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Gibson EB bass


Phil Starr
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What are they like? I'm playing Fenders at the moment, one P one J but I used to have a T-Bird. I absolutely loved the sound it made and that wonderful slim neck and light weight. It was a joy to play for the first hour but at gigs I found the neck dive and the twist of the body away from you all the time just hard work. My personal Holy Grail would be a T-Bird that sat comfortably. I even considered taking a saw to my Bird and adding a body with wings which would make it sit straight. I couldn't do it to a vintage instrument so I sold it on.

The EB looks to me like a conventional shaped bass with decent pups and a nice looking neck, a really competent looking bass. And it's a Gibson. I'm not that bothered about the look, I just want a nice sounding bass that's good to play.

Anyone with any long term experience of playing one of these. There are a few great offers on them at the moment.

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I have an EB3 (long scale) but epiphone version and the neck dive is horrendous. It's very tiring and frustrating over time, especially as you just can't let it go or it heads straight for the floor. I haven't tried the short scale EB but obviously assume it will be better, but no idea by how much. I have got a second EB3 as a project and I am making an attachment to shift the strap point further up in the hope of countering the dive. I have seen others have got on with different straps but nothing worked well enough for me.

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I think the OP is referring to the EB (2013-2015) because of the phrase "[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]a conventional shaped bass with decent pups" [/font][/color]but I don't blame anyone for the confusion - it was a terrible idea to call it that.

Is this the bass you're talking about?

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Yes, that's the one. Gibson has released a 2017 model which is going for about the price the 2013/4's are in the used section here.

EB just stands for Electric Bass which is utterly confusing when the others are EB with a number or based on a guitar.

On the surface it looks like Gibson have produces a very playable bass designed from the bottom up as a bass and not a bass version of a guitar. Perhaps the first time they've really committed to bassists. At around £800 an American made bass with the Gibson name on it looks a bit of a snip. Swamp Ash, maple neck and rosewood fingerboard, proper bridge, humbuckers, it all looks too good to be true. I'm wondering why there hasn't been more of a stir..

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[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1483867012' post='3210651']
My personal Holy Grail would be a T-Bird that sat comfortably.
[/quote]

[URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20CURRENT/Mike%20Lull%20T5%202014%20CURRENT/Thunderbird%20Body%20-%20front%205_zpsxojabkgh.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20CURRENT/Mike%20Lull%20T5%202014%20CURRENT/Thunderbird%20Body%20-%20front%205_zpsxojabkgh.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

[URL=http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20CURRENT/Mike%20Lull%20T5%202014%20CURRENT/Thunderbird%20-%20headstock%201_zps2pyuirvi.jpg.html][IMG]http://i1128.photobucket.com/albums/m496/h4ppyjack/Basses%20CURRENT/Mike%20Lull%20T5%202014%20CURRENT/Thunderbird%20-%20headstock%201_zps2pyuirvi.jpg[/IMG][/URL]

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[quote name='Tee' timestamp='1483973629' post='3211556']
I really don't like the look of the 2017 EB. I wish Gibson would issue some new basses with one pickup only, placed in the sweet spot, rather than two pickups either side of it.
[/quote]

It does look more like something you'd expect Aria or Yamaha to produce. Not that this is a bad thing, but I think it's putting people off slightly as it's not what they expect from Gibson! However, a flick through Rob van den Broek's Gibson Bass Book makes me think it might be an attempt to revive the Gibson Continental, which apparently was exhibited but never put into production...

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Well, setting aside the ridiculously muddled nomenclature issue, and to answer the OP's original question - the EB (2013-15) is a great bass. I had a bullion gold 2014 model for a while. It was a reasonable weight, well balanced and sounded good too. The push/pull pots which split the humbuckers make an audible difference to the tone. Comes with a nice hard case, and like you said, can be had for reasonable money.

While this was the first time in ages that Gibson had put out a bass which had no corresponding guitar model, I'd keep away from using the word "commitment" when it comes to Gibson and bassists - they binned the EB in question after 2 years, which I think is a shame, and they did practically nothing bass-wise last year. Some commitment, eh? I'd argue that recent history is nothing compared to the productive time of the 70s and 80s - Grabber, G-3, Ripper, RD, Victory, IV/V, 20/20 to name but a few. I think they were much more interested in giving it a right good go back then, even though it wasn't always successful. These days I get the feeling Gibson make basses because they feel obliged to because Fender make basses. That 2017 new "EB" can do one - it's like they're not even trying any more - let's make a less distinctive looking bass than its predecessor AND remove one of the useful features (the coil splitting). Well played, Gibson. Slow hand claps all round.

I expect to see it in a Thomann fire sale by the end of the year.

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OK thanks neepheid. So probably better to look out for a good used deal then for a 2013/4 model, but potentially a decent enough bass. I'll look out for one to try though and I'd be interested in hearing from anyone else who has played one.

got to love basschatters :)

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I have no issue with deck dive on a T'Bird using a leather strap and yes it does twist away from you but if you have it low enough you can position your right leg to compensate for this. This has been my gigging bass for over 4 years and I love the sound compared to my P bass, which has a slower neck and boomy bass sound, and my jazz which has a shallow bass tone and gets lost in the mix. Having said this I too have been looking to try an EB Bass as they look to be the best of all worlds - light, T Bird sound, better bridge and split coil options to sound like a jazz and for the money, look ridiculously cheap

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Yeah, a lot of T-Bird players use a long strap and play with it resting on their right legs. I notice blue has a bass fairly low slung in his pic. It's a great rock bass and I suspect if I was a pick player that's what I would do, problem solved. As a fairly small framed finger player I don't find it very comfortable with a long strap. That neck was so gorgeous though. The EB looks to have a wider neck.

Edited by Phil Starr
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[quote name='Phil Starr' timestamp='1484133395' post='3212871']
Yeah, a lot of T-Bird players use a long strap and play with it resting on their right legs. I notice blue has a bass fairly low slung in his pic. It's a great rock bass and I suspect if I was a pick player that's what I would do, problem solved. As a fairly small framed finger player I don't find it very comfortable with a long strap. That neck was so gorgeous though. The EB looks to have a wider neck.
[/quote]

That position wàs really only for the picture. I don't actually perform with it strapped that low.

And the Les Paul Gold Top Bass is really for looks more than anything else. It's certainly not my favorite bass to play.

Blue

Edited by blue
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[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1483973004' post='3211552']
[url="http://s1128.photobucket.com/user/h4ppyjack/media/Basses%20CURRENT/Mike%20Lull%20T5%202014%20CURRENT/Thunderbird%20Body%20-%20front%205_zpsxojabkgh.jpg.html"][/url]

[/quote]

Thats rather nice - neck is a bit wide but I could probably live with it.

I bought a thunderbird (epiphone) just before christmas. I always liked the look but people were always negative about them so I hadn't tried, but one came up cheap.
I thought I would play it on the afternoon new years eve gig (we had two) for the first half, just to see what it was like. The first few songs were not good, I couldn't get to grips with it. But then i lowered it and played it with a pick instead and it was fantastic.

playing finger style or above groin height doesn't seem to work at all, but lower and with a pick it is awsome, full on rock.
We do all the blues and rock stuff in the first half, so I think it is now my first half bass!

I also didn't notice a neck dive or tilt- i haven't moved the strap button, but it seemed fine, certainly nothing worse than a jazz bass has. I suspect if I haven't lost a lot of weight recently it would be pushed down in that position.

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[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1483956990' post='3211319']
I think the OP is referring to the EB (2013-2015) because of the phrase "[color=#282828][font=helvetica, arial, sans-serif]a conventional shaped bass with decent pups" [/font][/color]but I don't blame anyone for the confusion - it was a terrible idea to call it that.

Is this the bass you're talking about?


[/quote]

I own a Gibson 1991 Thunderbird, ES-335 Custom Shop bass and a Gibson Les Paul Gold Top bass.

The bass in this pic looks pretty generic,like a combination of a 1960s Mosrite with G&L PUs. No classic good looks IMO.

Blue

Edited by blue
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