New bass day! Shipped this one back to the U.S. all the way from Japan.
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Congrats on that SG-Z, @lbpark ! It looks to be in great shape.
Play it in good health and enjoy!
Play it in good health and enjoy!
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,027
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- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
Holy crap, those things are AWESOME!! Congrats!
Hmm, one of the worst sounding bass I've ever played was a Gibson Grabber II. Maybe the TB-Plus pickup was not as good? I'm still interested in an original-style Grabber, or maybe modifying the Epiphone with a sliding pickup.
I wonder if the SG balance was designed with all the metal parts in mind? The Vibrola tail for guitar and Varitone choke for bass. Later models without these parts will have neck dive due to less counterbalance.
I wonder if the SG balance was designed with all the metal parts in mind? The Vibrola tail for guitar and Varitone choke for bass. Later models without these parts will have neck dive due to less counterbalance.
No, not really. The old (pre-66) SG/EBs have much thicker necks and they dive worse than the later ones, even with all the hardware on, at least in my experience. To me personally, sweet spot is somewhere between 1967-70, thinner necks on all and modified neck entry point on the guitars.
Found this 1990 Epi EBO on Reverb. I've always felt sentimental towards these basses as one of my influences used one exclusively for years in a hard working bar band. My friend Chris Meyer in Marmora, NJ tediously removed the thick polyurethane from this bass uncovering a really underrated mahogany body and neck and refinished this in a dog hair nitro. Chris said the stubborn poly and red stain haunts his visions due to the degree of difficulty to remove it. However he did an incredible job liberating this wood from poly. I added a hipshot bridge and a Novak EB-BSx and waiting on the electronics to install.
Attachments
Thank you, it's a crapshoot with these Epi EBOs when it comes to taking the old finish off. This one also had lots of wood repairs and prep before putting on the new sealer and clear coats. I wouldn't advise this unless you're prepared for a big project. Chris Meyer, who did the project said that just when he thought it was bare wood, he would go to put sealer on and more of the original red stain would come out of the pores.
I had toyed with the idea of stripping an Epi EB-0 and refinishing in cherry lacquer but after seeing that I think I'll leave it with the poly it comes with.
Working on some new tunes and knocked this one out with my SG. I also recorded it with my Guild B301. I haven't decided which bass tone I like better for it. I figured I would share it here if for no other reason than my favorite thread on TB has been slow this past month. You can also hear what a Novak BSDS and a Stonewall P90 sound like with both running. Raw tracks, rough mixed.
The track…
The bass…
The track…
The bass…
That sounds really good. Is that both pickups at the 100%? If you played me that and asked me to guess what kind of bass was used I'd never guess an SG.
Thanks. Yeah, both pickups at 100%. It's a very versatile bass with these pickups. From old school mellow to tons of growl with a turn of the knobs. It's one of the favorites in my collection.
I'm having trouble finding a used Epi EB-0 for a price that is less than a new one, and Sweetwater seems to be the exclusive dealer for them right now. I'd pay $250 for a good used one, or even retail MSRP of $289 for a like new used one, but almost every used one I can find is $299-$350 and 150 shipping. Sweetwater got 3 or 4 in March and they sold out in 2 days, since then they say they have more on the way but the ETA keeps getting pushed back every month. I looked at one today at a Guitar Center that was made in '04 for $299. It was black (I'd really prefer Cherry red) and in great shape, the action and bridge had been set up correctly with vastly lower action than I have seen on any others so far, but it was VERY heavy. I suspect it was a plywood body, but I didnt bother asking to take the control cover off to see. I have a hard time figuring out why Epiphone doesnt supply more of these, they seem to be in enough demand that Sweetwater sells out almost immediately and used prices are equal to new because of the dribble of new ones. Meanwhile one of its direct competitors, the Squire Bronco, is everywhere $259 new and $150 used. It seems like there is a lot of unfilled demand for Epi EB-0s that they could be making money on if they could supply more, or maybe its Sweetwater who doesnt want to order too many? Donno, but I'm kind of bewildered by the Epi EB-0 market.
There's one local to me for sale right now for $225. They're out there, but patience is definitely needed to find one without having to ship it.
