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matt1039

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It is time for a new topic in the bass forum. What type of bass are you playing and what would you like to see in an Epiphone bass?

 

I'm playing an Epiphone EB-3. I like it a lot, I do wish the body was a little bigger to balance it out. But what I would really like to see in an Epiphone bass would be a Dot bass. I know there is the Casady bass, but it is not symmetrical like a Dot. I would like a symmetrical semi-hollow body bass. What about you?

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Hey Matt,

 

Yeah, I hear ya... a Dot, or perhaps even better a Sheraton Bass would be pretty cool, & definately the sort of thing I would probably go for as a second bass...

 

But a good Thunderbird has always been 'on the list' also!

 

'The Weirdbird' (pictured in my specially amended avatar... 'cause I still cant figure out how to post pics directly onto posts) pretty much does everything I need though, & without the annoying neck heaviness of so many basses, but I must admit... I wouldn't mind something with a bit more growl sometimes.

 

& huge thanks for kick-starting the Bass Forum again... It get's lonely in here sometimes :-k!

 

eggmuffins

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It is time for a new topic in the bass forum. What type of bass are you playing and what would you like to see in an Epiphone bass?

 

I'm playing an Epiphone EB-3. I like it a lot' date=' I do wish the body was a little bigger to balance it out. But what I would really like to see in an Epiphone bass would be a Dot bass. I know there is the Casady bass, but it is not symmetrical like a Dot. I would like a symmetrical semi-hollow body bass. What about you?[/quote']

Well what you're talking about here is the Rivoli bass and there's a few of us here waiting for Epiphone to re-issue those. Might be even better if they re-issued it with an update to a two pickup model.

 

EpiphoneRivoli_small.jpg

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Woah... jonnyg & gadunz... three awesome basses in a row... almost more than this koala can bear!

 

(& is no Epi bass amp why I'm hearing crickets on my post re same under amps?)

 

eggmuffins

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I've got the EB-3 in cherry and a blacked out Fender Jazz Bass (MIM). I'm in the market for a new amp and I'm waiting to get the fundage together. I've been using a Roland JC-50. But lately it is just not getting the job done. I just got a Vox Pathfinder Bass 10 over the weekend. It is a pretty cool little amp.

 

Those semi hollows up there look pretty sweet. I've never seen that Newport, the Wilshire-esk bass. Someone mentioned Epiphone bass amps. They should make a little stack for the bass like the valve jr.

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I mainly play an Ocean TB-5 (Cort A-5 clone) as my gigging bass. I have an Epiphone EBM-5 and an Epiphone Expert-6 as backups. And another EBM-5 for parts. The EBMs were the best rock-style basses Epiphone made IMHO. Well balanced body, P/J PUP config, active electronics, swept-C body style and no protruding neck pocket for easy upper register fret access. Not to mention they were 24 fret necks with a tight string spacing and thin neck for people with guitar hands like me. Although, I would happily trade the P/Js for a humbucker config...preferably Bartolinis.

 

What I would like to see from Epiphone basses would be T-birds with quality frets and maybe a modernized SG bass...full sized dual soapbars, active electronics, badass bridge, etc....like a Prophesy or Pro series. Maybe I'm missing the point of the SG's? Or bring back the EBMs. They already brought back the EM-2's, so why not their bass counterparts?

 

EBM_Family2.png

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No Epi basses yet, I'm sorry to say. I own a 1973 Fender Precision with a RW neck and a nice transparent brown finish; a 2005 (or so) Squier 5-string P-Bass in the Sherwood green; a home-built with a purpleheart body shaped like the old Vox Phantom (I swapped a Squier Affinity P-Bass neck and hardware to it); and a home-built "plank" bass finished in black, with an ash body only a bit wider than the span of the strings side to side, a black NOS Vox Panther neck and hardware, and a Carvin J-Bass pickup installed at a slant.

 

Amps are an Ampeg V6-B (Carvin 1-18 and VT 4 X 12 cabinets, the latter of which I also use for guitar) and Carvin ProBass 150.

 

The pictures of the Rivolis earlier in this thread reminded me I jammed in high school with a guy who had an Epi hollowbody bass I now realize was a Rivoli, of early 1960s vintage, with BANJO style tuners. It was very cool, and sounded great through his Kustom 150 bass amp (sort of Jack Bruce-ish in his Cream days).

 

Old Ampeg Guy

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I mainly play an Ocean TB-5 (Cort A-5 clone) as my gigging bass. I have an Epiphone EBM-5 and an Epiphone Expert-6 as backups. And another EBM-5 for parts. The EBMs were the best rock-style basses Epiphone made IMHO. Well balanced body' date=' P/J PUP config, active electronics, swept-C body style and no protruding neck pocket for easy upper register fret access. Not to mention they were 24 fret necks with a tight string spacing and thin neck for people with guitar hands like me. Although, I would happily trade the P/Js for a humbucker config...preferably Bartolinis.

 

What I would like to see from Epiphone basses would be T-birds with quality frets and maybe a modernized SG bass...full sized dual soapbars, active electronics, badass bridge, etc....like a Prophesy or Pro series. Maybe I'm missing the point of the SG's? Or bring back the EBMs. They already brought back the EM-2's, so why not their bass counterparts?

 

[img']http://www.3house.com/forum/EBM_Family2.png[/img]

 

I have never seen these basses in Oz!?!

 

eggmuffins

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No Epi basses yet' date=' I'm sorry to say. I own a 1973 Fender Precision with a RW neck and a nice transparent brown finish; a 2005 (or so) Squier 5-string P-Bass in the Sherwood green; a home-built with a purpleheart body shaped like the old Vox Phantom (I swapped a Squier Affinity P-Bass neck and hardware to it); and a home-built "plank" bass finished in black, with an ash body only a bit wider than the span of the strings side to side, a black NOS Vox Panther neck and hardware, and a Carvin J-Bass pickup installed at a slant.

 

Amps are an Ampeg V6-B (Carvin 1-18 and VT 4 X 12 cabinets, the latter of which I also use for guitar) and Carvin ProBass 150.

 

The pictures of the Rivolis earlier in this thread reminded me I jammed in high school with a guy who had an Epi hollowbody bass I now realize was a Rivoli, of early 1960s vintage, with BANJO style tuners. It was very cool, and sounded great through his Kustom 150 bass amp (sort of Jack Bruce-ish in his Cream days).

 

Old Ampeg Guy[/quote']

 

Ahhhhh... Jack Bruce... Cream... 'We are (simply) not worthy!'

 

eggmuffins

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He is amazing' date=' isn't he? "Live Cream, Vol. II" is one of my all-time favorites.

 

Old Ampeg Guy

[/quote']

 

Love to see some more pics of your Ampeg.

 

Bet it would look awesome on one of those Epi Rivoli Bass Amp tripods[biggrin]

 

I still haven't figured out what bass amp I should move towards... but keep playin' that age old question over in my head... "if in my situation, what would Jack do?"

 

eggmuffins

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Love to see some more pics of your Ampeg.

 

Bet it would look awesome on one of those Epi Rivoli Bass Amp tripods

 

I'll bet it would! I'd hate to have it tip' date=' though--real 7591a tubes are a bit harder to find than, say, 6V6s.[biggrin

 

I'll see if I can get a pic hosting account somewhere and put some up. I sort of bastardized the poor amp back in high school. It had been a combo (with the slotted-basket Jensen 12" speaker). I made a head cabinet in wood shop and stuck the amp portion and the big Accutronics reverb tank in that (that's what you see in my avatar photo, plus the headstock of my Epi Jr.). The combo cabinet and speaker were long gone by the mid-1970s. I mention that because it doesn't look like any original Reverberocket II that most folks have seen. [lol]

 

On the other hand, it sounds pretty good through a home-built 1-15 cab I made that houses a JBL G-135-8. It really sounded good through the 4-12 VT cab I have with Celestions in it.

 

My go-to amp head for bass use back when I was gigging (in the Pleistocene Age, it seems) was my Ampeg V6-B, a solid state monster that I'd love to cut down into a smaller form factor if it can be done without losing its Ampeg charm (it was never a beauty--just a workhorse).

 

What's Jack using now, amp-wise? I'll have to check his site. Might not be appropriate for at-home use[biggrin], though. If you're gigging, OTOH, it might be perfect.

 

Old Ampeg Guy

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What's Jack using now' date=' amp-wise? I'll have to check his site. Might not be appropriate for at-home use[biggrin'], though.

 

Old Ampeg Guy

 

Hell man... I'm renovating anyway!

 

Saw your other thread post re Carvin... thanks... I might check that out.

 

 

Re pic posts try this (with thanks to ratdog8o8):

 

http://forums.epiphone.c...aspx?g=posts&t=8886

 

eggmuffins

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Hell man... I'm renovating anyway!

 

This might help bring down a wall or two' date=' then![biggrin Jack Bruce's current rig from his site.

 

I see he still occasionally plays the EB-1. Man, I wish Epiphone would issue one of those. I love unusually-shaped guitars and basses (especially teardrops, violins, Flying Vs, and those shaped like the Vox Phantoms).

 

Thanks for the link to the pic posting tips!

 

Old Ampeg Guy

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I love unusually-shaped guitars and basses (especially teardrops' date=' violins, Flying Vs, and those shaped like the Vox Phantoms). [/quote']

 

There was a Fretless MIK Epi Viola on OzEbay about a week ago, but SWMBO was looking over my shoulder as the seconds timed out... oh, the pain!... Can ya imagine slammin' that baby thru Jack's rig? I mean, we're not talkin' 'renovation' here, but something more akin to 'total urban renewal'

 

eggmuffins

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There was a Fretless MIK Epi Viola on OzEbay about a week ago' date=' but SWMBO was looking over my shoulder as the seconds timed out... oh, the pain!... [/quote']

 

I understand completely.:-$ Man, I didn't know they come in a fretless version. That would be very cool, and if they'd either make a solidbody version of the Viola or something akin to the EB-1, I'd have real trouble not getting one. As it is, I've been GASsing for an EB-1 for years now. I saw Mountain live and Felix Pappalardi was amazing on his.

 

My own SWMBO listened patiently as I explained that I would be starting a new guitar assembling project, and this conversation took place about three weeks after I got the new Les Paul Standard Plus Top in Trans Blue, PLUS two Gibson pickups and black plastic parts for it for my 55th birthday. Still, the project guitar can take a while, and I'll accumulate the parts over time. I'm either going to make a 3/4 or 4/5ths scale Les Paul shaped body from my leftover purpleheart (a body that will take a full-scale neck), or I'll go with the downsized Telecaster body offered by USA Custom Guitars (which takes a full-scale neck).

 

There's a bass project, too--I still have the Affinity P-Bass body, and I'm thinking of sticking a Jazz Bass neck on it. That combo always struck me as neat. I like the P-Bass width better, but it's nice to have variety, eh?

 

Old Ampeg Guy

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I saw Mountain live and Felix Pappalardi was amazing on his (EB1).

 

My own SWMBO listened patiently .

 

I'm either going to make a 3/4 or 4/5ths scale Les Paul shaped body from my leftover purpleheart (a body that will take a full-scale neck)

 

There's a bass project' date=' too--I still have the Affinity P-Bass body, and I'm thinking of sticking a Jazz Bass neck on it. That combo always struck me as neat. I like the P-Bass width better, but it's nice to have variety, eh? [/quote']

 

Woah... where to start?

 

1. I had a full bedroom wall of pics, including Felix backing West, when I was but a wee bass sprog... awesome!

 

2. Are you sure???

 

3. If we are talkin' 'Mutant Mystery Midgets' ... wait 'till I get home (Ref my 'Where did you get your Forum Fix' thread in the Epi Lounge) & can sort out pic posting per ratdogs advice, I am going to start a new thread re 'mini's'... &, apart from my 'Lobo', I've aleady spotted that animalfarm is 'packin' heat' on this issue!, &...

 

4. But of course!!!

 

eggmuffins

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1. I had a full bedroom wall of pics' date=' including Felix backing Wes, when I was but a wee bass sprog... awesome![/quote']

 

This was when I was still in high school, around late 1971, early 1972. I was a huge Mountain fan, as you clearly were/are. Mr. West and Mr. Pappalardi were using their Sunn Coliseum amps. It was "Long Ago and Far Away" (I've had George Shearing on the stereo a lot lately playing that standard--great song), but I recall having trouble hearing for a few days.

 

2. Are you sure???

 

Quite sure.#-o

 

3. If we are talkin' 'Mutant Mystery Midgets' ... wait 'till I get home (Ref my 'Where did you get your Forum Fix' thread in the Epi Lounge) & can sort out pic posting per ratdogs advice, I am going to start a new thread re 'mini's'... &, apart from my 'Lobo', I've aleady spotted that animalfarm is 'packin' heat' on this issue!, &...

 

Hope you have a safe and productive trip! I saw animalfarm's photos of his J. Reynolds--very cool.

 

I've started a PhotoBucket account so I could post pics. My own "mini" is in this photo. It's a Synsonics Jr. Pro with a Seymour Duncan Custom humbucker and Schaller tuners. The scale is 19.25 inches. I have very heavy strings on it (with a wound G), and it can be tuned to standard pitch with no problems.

 

Actually, what I really meant was guitars with a full scale, but small bodies. My violin-shaped purpleheart homebuilt illustrates this approach. The aspect ratio of this pic is a bit "off," but the camera had compressed it vertically, so I tried to compensate when I reduced it.

 

I agree that a new thread for the minis would be a good thing. [smile] To bring it more into the Epiphone context, I'll mention here that I'd love to find an Epi "Les Paul Express" body to which I could attach a full-scale Epi neck (with adjustments to the scale and movement of the bridge pickup cavity). It's probably too soon to find bodies for those on Ebay, though.

 

4. But of course!!!

 

The prices of the Jazz Bass necks on Ebay US are a bit high (particularly the ones with rosewood boards, binding and block markers, the type of which I'm particularly fond). I hope to get lucky at some point (or compromise a heck of a lot), though!

 

Old Ampeg Guy

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It is time for a new topic in the bass forum. What type of bass are you playing and what would you like to see in an Epiphone bass?

 

I'm playing an Epiphone EB-3. I like it a lot' date=' I do wish the body was a little bigger to balance it out. But what I would really like to see in an Epiphone bass would be a Dot bass. I know there is the Casady bass, but it is not symmetrical like a Dot. I would like a symmetrical semi-hollow body bass. What about you?[/quote']

 

Hey Epi-heads,

 

I think matt's opriginal question deserves a bump... Old _Ampeg_Guy & I kinda got a bit '70's sidetracked there#-o!

 

eggmuffins

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Thanks for your understanding, Matt! I do tend to run on a bit (can't hang out with my musician friends these days because I'm now a caregiver for an elderly parent with Parkinson's).

 

To keep things in a bass vein, although not an Epi one, here's a pic of my homebuilt ash-bodied "Plank"bass.

 

Old Ampeg Guy

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Thanks for your understanding' date=' Matt! I do tend to run on a bit (can't hang out with my musician friends these days because I'm now a caregiver for an elderly parent with Parkinson's).

 

To keep things in a bass vein, although not an Epi one, here's a pic of my homebuilt ash-bodied "Plank"bass.

 

Old Ampeg Guy

 

O_A_G... My Father in Law (of 25 years) has Parkinsons also... really sad to see, especially in a guy who was deft hand with a lathe & router!

 

Your plank is cool... & I'm seeing that in a 'Talking Heads' kinda light?

 

eggmuffins

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O_A_G... My Father in Law (of 25 years) has Parkinsons also... really sad to see' date=' especially in a guy who was deft hand with a lathe & router![/quote']

 

Sorry for the delay in my reply, eggmuffins. I just now saw your post. Yes, Parkinson's is a horrible disease. My mom was a vital woman, reduced now to someone who can barely move across her bedroom with a wheeled walker on a GOOD day. I can't leave the house for more than an hour, hour and a half at a time. That pretty much eliminates finding a band and "playing out" unless I can impose on my wife to spot for me (she starts helping me out with my mom as soon as she gets home, and she's taken over in the evening when I've had to go out--great gal).

 

I'm sorry to hear of your father in law's Parkinson's. It must be very difficult for him--one of the toughest things in life is to give up forever something you love to do. I saw that with my own step father a couple of years ago (he has passed on since then).

 

Your plank is cool... & I'm seeing that in a 'Talking Heads' kinda light?

 

Thanks, eggmuffins!

 

Talking Heads hit after my time[smile], and I guess I saw them as "Art Rock" so never really got into them. They came out about the time I was moving back into instrumental music (I started out with "Learn to Play the Guitar with the Ventures" on Dalton Records[biggrin], and I believe that was in my first guitar year, 1965). IIRC, I started getting into the Dixie Dregs about then. Still, the Talking Heads were talented folks.

 

The bass (here I go again, being "wordy!") came about because of my inclination toward minimalism in guitar bodies. FWIW, I don't like guitars with small bodies to the exclusion of all others--I have a couple of hollowbodies that are pretty big in the body area. I just really like small-bodied guitars! The bass sounds pretty good, given the body material and the hardware. I used to gig with it, in rotation with my '73 P-Bass.

 

Oh--and there's no "neck dive" with the "Plank." Years ago I permanently attached one of my old scuba diving belt weights to the back near the rear strap button.[lol]

 

Old Ampeg Guy

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