Leowasright Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 Looking around for something different to a Fender Jazz, something of a Gibson like feel/sound. I think these Epi EB-3s were made in Japan, but I've never actually seen one. Any of you out there actually own one? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 [quote name='Leowasright' post='371727' date='Jan 6 2009, 10:46 AM']Looking around for something different to a Fender Jazz, something of a Gibson like feel/sound. I think these Epi EB-3s were made in Japan, but I've never actually seen one. Any of you out there actually own one?[/quote] I've never seen/played an Elitist EB-3, I have a Korean EB-3. I guess the Elitist comes with features like a bridge pickup which is aligned with the strings and bridge posts which don't need epoxied into the body. It was my first bass though, so I give it good natured abuse like I would an old friend. Watch out for neck dive. On my EB-3 I ended up changing the neck pickup for a DiMarzio Model One and the bridge for a Hipshot Supertone - the Model One did add some definition to the mudfest and the Supertone made the bass sound a little more assertive and punchier and eased off the neck dive slightly due to increased weight. Don't listen to me though - I'm an incurable tinkerer. The only bass of mine which is in stock condition is my Takamine acoustic - haven't been brave enough to do anything other than shave some off the bridge saddle there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leowasright Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 As far as I know, the Elitist EB-3 is a 30.5" scale, rather than the 34" of the Chinese made EB-3. It's also a shame the Chinese EB-0 is bolt-on neck, really. This Elitist version must be a rare beast. And not in production? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 [quote name='Leowasright' post='371789' date='Jan 6 2009, 11:42 AM']As far as I know, the Elitist EB-3 is a 30.5" scale, rather than the 34" of the Chinese made EB-3. It's also a shame the Chinese EB-0 is bolt-on neck, really. This Elitist version must be a rare beast. And not in production?[/quote] Correct. This will mitigate the neck dive but I don't know if it'll completely cure it, having not (yet) had a 30.5" EB bass in my hands. I'm working on it It's not all bad. A bolt on neck can be shimmed if the neck angle is not suitable. Who looks at the back of a bass anyway? I agree that the set neck joint on my EB-3 is pretty, but in practice it makes little difference to my ears, it's mostly a structural thing. I do believe that the Elitist EB-3 is no longer in production, yes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHUFC BASS Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 (edited) Mate, if its a Jap EB you're after try and locate a Greco or Burny model from the 80s. They are just as good as the Epis. And just as good as some of the Gibsons if not better as far as construction goes. Here's an example of a Burny.... Edited January 6, 2009 by WHUFC BASS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHUFC BASS Posted January 6, 2009 Share Posted January 6, 2009 and a Greco version.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leowasright Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 Mr WHUFC, Never heard of either make, but my god they are nice. One problem, they are probably as unobtainable as the Epi I was talking about?????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leowasright Posted January 6, 2009 Author Share Posted January 6, 2009 [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/Greco-1989-SG-Bass-Wine-Red-w-OHSC-MIJ_W0QQitemZ190253407703QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item190253407703&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50"]http://cgi.ebay.com/Greco-1989-SG-Bass-Win...%3A1%7C294%3A50[/url] Tell a lie, there is one on E-Bay. But the bottom edge is right smashed in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fretlessguy Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 The Elitist EB-3 were made for Epiphone in Japan a couple of years back. They had top quality elctronics and construction. They were, however, quite expensive for an epiphone and only a couple of hundred dollars less than the new (at the time) Gibson SG bass reissue, so they did not sell all that well. They had all the original qualites and traits the original Gibson version had, including the deep muddy sound and easy to play neck. Oh yes, the neck dive tool. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHUFC BASS Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 [quote name='Leowasright' post='371970' date='Jan 6 2009, 01:32 PM'][url="http://cgi.ebay.com/Greco-1989-SG-Bass-Wine-Red-w-OHSC-MIJ_W0QQitemZ190253407703QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item190253407703&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50"]http://cgi.ebay.com/Greco-1989-SG-Bass-Win...%3A1%7C294%3A50[/url] Tell a lie, there is one on E-Bay. But the bottom edge is right smashed in.[/quote] They turn up quite frequently on Ebay believe it or not. Just keep searching and you'll see one almost every week. There are also a lot of Jap bolt on neck EBO type basses from the 1970s that show up too, although the quality is dubious. The same traits seem to follow Gibson basses around, neck dive and they always seem to break at the nut. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KevB Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 Or you could start with this and build your own: [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-2005-Black-SG-Standard-Bass-Body-Neck-EB-0-3_W0QQitemZ120356724514QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar_Accessories?hash=item120356724514&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50"]http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-2005-Black-SG-S...%3A1%7C294%3A50[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHUFC BASS Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 [quote name='KevB' post='373253' date='Jan 7 2009, 05:10 PM']Or you could start with this and build your own: [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-2005-Black-SG-Standard-Bass-Body-Neck-EB-0-3_W0QQitemZ120356724514QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar_Accessories?hash=item120356724514&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1205%7C66%3A2%7C65%3A12%7C39%3A1%7C240%3A1318%7C301%3A1%7C293%3A1%7C294%3A50"]http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-2005-Black-SG-S...%3A1%7C294%3A50[/url][/quote] I was on the verge of buying a stripped down Les Paul Menace from this seller as it does seem like a good idea. You don't have to replace the second rate Gibson pickups and you can install pretty much your own spec hardware. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big cat Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 I think they are discontinued. I own an Epi Elite Thunderbird. Quite good. The quality is similar to Gibson, and the neck dive...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WHUFC BASS Posted January 7, 2009 Share Posted January 7, 2009 [quote name='big cat' post='373304' date='Jan 7 2009, 05:55 PM']I think they are discontinued. I own an Epi Elite Thunderbird. Quite good. The quality is similar to Gibson, and the neck dive......[/quote] The company that made them before Epiphone was called Orville which was basically Gibson Japan. The quality control was much higher and personally speaking I think these Japanese models were much better build wise than the Gibson USA models. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
big cat Posted January 8, 2009 Share Posted January 8, 2009 [quote name='WHUFC BASS' post='373447' date='Jan 7 2009, 08:16 PM']The company that made them before Epiphone was called Orville which was basically Gibson Japan. The quality control was much higher and personally speaking I think these Japanese models were much better build wise than the Gibson USA models.[/quote] Yean, they are very good, the Gibson one is overpriced. IMO..... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
spinynorman Posted January 9, 2009 Share Posted January 9, 2009 I had a black Elitist EB3 for a couple of years. I got it from an eBay shop in the US as a factory second and it cost me about $650. As has been said, they were discontinued about a year ago, as Gibson continued its policy of treating bass players with contempt they deserve. As far as I know they were never sold in the UK, though I did see one, I think, on sale in a shop in Germany. Differences from a Korean EB3, much of which has been covered: short scale, set neck, dot position markers, 4-position Varitone switch, Gibson US pickups - though, I'm told, the neck pickup is somewhat watered down from the original "mudbucker". It was very well made, although not well set up when I got it. The 3-point bridge is a steep learning curve, but does the job if you keep the front higher than the back (otherwise the posts pull out). It was fun to play for a while and we did a lot of Cream and Free in those days, so I could indulge my Jack Bruce and Andy Frazer fantasies. In the end I found swapping between long and short scale difficult and the neck dive got to me. Maybe you could do something about that if you found lighter tuners that would fit. Also, and this is a positive or a negative, depending on your point of view: guitarists and sound ops hated it. It really doesn't like to sit back and let a guitar take all the glory. I sold it in Feb 2007 for £450, which surprised me for a 2nd, but there was a lot of interest. They are difficult to find, though I've sometimes seen an Epi Japan EB3 sold out of one of the eBay.jp shops and they're the same thing. Japan or the US will be your best bet to find one. That bashed Greco has been hanging around for months, and the shipping cost doesn't help make it more attractive. For look and feel, Greco, Burny, even an 80s MIJ Tokai, would do the job, but I gather they don't sound much like a Gibson. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Leowasright Posted January 9, 2009 Author Share Posted January 9, 2009 Or you could start with this and build your own: [url="http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-2005-Black-SG-S...%3A1%7C294%3A50"]http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-2005-Black-SG-S...%3A1%7C294%3A50[/url] I had a go at bidding on this, but it went well over £300 including the shipping, and then you had to factor in duty/taxes and the fact that you had to get the pickips and hardware from somewhere (A chinese EB-3 probably would have been the donor), and a case for it...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HMcNeill Posted August 1, 2010 Share Posted August 1, 2010 Hey, I'm a newbee to basschat after being told about it by a friend. Anyway, I've recently moved house and I'm looking to downsize my bass collection a little, well, a lot. I've considered selling my Epiphone Elite / Elitist EB-3 (Cherry, Short-scale) for a while now (no major reason, apart from I went to this bass form a P-Bass and I'm itching to get another) but didn't want to sell it the bland ebay-way. If by any chance you're looking to get your hands on one, I'd happily part with it knowing it's going to a good home It's got a really nice deep sound that has kicked out at a variety of blues, jazz & rock shows. The tone switch gives great variation in pickup combos which provides a surprising amount of flexibility in tone. I bought it new back around 2003-4, I was told that it was pretty much the last Elite Eb-3 the store had in their warehouse and, after hearing that they're so rare, I don't doubt that this was the case. The week after I got it I noticed that the prices to land these things went right up to a whopping £1250. I'll be honest and say that I'm glad I got in before the price hike. I presume this was because there were no stocks left in the UK? It's been my pride & joy ever since. Despite it's busy early gigging days, it's still in excellent condition. Only slight fault is with one of the volume knobs for a pickup, it needs re-soldered, but apart from that it's near mint! It also comes with a really nice Epiphone Elite case (nice furry interior). Anyway, I'm open to offers and may start a new thread with some pics to advertise it, but I thought I'd find a relevant post first incase you were still looking. Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
geoffbyrne Posted August 2, 2010 Share Posted August 2, 2010 (edited) FWIW I worked on an Epiphone Elitist 335 not so long ago and the quality was excellent. Took a beautiful setup & I would happily have kept it. G. Edited June 17, 2011 by geoffbyrne Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ejor31 Posted August 5, 2010 Share Posted August 5, 2010 Hi, I own a Japanese-built Epi short-scale Elitist EB-3. It's effectively a high- quality reissue of the Gibson EB-3, indeed a more accurate one than Gibson's current SG Bass. The Elitist has 4 knobs and a Varitone pickup switcher, the SG reissue 3 knobs. It came, with case, in two finishes, cherry red and black. Mine is red. The Elitist's electronics are US-made and as such, are identical to the SG's where applicable. A well-built bass, it gives a good '60s vibe. I bought mine cheap in the US when the dollar was worth less than 0,70€.It's of light weight and sounds good, too, and I use it for jazz sessions. Neck dive is a problem, but I remain seated! The huge pickup at the neck fairly booms but a fairly wide array of sounds is possible as there's a much narrower pickup at the bridge. I have been able to compare both the Elitist and an old EB-3, and with the same settings and new strings on both there is very little, if any, difference in sound. The Epiphone Elitist was an upscale version of the cheaper Korean bass- I have a Korean long-neck EB-3 and the build quality of the Japanese bass is superior as are the electronics. If an EB-3's your thing, the Elitist represents good quality and a very good visual stab at the original Gibson at an affordable price point, and they do come up on occcasion on eBay. Other respondents to your question have recommended Burny and Greco basses-they look good, but I don't know about their electronics. Verdict: recommended! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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