mcnach

Still waiting for the Artec pickup. Meanwhile I decided to get crazy and also get a replacement bridge (wider spacing) and light tuners to hopefully make it balance a little better. In black. Definitely not my best investment in terms of £££ but you only live once and I'm really liking the short scale vibe. I've loved the SG design since I first started interested in guitars. My brother's first guitar was an SG, so I didn't have to buy one 😛 and for many years I kept wanting an EB-0/3. Sometimes it doesn't have to make financial sense! Capacitors and new pots arrived, as did a set of D'Addario black nylon tapewounds. New bridge is here. Tuners arrive tomorrow. Of course, this weekend I'm too busy to do anything about it, typical

I don't think it'll be Imperial for Japanese instruments, so it's likely a 4mm key if the 5mm is too big.

Yeah, I saw on TalkBass that quite a few people had teh same issue. It seems to be a bit of a lottery. Hopefully they'd have fixed that by now. The good news is that it seems pretty easy to repair. It's a shame there aren't many other options, and the ones that are there are crazy expensive. I tried the bass, stock, at volume... and that pickup has to go. Playing relatively quietly at home it was not amazing but I could make it work. However as soon as the volume goes up... there's something strange with the bottom end, it just sounds anemic. Artec pickup will take a couple of weeks to arrive, 'though. I hope it is better than the stock one.

Not quite the same but... I once, erm, I mean I know someone who once forgot his drummer's snare. This was only realised when setting up in Inverness, and we drove from Edinburgh. Oh how I laughed. Fortunately the sound guy knew someone drinking downstairs at the bar who was a drummer. He kindly offered us his snare... only trouble is he stayed about 15 miles away and you can't go too fast on those little roads. We managed with plenty of time to spare, but it was a bit more stressful than I like. Drummer never left anything with me again

Artec mudbucker ordered.

This bass will probably only be used in a dub/reggae setting, in that style I think it could work well?

The Epiphone pickup does have the sidewinder design, like a mudbucker, but that's where the similarity ends and you're right, they won't work as intended initially. A little experimentation with capacitors is cheap and easy. I'm curious as to how this tone control design works on this. If I find I don't like it, a usual "Precision" style wiring will do, I just need to replace the original cap (68nF) for a higher value, and use 250K pots rather than the 500K that seem to be installed here.

Not talking about 'fancy' switching, varitone etc, but this, for example (60s wiring). It's still very simple but not your usual volume-tone passive wiring as on a Precision, for example. I'm not sure what that does to the sound but it's trivial to wire it and see. More info about EB-0 wiring over the years: https://www.flyguitars.com/gibson/bass/EB0_circuit.php

Oh, and I do like bolt-on necks. It's my preference, although never a deal breaker.

Well, too late, got an EB0 already (yeah, that was fast) Those Embassy models are interesting but they're more Thunderbird-esque, aren't they? Not going for versatility. I just want a deep thumping pickup right by the neck. The EB-0 is not bad, but these Epiphones seem to have lost a lot of the mud in an attempt to make them more 'normal'... losing their main point in the process. The plan was to try and return if it didn't meet my goals close enough... but I'm really liking it. The short scale really suits this design (unlike the long scale EB-3 I had tried before, this one doesn't drop its neck to the ground the minute you take your hands off it). Nah, I'm keeping it and will play around with it. The wiring is quite different from what the various incarnations of EB-0 have had, so I'm going to experiment with that a bit since I can get a bunch of capacitors and a couple of pots for peanuts, and see what effect the different configurations have on the sound. If I am lucky and one of them gets me close to what I'm after, then job done. If not, at least I'll get a sense for what the different wiring configurations do (they're quite unusual) and will find a pickup somewhere. At the moment the Artec at just over £30 looks like a winner.

The problem with working from home is that when the delivery van calls, it's hard to not open the box straight away. Just a quick picture, since 'no pic no bass' I'm very impressed with the build quality and finish, I have to admit. I can't fault it, which is rare! The strings were loosened, and when I tuned it up it ended up being set with low action, zero buzz, very smooth to play. The first thing I did was check the balance/dive. Very nice sitting down, and with just a slight neck-pull when on a strap. It's also quite light, so the strap/weights trick will probably work very well. Prime candidate for a set of light tuners if I end up using this bass live, but the neck-dive is very minimal: I'm not in a hurry to do anything about it, which I'm happy about. The thin neck and narrow string spacing is a little alien, and just as I remembered it. The strings seem pretty light too, probaby a 95-40 set (didn't get my digital caliper out), which adds to the 'alien' feeling. If I keep this bass it'll get a set of flat or tapewounds, and fatter too. If I keep this bass? No, I am keeping it! But it needs a bit of work to bring it to where I want it to be. Yes, it's not all fantastic: it just doesn't have that deep sound I am after. I guess Epiphone have gone for more versatile electronics than trying to get that thump these basses are famous for. Which is funny because I remember playing those EB-3 and I thought they had it! It's been years so I may not remember very well, or perhaps there was some heavy outboard EQ going on. It's a decent sound, but I'd describe it as a "EB-0 wants to sound like every other bass instead of doing its own thing". Quite bright in sound. With the tone rolled down all the way it's still far from where I'd want it to be. I opened it up and it's got a standard modern 1 vol 1 tone type of wiring, with a 68nF capacitor. I will experiment with some higher value capacitors (I think I have some 100nF caps already in my drawer). No idea what the pot values are, the value is not stamped so I'll have to measure them myself. I may be able to get closer to the sound I'm after if I use 250 K pots and experimenting with other capacitors... Very cheap, caps cost pennies and pots not a lot more. But it looks like I'll be looking at a new pickup too if I want to get that sound. Fortunately the Artec replacements seem to be decent and cheap. But first I'll try to see what I can do with the original. I's a shame the DiMarzio DP120 (Model One) doesn't go for the 'mudbucker' sound either, as it looks really good... but I just can see I'd end up replacing all hardware in black next time I have too much time on my hands Anyway! Better get back to work...

You're right. Only made in 2009 according to this: https://web.archive.org/web/20140131075803/http://epiphonewiki.com/index.php/EB-Series#Elitist_EB-3

Did you have any trouble installing the Artec?

That's another confusing aspect. I understand they have the sidewinder design, but their DC resistance measures at around 12 Kohm, rather than 30 Kohm. In terms of sound, what are the implications? How would you compare both pickups? I know it's hard to describe sound... I realise I may have never heard a 'real' mudbucker up close and personal, as I have only played less than a handful of Epi EB-3 (I do like their sound). I see that Artec have some proper mudbuckers and are cheap, but I read too many stories about hum too.

Not if I get to it first! 😝 I love it! I saw one of those for sale a while ago. The only one I've ever come across. They must be pretty rare.

Well, I'll let you all know... I went and ordered an EB-0. They're cheap enough and the returns policy is easy... It should be with me on Wednesday/Thursday and it won't take me long to decide if this particular example is worth it or not. I wish that short-scale black EB-3 were nearer, I'd much prefer to try it in person but these basses are nowhere as common as Precisions... ah well.

Yes, the thinner body and larger tuning pegs on the basses definitely contribute. Not sure about the guitar tuners. The jury is out about the Epi EB-0. Some seem to think theirs balances ok, and others don't but 'fix' it with a relatively small change in weight: typically adding weights but some replacing the tuning pegs too. Seems a bit of a lottery.

Interesting approach. I've heard of people putting car wheel weights inside the control cavity as well. The idea of adding weight is not very attractive, but these basses are quite light to start with so I suppose it works. Thanks.

Oh thank you! How do you know it's a shortscale EB-3? Is it the dots instead of trapezoid fingerboard markers? Attractive! It's a bit of a treck for me 'though, a 3 hour round trip... hmmm.

It sounds a lot like an EHX Bassballs, with the drive engaged.

The sound. Those mudbucker style pickups placed right by the neck have a really cool sound that's hard to replicate with anything else. A bit 'niche', but it's an interesting sound. Quite nice for some old school reggae too. That's what I like. But I have never played one. I'm interested in how people find it balances. That design is very prone to neck dive, although the short scale should go some way to reduce it compared to the long scale EB-3 models (the only ones I've tried). Reviews seem mixed and more than a few talk about their EB-3 when people asked about the EB-0, hence my question here. Have you played an EB-0?

On and off for nearly a year now I find myself wanting that 'mudbucker' at the neck kind of sound. I would have bought an Epiphone EB-3 if it wasn't because every single one I tried suffers from terrible neck dive. I've toyed with the idea of putting a mudbucker on one of my 'experiment' basses: I'd get a bass that I already like, with hopefully the kind of sound I'm looking for. But it seems too much of a faff, so I am not sure. At this point I just want to play and not routing etc. Incredibly I just noticed that the EB-0 is actually short scale (30.5"), and not just the single pickup version of the EB-3. I think the short scale may actually alleviate enough the neck dive and I might enjoy it. I prefer long scale basses but having a little short scale bass is not a bad idea either. Not finding any used ones locally, I might just order one new and see. They're only a bit over 200 quid. Have you owned/played one? What are your thoughts about it?

I don't have experience on those units for a B string, but there was a guy on Talkbass, called himself Jauqo III-X, who used them and made a big deal of that. He had a bunch of videos too. Worth looking for his comments. I think he also used the ones with a double stop, so you can get a semitone and a tone down dialled in.