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What Epi bass do you have GAS for?


Freuds_cat

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Since I saw the pic below on Fred Hammons Darkstar site I've had terrible GAS for a Darkstar EB3. Its gotta have a short scale neck.

 

largeimage11.jpg

 

Buying a Gibson for this kind of project is out of the question price wise and why bother when the quality of the Epi EB's versus the cost is so good anyway.

 

So my next project is gonna be to buy an Epi EB0 and a pair of Darkstar pups and talk to my luthier..... well.......in a couple of months after I get the cash together.....O:)

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I've been wanting an EB-3 for the longest time... Mostly out of nostalgia.. I had an EB-3 copy when I was a kid, just like this:

 

1bass.jpg

 

My bass teacher at the time had a real Gibson EB-3.. I was like his "mini-me" [-X

 

I loved that bass... I played it all the time.. I formed my first crummy garage band with that bass in high school...

It was the first bass that was really mine... (I started learning on a crappy bass that belonged to my step-father.. I think it was made outta particle board!)

 

The thing is, one of the things I liked about it was the short-scale.. The Epi EB-3 is a long scale bass... And I don't want an EB-0...

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I've been wanting an EB-3 for the longest time... Mostly out of nostalgia.. I had an EB-3 copy when I was a kid' date=' just like this:

 

[img']http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff96/King_Lerxst/1bass.jpg[/img]

 

My bass teacher at the time had a real Gibson EB-3.. I was like his "mini-me" =P~

 

I loved that bass... I played it all the time.. I formed my first crummy garage band with that bass in high school...

It was the first bass that was really mine... (I started learning on a crappy bass that belonged to my step-father.. I think it was made outta particle board!)

 

The thing is, one of the things I liked about it was the short-scale.. The Epi EB-3 is a long scale bass... And I don't want an EB-0...

 

I have the new eb3. Talk about a dive bomber. very neck heavy.
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That's what I've heard.. I wish Epiphone would make a true EB-3 with a short-scale' date=' set neck..

 

[/quote'] I still love my new eb3. I wouldn't get rid of it. I got it in the classic black, and it is classy. My thunderbird wanted some relatives to move in anyway. She doesn't get along with my b.c. rich or dean.

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...
  • 5 weeks later...

 

That's what I've heard.. I wish Epiphone would make a true EB-3 with a short-scale' date=' set neck..

 

[/quote']

 

I think the EB-0 has the short-scale neck, but I could be wrong.

 

I've got the EB-3 and love it. The neck-dive just comes with the territory. I love the contrast between the mini-humbucker and that ginormous one. One thing I had to do with it, though, was raise the mini so that it would have equal volume to the biggie.

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I know the EB-0 has a short scale neck... It's also a bolt-on with just the mud-bucker at the neck.. What I want is a true EB-3.. Short scale, set neck, mini-hum at the bridge, etc... In essence, a more accurate copy of the Gibson EB-3.. I know there's the Elitist EB-3, but I'm not GASsing hard enough to spend that kind of money for one... Besides, it's been discontinued.

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The bolt-on issue doesn't really bother me so much as the lack of a bridge pickup.. I've considered routing a cavity for one, but it just looks like an awful lot of work.. Routing for pots and wiring and all.. I'll probably end up getting an EB-3 and be happy with it... It's not really on the top of my GAS list, actually..

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  • 5 months later...

Here is the Epi EB-0 after its transformation into an EB-3

 

RIMG0332.jpg

 

This bass is an interesting little beasty.

 

I really like the neck on it, great shape and feel. The Mudbucker at the neck is excellent sounding by itself which is more than I can say for "a few" of the the old Gibson ones I've tried (I have tried/had some absolutely great sounding early Gibbo Mudders though). I would love to know if the Mudbucker is an Artec (Korea) because the 2 Artecs I have used both sounded excellent. The bottom end on this Mudbucker is huge and it transfers across all of the strings so no anaemic sounding D and G strings like in some cases.

 

The Mini Humbucker that has been fitted is (apparently) from a Japanese Epi. (16k) No way of confirming this but that is how it was sold to me. Regardless it sounds great. Even though it is at the Bridge and doing a more than suitable job in supplying tops to compensate the Mudbucker it actually has a pretty reasonable amount of its own bottom end.

 

By itself the Mini has a very good, more fusion style sound. Combined with the Mudbucker it becomes the bass from Hell.

Imagine having a passive sounding bass that goes lower than almost any other bass but has the top end bite and growl that true classic rock bass players love. Like than nice "V" scoop that rock players like in their graphic settings 8-[

 

For the money spent on this little bass it sounds and feels unreasonably good.

 

 

Now for the other side of things, and to clarify.

 

This bass was made in the Sae Jung Plant in China, in March 2007

 

What surprised me was the fact that while the Piano black finish (Ebony as its called by Epi) is so shiny that the smallest fingerprint or spec of dust shows up big and ugly, it really does look a treat when its clean. That said, what we found when we did the routing for the back pup was this:

 

RIMG0333.jpg

 

RIMG0335.jpg

 

Plywood body my friends.

 

I was a bit shocked but not overly concerned. Plywood is not just packing crate quality. It comes in a whole range of qualities. from said packing crate through to Aircraft quality. And having a uniform density in a bass is a good thing.

The finish is excellent, the sound is great and it plays like a beaut and it was cheap to buy. (Sounds like an Epi to me). The fact that its made of ply is irrelevent when all of the other factors work.

 

Anyway Danelectro's were made from cheap masonite but even Jimmy Page thought they sounded great =;

 

RIMG0323.jpg

 

RIMG0345.jpg

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