amillar Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 Complicated story - but in short I need to put together a half decent small lightweight short scale bass for myself on zero budget, I'm wondering about picking up a dirt cheap S/H Epi EB0 and replacing the pickup and hardware (I've probably got most of what I need lying around already! I'm very happy to do a bit of routing.) But I haven't managed to find one around me to try for feel, there are lots of negative comments on here re their tone but that might be sortable, but any opinion here on the necks / frets / fingerboard / balance etc? All opinions welcomed! Of course if I find a Mustang for £50 it'll cease to be a problem There's that flying pig again... Cheers, Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hooky_lowdown Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 If you go for a Epi EB0, go for MIK not a China made one. What sort of budget do you have? If you want a decent short scale bass, many around here rave about the Squier SS Jaguar bass, they can be picked up second hand between £100 - £140. The stock P pickup on these are pretty decent. Roll off the tone 70% on the P pickup and you'll have something similar sounding to the EB0. EB0 necks have painted/gloss necks, which when your hands get hot you may find the neck gets sticky and difficult to play. The Squier Jag has a satin neck, which won't get sticky if you have hot hands. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bleat Posted January 11, 2018 Share Posted January 11, 2018 (edited) Hi amillar, Having had recent experiences with Epiphones (and very little budget) take this info as "in my opinion/ experience " etc! I currently have a short scale Revelation RSGB EB-3 copy and it's fantastic, could be well worth holding out a while to see if one comes up on here or ebay etc. Regards Epi's though....These are resposible for converting me to short scale basses. I have had a limited edition short-scale EB-3, a Korean made EB-0 (converted to EB-3 with extra bridge pickup), and a Made in Indonesia EB-0 that I was going to upgrade, decided not to and sold that. As for build quality , there was very little difference between all three, the Korean made maybe has a slightly more natural looking wood grain, other than that not a massive difference... all have a narrow nut of 1 1/2" , my current one has a 43mm nut! The narrow nut was the main sticking point for me, might be your thing though !The machine heads are not the best but good enough and hold tune fairly well. Grovers or Schallers are the best bet as replacements. All are made of Mahogany throughout, do not weigh too much , can be a tad neck heavy, though a wide suede back strap sorts that out easily. As for the neck pickups, the stock Epiphone one in my opinion is excellent and has a tad more clarity than the Artec 30k "mudbucker" that I replaced it with. There is NOT the "massive" difference that some make out to be. The Artec is darker sounding... It seems a lot of people replace the stock pickup with DiMarzio Model One, which I cannot vouch for, again I'm not sure it will make the world of difference, and unless you find one 2nd hand then it's an expensive upgrade... The one consistent thing I have found is that all these basses play superbly, are great fun , sound huge ,and you can get a really low string action, due to the flatter fingerboard... I am even somewhat of a fan of the Gibson 3-point. It's a better looking bridge than a bent bit of tin, and though a little more involved to get setup initially, I have never felt the need to upgrade to one of the expensive replacements... I think the Hipshot Supertone will directly replace the 3point, but I have read about some problems with the Babicz not fitting flush due to the flange parts on the Epiphone bridge inserts.? I would also say if you are looking to put a bridge pickup in, make sure you get an EB-0 with a "larger" backplate to accomodate extra knobs and wiring .. n stuff. I think some Korean models had the smaller cavity as well as some with the larger EB3 cavity. I am sure that all China ones have the larger cavity. Don't let the small price tag put you off, they are extremely well built for the money, and as long as you are realistic with the amount of tonal variety you will get from it, even with an extra pickup you should be happy. Maybe some of that that will help you a bit ? James. Edited January 11, 2018 by Bleat extra info and spelling errors Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amillar Posted January 11, 2018 Author Share Posted January 11, 2018 Hi James, Many thanks Sounds very encouraging! Cheers, Andy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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