New Epiphone Newport reissue

[three]

The more I see and hear of the Newport, the more I like it. Not the tonal range I’d normally favour, but I’m intrigued. A fun little bass for very decent money. Really impressed by the colour options too, especially sunset and coral. I think I could get over the glitches - reasonably easy fixes and just a full set-up and new strings really. I’d do that with pretty much any bass. I hope this is a bit of a hit for Epiphone - good to see the company trying 

Edited February 8, 2023 by three

[Stub Mandrel]

On 07/02/2023 at 20:27, Bigwan said:

Except there are no retention slots for the saddle screws on the bridge so the bridge pieces will get pulled all over the place.

 

It's a fix that shouldn't be necessary anyway

 

Shouldn't be an issue with uneven spacing as the end holes ought to be ok and its probably just careless setup.

 

I agree that overall bridge alignment out by more than one or two threads is likely problematic.

[Stub Mandrel]

FWIW I  tried out a brand new Aerodyne (MIJ) with an eye to purchase, but the setup was horrible and I couldn't bond with it.

 

OTOH my Squier 40th P (MIC) was set up to (near) perfection.

[msb]

A bad setup can throw one off , but it’s funny how that can change in twenty minutes with a couple of screwdrivers and an Allen wrench. Whenever I look at any bass I check neck relief and look carefully at the nut. There are a lot of instruments with poorly cut nuts , both new and used. 
 

I always tweak things when I bring a bass home , and my preferences are not extreme. 

[Stub Mandrel]

On 08/02/2023 at 23:30, msb said:

A bad setup can throw one off , but it’s funny how that can change in twenty minutes with a couple of screwdrivers and an Allen wrench. Whenever I look at any bass I check neck relief and look carefully at the nut. There are a lot of instruments with poorly cut nuts , both new and used. 
 

I always tweak things when I bring a bass home , and my preferences are not extreme. 

 

I set up all my own basses, most of them have recut nuts. I like a low action. But when the action in the shop is around 6mm at the 12th fret you can't make any sort of connection.

[bloke_zero]

 

9 hours ago, Stub Mandrel said:

 

I set up all my own basses, most of them have recut nuts. I like a low action. But when the action in the shop is around 6mm at the 12th fret you can't make any sort of connection.

Yeah, I always found that weird at Wunjo - they would throw in a set up AFTER you bought it. I'd have thought it would just make sense to set it up first then you'd be more likely to want to buy it in the first place! Just to do the basics feels like a 15 minute job tops to set the action and intonation and that is me doing it on the kitchen table, let alone in a proper work shop.

[msb]

I can pick up a bass , play it for some seconds , and know it will be fine once it’s set up.
I’ve also been setting them up for close to fifty years. 

[Old Horse Murphy]

Does anyone who owns one of these have an idea of the weight of them? 

[neepheid]

They could have done with setting the bass up before filming...

 

 

[three]

3 hours ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

Does anyone who owns one of these have an idea of the weight of them? 

I’ll weigh mine later - it feels pretty light but not insubstantial - really nice set neck and overall solid feel 

Edited February 18, 2023 by three

[three]

15 minutes ago, three said:

I’ll weigh mine later - it feels pretty light but not insubstantial - really nice set neck and overall solid feel 

Just 8lbs as accurately as I can get it. Great balance on knee or strap for me. The blend control doesn’t blend quite as much as I’d like and there’s a sort of ‘switch’ effect at the mid-point. To be honest, very little to dislike about these - fab little bass at the price, and IMO, a really cool look

[bnt]

5 hours ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

Does anyone who owns one of these have an idea of the weight of them? 

 

I asked on TalkBass: answer I got was just shy of 8lbs, which lines up nicely with the above.

 

I've been going back and forth on these - not helped too much by multiple video reviews in which the bass clearly needed a setup. Here's a new one I found which compares it to a Fender Mustang, both with flatwounds & definitely sounding better to me than in the Andertons review:

 

 

 

[Cosmo Valdemar]

40 minutes ago, bnt said:

 

I asked on TalkBass: answer I got was just shy of 8lbs, which lines up nicely with the above.

 

I've been going back and forth on these - not helped too much by multiple video reviews in which the bass clearly needed a setup. Here's a new one I found which compares it to a Fender Mustang, both with flatwounds & definitely sounding better to me than in the Andertons review:

 

 

 

Newport neck pickup sounds lovely!

[three]

Both pickups have quite a distinctive voice and both are surprisingly hot.  The difference in volume between this and a Wilcock Mullarkey (no shrinking violet itself) is significant. 
 

i spent around 45 minutes setting-up mine to my preference. All very straightforward. The nut-slots were fine so just intonation, saddles, and truss adjustment, then pickup height.  The bass was wearing very heavy tapes when it arrived and now has light nickel rounds. The rod probably required a full rotation over a few days but moves very smoothly and the relief is fairly minimal now. I have the action really quite low and the bass plays very nicely.  A bit of attention and a tweak and these can be really nice players with a couple of distinctive voices.

Edited February 19, 2023 by three

[ezbass]

18 hours ago, neepheid said:

They could have done with setting the bass up before filming...

 

 

 

12 hours ago, bnt said:

 

I asked on TalkBass: answer I got was just shy of 8lbs, which lines up nicely with the above.

 

I've been going back and forth on these - not helped too much by multiple video reviews in which the bass clearly needed a setup. Here's a new one I found which compares it to a Fender Mustang, both with flatwounds & definitely sounding better to me than in the Andertons review:

 

 

 

Gah! Now I really want one! That neck pickup with the tone rolled off is super gnarly.

[grayn]

I am looking forward to hearing that lobster guy doing a full review of the Newport.

I don't agree with everything he says but he plays well and demonstrates what the bass can do.

All these others can't seem to play without buzzing and farting, or distorting.

[ezbass]

5 hours ago, grayn said:

I am looking forward to hearing that lobster guy doing a full review of the Newport.

I don't agree with everything he says but he plays well and demonstrates what the bass can do.

All these others can't seem to play without buzzing and farting, or distorting.

And just like magic…

 

 

Just need to watch it myself now.

[ezbass]

Well, that's taken the shine off of my GAS for sure.  

[Old Horse Murphy]

Just now, ezbass said:

Well, that's taken the shine off of my GAS for sure.  

You took the words right out of my mouth unfortunately. 

[ezbass]

1 minute ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

You took the words right out of my mouth unfortunately. 

Oh well, back to looking at Performer Mustangs for me then.

[bnt]

GAS is not over for me, since I do my own setups and wiring, and actually have one of those Artec mudbuckers here. I considered dropping one in to my Harley Benton MP-4EB, and haven’t ruled that out, but that requires woodwork and I went with active EMGs first. Until then, a Newport could be a good place for it. 

Edited February 23, 2023 by bnt

[Old Horse Murphy]

I saw one of these in PMT Cardiff this afternoon and had a go. The action was high for my taste and definitely seemed high at the nut, but I was looking out for it after watching Lobster's review. It wasn't awful though and I'm sure could've been sorted without too much effort. 
 

The pickups definitely lose volume and definition when the blend is in the middle. Turn the blend slightly one way or the other and the problem seemed to go away. There are some really nice sounds from both of the pickups though (blended and individually) and it made me think a bit of a Ric with the fizzy warm sound. 
 

Finish was very good and overall the bass wasn't half as bad as I expected/feared. It didn't leave the store with me but it was a close run thing. 

Edited February 23, 2023 by Old Horse Murphy

[Kyndainverse]

4 hours ago, Old Horse Murphy said:

I saw one of these in PMT Cardiff this afternoon and had a go. The action was high for my taste and definitely seemed high at the nut, but I was looking out for it after watching Lobster's review. It wasn't awful though and I'm sure could've been sorted without too much effort. 
 

The pickups definitely lose volume and definition when the blend is in the middle. Turn the blend slightly one way or the other and the problem seemed to go away. There are some really nice sounds from both of the pickups though (blended and individually) and it made me think a bit of a Ric with the fizzy warm sound. 
 

Finish was very good and overall the bass wasn't half as bad as I expected/feared. It didn't leave the store with me but it was a close run thing. 

I'll be passing PMT Cardiff tomorrow just before they close. Looks like I'll be popping in on my way.

[grayn]

Improved?  Hipshot upgrades.  Not sure about those new tuners.

 

[neepheid]