Epiphone EB-1 - thoughts, experiences?

[Paul S]

There is one of these just popped up on eBay.  Don't see them very often.  MIK 1998.  Does anyone have any experience of them?  I'd hazard a guess they have the same pickup as their EB-0 and EB-3, which has never really done it for me.  32" scale, apparently, and 3.4kg (I asked).  Did the Epiphone version have the retractable end-pin as per Gibson?  Couldn't find a reference to one.

 

 

[BigRedX]

Is the seller sure about the scale length? The original Gibson model is the more conventional 30½" scale.

[Paul S]

I think I've read before that these had 32" scale.  I asked him to confirm and he said it did.  I think short scale like the Gibson would be better tbh.  The more I think about it the less appealing it becomes, really.   It would need a very powerful mudbucker for the Jack Bruce/Felix Papalardi sound and I don't think anything off the peg comes close.

[Paul S]

They must be rarer than I thought if no-one has added anything!   

[mr4stringz]

On 15/11/2023 at 16:11, Paul S said:

Did the Epiphone version have the retractable end-pin as per Gibson?

I’ve no experience of one of these, but from this listing it seems they would have originally come with the ‘spike’ included.

 

https://www.forsyths.co.uk/guitars/bass-guitars/195894-ned-callen-fretless-bass-second-hand-c-1970s.html

[neepheid]

1 hour ago, Paul S said:

They must be rarer than I thought if no-one has added anything!   

 

What can I tell you?  The only thing I know about them is that they exist - never seen one in the flesh let alone played one.  Rarely come up for sale in second hand channels so I think it's fair to say it's a niche instrument.

[uk_lefty]

1 hour ago, mr4stringz said:

I’ve no experience of one of these, but from this listing it seems they would have originally come with the ‘spike’ included.

 

https://www.forsyths.co.uk/guitars/bass-guitars/195894-ned-callen-fretless-bass-second-hand-c-1970s.html

I think you could buy one of the really cheap SG style short scale basses and just trim it to shape.

[Andy R]

I had a fretless one about four years ago - as you said, 32” scale, not 30.5” like the Gibson EB-1 and although it played well enough it seemed really cheaply and sloppily built. For example - the hole where the endpin was supposed to screw into the body wasn’t even machined on the centreline and there was no metal fitting, just threads cut into the wood.

i spent a fair bit of time making a proper machined piece with a flange which let me move it to centre and had M10 threading to accept the strap button and the telescopic endpin that I was also going to machine.

I lost interest in keeping it after that though, even though I’d fitted a Hipshot bridge and better tuners to it.