup on a bass when I get it. It was bad enough that I remember thinking no, no, no, and pretty much immediately tightened the truss rod. If you're not experienced with sighting a neck or adjusting a truss rod, I'd advise 2 things. First, research it here... then, or maybe even before then, tighten the truss rod a quarter turn. Check the bass about 15 minutes later, then do it again, and again seeing the results. If this is totally new to you, I wouldn't go more than 4 quarter adjustments (I believe that's what mine took). If you encounter a lot of resistance, then something is wrong and I'd take it to someone who's experienced. No worries with the case. Thanks for letting me know.
 
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#653
Joe Nerve said:
To be honest, I don't pay much mind to the setup on a bass when I get it. It was bad enough that I remember thinking no, no, no, and pretty much immediately tightened the truss rod. If you're not experienced with sighting a neck or adjusting a truss rod, I'd advise 2 things. First, research it here... then, or maybe even before then, tighten the truss rod a quarter turn. Check the bass about 15 minutes later, then do it again, and again seeing the results. If this is totally new to you, I wouldn't go more than 4 quarter adjustments (I believe that's what mine took). If you encounter a lot of resistance, then something is wrong and I'd take it to someone who's experienced. No worries with the case. Thanks for letting me know.
Click to expand...
Appreciate the info,i've only cranked it a 1/8 turn,as per the Gibson warranty book,and even that filled me with dread,although the rod turned quite easily...obviously i don't normally do my own setup work....I am going to let a friend who's experienced in Setups take a look at it. So,yours took basically a full revolution to come into where it needed to be. I may give it another small crank. I do like the bass overall.
 
#655
I tightened mine maybe just a little past a quarter turn. It has just a slight amount of relief now. I then lowered all saddles until I got buzz on the higher frets and then raised it up until the buzz was gone or to a point where I could tolerate the buzz. And only the E string intonation was off.
 
#656
One thing I've noticed on these EB's that have been sitting idle for a couple of years is that the nuts securing the tuner posts on the headstock are often loose enough to remove with your fingers. You have to really loosen the strings to observe this. Even if you can't quite turn the nuts with your fingers they may need snugging with a wrench.

Mine requires a 15mm wrench, as do all the rest I assume.
 
#657
Do you think they'll continue this line of instruments?

I wanted a '13 but the time to buy one escaped me, then the '14 came out and it had a novelty inlay that I didn't like. Any news on a '15 model?
 
#658
Nah, the consensus is that Gibson dropped them from the lineup, and they're nowhere to be found on the current Gibson web site.

Interestingly enough, Musician's Friend has found a small stash of new EB-13's, black color only, and is closing them out for $800. If you are seriously interested in one then perhaps now is the time to jump...

Gibson 2013 EB Electric Bass Guitar Ebony | Musician's Friend
 
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#659
Olde Axeman said:
Nah, the consensus is that Gibson dropped them from the lineup, and they're nowhere to be found on the current Gibson web site.

Interestingly enough, Musician's Friend has found a small stash of new EB-13's, black color only, and is closing them out for $800. If you are seriously interested in one then perhaps now is the time to jump...

Gibson 2013 EB Electric Bass Guitar Ebony | Musician's Friend
Click to expand...

That combination of the black with the tort pickguard looks fabulous.
 

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