JohnDaBass

Make sure you wash your hands well before entering the Holy of Holies and picking up that magnificent instrument. It's a joy to absorb that first sight of your new "Babe" ENJOY

Now that was a great buy , so much potential for mods , it will turn into a labour of tinkering love. Congratulations

Now that is lovely.

@Quatschmacher Has the snow melted?

Great job @Al Krow. Very informative and helpful conclusion. You have probably helped many on here save their time and expense with the journey you've published. Thanks!!

The pickguard was made by Brian Pillans of https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/earlpilanz An absolute perfect fit and adds a bit of vintage vibe reminiscent of my ’69 EB3 and SG basses. The Hipshot Supertone bridge is great, I have previously fitted a 3-point gold one to my Epiphone Rumble Kat, so I knew what to expect BUT I did not expect the fixing bolts to have an Imperial thread. The 3-point bridge is shipped with both M8 Metric and SAE Imperial threaded fixing bolts but since Hipshot’s target market for the 2-point bridge is old Epiphone and Gibson basses they only include the SAE fixing bolts. Marcus at Bass Direct sorted the problem and it now appears that in future Hipshot will be shipping both types on the 2-point Supertone bridges. ( got an email from Oscar Yuan at Hipshot confirming it). Happy days 😄

From what I remember, back in 1969, it is so, so close to the original REAL THING!! Absolutely loving it. When I think how much this cost me and how much I enjoy it I am now seriously considering thinning the herd. My Kids & grand Kids would have no idea of what to sell my Toys for after my days.

I need to confess that I have fallen deeply in love with this bass. Back in the day I owned a 1964(3?) Epiphone Newport bass (single Pup not the Batwing headstock) and I traded it for a 1969 Gibson slot head EB3 in walnut, which I still own. Ever since Epiphone reissued the Embassy bass, I have waited patiently for the reissue of the Newport bass. So as soon as they were available, I bought one from Guitarguitar. Yes, it had a few QC issues but nothing that could not be sorted. So I did the following: - · Installed a Hipshot Supertone 2-point bridge. · Adjusted the nut to my preferred height. · Fitted a 1.5mm thick piece of hard card under the neck Pup cover to lower the Ceramic 8 magnets and reduce the string pull. · Fitted a set of short scale D’Addario Chrome flat wounds. · Replaced the Pickard with a superb Brian Pillans Blk/Wh/Blk · Rewired the bridge Pup to switch the phase. · Added a 0.2uF cap to the stock 0.2uF creating a 0.4uF · Dunlop straplocks. The Newport is now mine ALL mine!! It plays superbly, lovely smooth neck with a great feel, it hugs my rounded beer belly, sits perfectly balanced ( for me) and sounds sublime if you are a Gibson/ Epiphone kinda guy. Deep warm lows, T’Bird highs and sparkle , and very typical EB3 tones in-between. The pickguard was made by Brian Pillans of https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/earlpilanz An absolute perfect fit and adds a bit of vintage vibe reminiscent of my ’69 EB3 and SG basses. The Hipshot Supertone bridge is great, I have previously fitted a 3-point gold one to my Epiphone Rumbly Kat, so I knew what to expect BUT I did not expect the fixing bolts to have an Imperial thread. The 3-point bridge is shipped with both M8 Metric and SAE Imperial threaded fixing bolts but since Hipshot’s target market for the 2-point bridge is old Epiphone and Gibson basses they only include the SAE fixing bolts. Marcus at Bass Direct sorted the problem and it now appears that in future Hipshot will be shipping both types on the 2-point Supertone bridges. ( got an email from Oscar Yuan at Hipshot confirming it). Happy days 😄

When selecting your strings check the nut to bridge and tail piece dimensions because some " short scale "strings may not fit. You may need medium scale . I've just fitted a Hipshot 2 point bridge and the Short scale D'Addario Chromes fit much better. I previously had to trim back the silks at the headend to avoid the silks hanging over the nut when fitting to the stock bridge & tail piece.

Very sad news, I met Norm for the first time at the last Bass Bash he was such kind, knowledge warm proper Gentleman. So encouraging to all things bass. My deepest condolences to his family.

IMHO with my 70 year old abused ears I think the patches sound richer fuller, more authentic and open, a real improvement in sound quality. I'm pleased with what I'm hearing through headphones and Fender Rumble thro BF SC. But each to their own and with great returns policy from the big retailers everyone can make up their own mind and not rely on an old Duffer like me. Here's samples @jimfist put up last year. There's quite a lengthy thread on TB. https://soundcloud.com/jimfist/sets/zoom-b6-demo?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

+1 While the fancy B6 sounds great ( definitely a sound & usability improvement on the B1Four) if this had been around earlier I would have probably opted for this over the B6.

++1^^^^ This seems to be a neat halfway house between the B1Four and B6. I own 2 x B1Fours and a B6 so I think I qualify as a Zoom Fanboi. I use one B1Four as a standalone HPF, compressor, tuner and tailored presets for songs in my covers band. The second B1Four sits in a micro pedal board with a BDI21 and HB wireless. ( same presets as the standalone) The B6 is housed in a neat case with a HB wireless unit. I'm pretty well sorted at the moment so I'll be in no rush to get a shiny new B2Four. BUT YOU NEVER KNOW 🙄

I did the rewire of the TB Pro Pup and the difference was amazing. Not a great deal of difference when the bridge Pup is soloed but a much warmer fuller sound at the mid setting on the blend control. There was no suck out of volume or Mids. I also fitted a set of Short Scale D'Addario XL Chromes Flats which only juuuust fitted and need the headend silks trimmed back not to hang over the nut. I have a Gibson SG bass and I do feel that the V/V/T arrangement on that appears to offer better control than the V/Blend/T of the Newport. I will probably wait to see & hear how Lowend Lobster's changes work out ( 3-way switch). I read on TB that a Guy there planned to replace the pots with 500K and wire V/V/T, seems a good plan but I will wait awhile until there's some reviews of the upgrades.

Just took delivery of a Fender FS610 Short Scale Bass Gig bag and it fits my G&L Fallout Tribute bass and my Epiphone Newport bass perfectly. It also is a cosy fit for my 32ins scale SpectaRayVibe Bitsa bass. Happy Days☺️

That Celestion horn looks remarkably like the horn used in the production version of the LFSys Silverstone cabinet. Could you and your wife's perception of the treble roll off be something to do with the crossover?

Now that is a very tasty upgrade, it looks fantastic and I'm sure it sounds great. I really like the individual string bridges and the subtle three position Pup switch neatly mounted between the V & T controls. Well done.