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HNBD - GENESIS BASS


brianh

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Hi all, sorry about the bad pics, I will do better after I have her cleaned up and gone through. Long story short, this bass came up on eBay last night from a pawn shop about 90 minutes from my house. It's a relatively rare late 70's Genesis, and the BIN price was right. Went up this morning to collect, and it's in better shape than I thought - all original parts still on (except missing control cavity cover) with relatively few dings and no cracks, gouges or other foolishness.

 

P1030570.jpg

 

P1030568.jpg

 

The saddles are a little suspect (two are chrome and two are nickel) but the bridge and saddle screws as well as the tuners are original.

 

P1030564.jpg

 

P1030565.jpg

 

The serial number seems to indicate that it was made in September 1980 and was unit number 405:

 

P1030578.jpg

 

Anywho, this completes my collection along with the various Genesis 6-stringers I have taken in. (There is a student model "The Genesis" shown in the 1980 price list, but I've never heard from anyone who owns one or seen a photo, so they may not have made it into production.)

 

Family pics to follow soon.

 

Cheers, Brian

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SWEEET!

Man, how do you find all those?

I don't believe I've even seen a Genesis bass before!

Looks like a solid unit!

So how does she sound? Looks pretty much original huh?

Whats the scale length on one of those?

 

Also, I can see that you have either NOT been to your therapist or not taking your meds! LOL! [thumbup]

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SWEEET!

Man, how do you find all those?

I don't believe I've even seen a Genesis bass before!

Looks like a solid unit!

So how does she sound? Looks pretty much original huh?

Whats the scale length on one of those?

Also, I can see that you have either NOT been to your therapist or not taking your meds! LOL! [thumbup]

Thanks, I just scour eBay and Craigslist. I'm fortunate to have a job that puts me in front of a computer screen most days.

It is extremely solid - all mahogany construction, set neck, very resonant - I have not had it plugged in yet, need to do some cleaning and tightening first.

The scale length is 34". The electronics and hardware are original, two of the bridge saddles appear to be replacements. The G string is set too low, and neck may need some tweaking.

My prescription ran out a few weeks ago, need to get it refilled....[laugh]

 

Nice score, Brian! I just found out a few weks ago that Epiphone had made a Genesis bass. I thought it was pretty cool and wondered why you didnt have one yet![tongue]

RTH - I've known about them for some time, even posted the model numbers and prices to the Wikipedia entry: http://en.wikipedia....piphone_Genesis

I got that info from price list reprints in Walter Carter's History of Epiphone book - the basses only appear in the 1980 price list.

I'm still looking for that student-level "The Genesis" model, but not sure if they actually exist, I've never seen one anywhere.

 

PS: From the little bit of fooling around with it I've done, it is very comfortable to play - there is a belly cut on the top back, and it's not neck heavy at all, I assume due to the counterbalancing effect of that solid mahogany body.

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Brian,

 

You are well aware of my severe, but unlikely to ever be fulfilled in Oz, Genesis GAS.

 

You know my 'Lust List' includes a bass with bucks.

 

This just hurts man [crying]

 

Nice score!

 

EDIT: I wonder if Epi did one in 'Sparkle Blue' [tongue]

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I bet Brian listens to the band Genesis every night before he goes to bed. [laugh]

 

 

... while reading Genesis

 

"... & in the Beginning there was the House of Strathopoulos... & behold it was very good!"

 

Advance apologies if I just offended anyone too much [wink]

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I almost purchased that bass, but I decided not to at the last moment...... I knew deep down I'm GASing for a the Genesis 6 stringer right now..... Hopefully I can find a custom, but they are getting harder and harder to find

 

 

Congrats Brian [thumbup]

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I almost purchased that bass, but I decided not to at the last moment...... I knew deep down I'm GASing for a the Genesis 6 stringer right now..... Hopefully I can find a custom, but they are getting harder and harder to find

 

 

Congrats Brian [thumbup]

 

:) Good to hear that means you have been doing a good job of Genesis hunting tho :) I saw it as well and was drooling. It lives where it belong now :)

 

Brianh - How much does it weigh?

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Brianh - How much does it weigh?

Jaded, I had all the hardware off today and forgot to weight it. [blush] I have it nearly reassembled including strings (no pots, switch jack and wiring), and it weighs 10.2 lbs. So I'd guess just shy of 10.5 lbs fully loaded.

 

In fiddling with setup, it appears that the two low saddles (E & A) are not factory. It could also be the other way around, because the D & G saddles are nickel and the rest of the bridge is chrome.

 

In any case, the difference forces extreme compensation on the bridge:

 

P1030564-1.jpg

 

Does anyone know if saddles like these are readily available, or would I be forced to repalce the whole bridge? I'd prefer to keep it stock, but I'd also like to make it more playable.

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Jaded, I had all the hardware off today and forgot to weight it. [blush] I have it nearly reassembled including strings (no pots, switch jack and wiring), and it weighs 10.2 lbs. So I'd guess just shy of 10.5 lbs fully loaded.

 

In fiddling with setup, it appears that the two low saddles (E & A) are not factory. They make those strings noticeably higher than D & G, and force extreme compensation on that side of the bridge:

 

Does anyone know if saddles like these are readily available, or would I be forced to repalce the whole bridge? I'd prefer to keep it stock, but I'd also like to make it more playable.

 

Maybe working some metal off the non-original saddles could do the trick? Or is it not the option?

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Maybe working some metal off the non-original saddles could do the trick? Or is it not the option?

It's an option, but it would take a lot of filing:

 

P1030613.jpg

 

The more I look at it, the more I think the D & G saddles are not original. They don't match the bridge, and they haven't oxidized similarly to the other parts.

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It's an option, but it would take a lot of filing:

 

 

The more I look at it, the more I think the D & G saddles are not original. They don't macth the bridge, and they haven't oxidized similarly to the other parts.

 

Looking at the picture in your previous post... Is it only me, or do the D and G NOT reach the bottom of the bridge? If that's the case, I tend to agree that they're the ones that are not original.

 

Oh, and BTW - I love the scary way strings are fixed in the bridge [cursing]

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Brianh, that is pretty EXTREME! Did the adjustment screws start to bind with that bridge angle?

I posted on your thread in the bass forum, but I looked at my '03 EB-0 and my tailpiece is different than yours.

Mine is flat and yours is arched! Better keep that in mind as you look for parts!

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Looking at the picture in your previous post... Is it only me, or do the D and G NOT reach the bottom of the bridge? If that's the case, I tend to agree that they're the ones that are not original.

 

Oh, and BTW - I love the scary way strings are fixed in the bridge [cursing]

The D & G clear the bridge well enough, but maybe only 1/32", not enough to matter (I think). The ball ends are locked in tighter than it looks, it's a bit of an illusion.

 

 

Brianh, that is pretty EXTREME! Did the adjustment screws start to bind with that bridge angle?

No, I have everything lubed up pretty good though, I see that this 3-point bridge is fairly common, same as used on the Gibson Ripper bass

 

Gibson-Ripper-Bass-00158218--15.jpg

 

exact replacements are $75,

 

Gibson3-point.jpg

 

And 2-point replacements will all kinds of adjustment a little over $100:

 

Hipshot_Supertone_Bass_Bridge_lg.jpg

 

Hipshot_Supertone_Bass_Bridge_2lg.jpg

 

H-Cat, is this the one you meant?

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Gearhead, is the fretboard on your EB-0 flat? The Genesis has a slightly rounded fretboard, although the bridge seems to be more acrhed than necessary. Im thinking that perhaps the Geni bass received a bad copy of the 3-point EB-O bridge. There's no imprint underneath, so it may be a bad Asian knock-off that needs to be replaced with the real deal. Or that 2-point Hipshot Supertone.

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Hipshot_Supertone_Bass_Bridge_2lg.jpg

H-Cat, is this the one you meant?

 

Yes. I thought they used to have a little pin that went into the front point, but it's been a couple of years since I've seen one in person. See my full comment on them in the bass forum. (I responded there before I got here...)

http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/61779-1980-genesis-bass/#entry838382

 

As far as strings go, I like roundwounds. I would only use flats for jazz. You can make roundwoulds sound like flats with some amp tweaking and EQing, but you can't make flats sound like roundwounds. You should probably try both, as the feel between the two are quite different. I (as always) recommend Rotosound brand, they have several sets of flats, in addition to their line of roundwounds.

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Thanks, Hcat, gearhead found some exact replacement saddles from All Parts and I have them on order.

 

If I'm not happy with that solution, I'll go ahead and get the Hipshot SuperTone.

 

Rotosounds it is - any particular gauge you recommend?

 

 

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Thanks, Hcat, gearhead found some exact replacement saddles from All Parts and I have them on order.

 

If I'm not happy with that solution, I'll go ahead and get the Hipshot SuperTone.

 

Rotosounds it is - any particular gauge you recommend?

 

.45,.65,.85,1.05 is "standard" for bass. I like a little bit lighter gauge for slap-style, but that's about it.

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