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JohnDaBass

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Everything posted by JohnDaBass

  1. JohnDaBass
    From what I remember, back in 1969, it is so, so close to the original REAL THING!! Absolutely loving it. When I think how much this cost me and how much I enjoy it I am now seriously considering thinning the herd. My Kids & grand Kids would have no idea of what to sell my Toys for after my days.
  2. JohnDaBass
    I need to confess that I have fallen deeply in love with this bass. Back in the day I owned a 1964(3?) Epiphone Newport bass (single Pup not the Batwing headstock) and I traded it for a 1969 Gibson slot head EB3 in walnut, which I still own. Ever since Epiphone reissued the Embassy bass, I have waited patiently for the reissue of the Newport bass. So as soon as they were available, I bought one from Guitarguitar. Yes, it had a few QC issues but nothing that could not be sorted. So I did the following: - · Installed a Hipshot Supertone 2-point bridge. · Adjusted the nut to my preferred height. · Fitted a 1.5mm thick piece of hard card under the neck Pup cover to lower the Ceramic 8 magnets and reduce the string pull. · Fitted a set of short scale D’Addario Chrome flat wounds. · Replaced the Pickard with a superb Brian Pillans Blk/Wh/Blk · Rewired the bridge Pup to switch the phase. · Added a 0.2uF cap to the stock 0.2uF creating a 0.4uF · Dunlop straplocks. The Newport is now mine ALL mine!! It plays superbly, lovely smooth neck with a great feel, it hugs my rounded beer belly, sits perfectly balanced ( for me) and sounds sublime if you are a Gibson/ Epiphone kinda guy. Deep warm lows, T’Bird highs and sparkle , and very typical EB3 tones in-between. The pickguard was made by Brian Pillans of https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/earlpilanz An absolute perfect fit and adds a bit of vintage vibe reminiscent of my ’69 EB3 and SG basses. The Hipshot Supertone bridge is great, I have previously fitted a 3-point gold one to my Epiphone Rumbly Kat, so I knew what to expect BUT I did not expect the fixing bolts to have an Imperial thread. The 3-point bridge is shipped with both M8 Metric and SAE Imperial threaded fixing bolts but since Hipshot’s target market for the 2-point bridge is old Epiphone and Gibson basses they only include the SAE fixing bolts. Marcus at Bass Direct sorted the problem and it now appears that in future Hipshot will be shipping both types on the 2-point Supertone bridges. ( got an email from Oscar Yuan at Hipshot confirming it). Happy days 😄
  3. JohnDaBass
    When selecting your strings check the nut to bridge and tail piece dimensions because some " short scale "strings may not fit. You may need medium scale . I've just fitted a Hipshot 2 point bridge and the Short scale D'Addario Chromes fit much better. I previously had to trim back the silks at the headend to avoid the silks hanging over the nut when fitting to the stock bridge & tail piece.
  4. JohnDaBass
    Very sad news, I met Norm for the first time at the last Bass Bash he was such kind, knowledge warm proper Gentleman. So encouraging to all things bass. My deepest condolences to his family.
  5. JohnDaBass
    IMHO with my 70 year old abused ears I think the patches sound richer fuller, more authentic and open, a real improvement in sound quality. I'm pleased with what I'm hearing through headphones and Fender Rumble thro BF SC. But each to their own and with great returns policy from the big retailers everyone can make up their own mind and not rely on an old Duffer like me. Here's samples @jimfist put up last year. There's quite a lengthy thread on TB. https://soundcloud.com/jimfist/sets/zoom-b6-demo?utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing
  6. JohnDaBass
    +1 While the fancy B6 sounds great ( definitely a sound & usability improvement on the B1Four) if this had been around earlier I would have probably opted for this over the B6.
  7. JohnDaBass
    ++1^^^^ This seems to be a neat halfway house between the B1Four and B6. I own 2 x B1Fours and a B6 so I think I qualify as a Zoom Fanboi. I use one B1Four as a standalone HPF, compressor, tuner and tailored presets for songs in my covers band. The second B1Four sits in a micro pedal board with a BDI21 and HB wireless. ( same presets as the standalone) The B6 is housed in a neat case with a HB wireless unit. I'm pretty well sorted at the moment so I'll be in no rush to get a shiny new B2Four. BUT YOU NEVER KNOW 🙄
  8. JohnDaBass
    I did the rewire of the TB Pro Pup and the difference was amazing. Not a great deal of difference when the bridge Pup is soloed but a much warmer fuller sound at the mid setting on the blend control. There was no suck out of volume or Mids. I also fitted a set of Short Scale D'Addario XL Chromes Flats which only juuuust fitted and need the headend silks trimmed back not to hang over the nut. I have a Gibson SG bass and I do feel that the V/V/T arrangement on that appears to offer better control than the V/Blend/T of the Newport. I will probably wait to see & hear how Lowend Lobster's changes work out ( 3-way switch). I read on TB that a Guy there planned to replace the pots with 500K and wire V/V/T, seems a good plan but I will wait awhile until there's some reviews of the upgrades.
  9. JohnDaBass
    Just took delivery of a Fender FS610 Short Scale Bass Gig bag and it fits my G&L Fallout Tribute bass and my Epiphone Newport bass perfectly. It also is a cosy fit for my 32ins scale SpectaRayVibe Bitsa bass. Happy Days☺️
  10. JohnDaBass
    That Celestion horn looks remarkably like the horn used in the production version of the LFSys Silverstone cabinet. Could you and your wife's perception of the treble roll off be something to do with the crossover?
  11. JohnDaBass
    Now that is a very tasty upgrade, it looks fantastic and I'm sure it sounds great. I really like the individual string bridges and the subtle three position Pup switch neatly mounted between the V & T controls. Well done.
  12. JohnDaBass
    Nice work, great job, thanks for sharing.
  13. JohnDaBass
    Yes still available. Pm me
  14. JohnDaBass
    Agreed, me too. But the Artec / DiMarzio shoot-out on his Epi EBO comparison video was interesting. I thought the Artec had a huge, beefy, fat powerful output reminiscent to the late sixties Gibson EB3 - EBO vibe. For £30 seems worth a punt. ( and I'm a real DiMarzio Fanboi)
  15. JohnDaBass
    Great find, congrats, looks fab. If the tonal range with the existing PUPs is satisfactory then just leave well alone, put your favourite strings on and enjoy.
  16. JohnDaBass
    You can get a small blue tablet to help with that
  17. JohnDaBass
    Calling @neepheid and @msb for technical explanation. Way back my favourite rig was a 1 x 18 Marshall sound bouncer ( folded horn type monster) and two Hiwatt 4 x 12 with 50w Goodman speakers fitted 200w per cab). The stack was driven by a HH 120w slave and the Marshall driven by a 120w HH B120 head. The low end thunder always made sure my bowels were super cleared 😂
  18. JohnDaBass
    Creates the low end thunder🙂
  19. JohnDaBass
    They both lack the low thunder that kicks in when you select the neck Pu with the filter on the '69. 4-Positon selector switch, Neck solo; Neck solo with filter; both PUs; bridge solo. VT for both Pups
  20. JohnDaBass
    Yes, I own a 2005 Gibson SG bass and the neck Pu soloed it's virtually the same tone and range. With the TB Pro soloed there is a wider range of tones on offer compared to the SG bridge Pu. The SG is VVT and the Newport is VBT and it's possible to get similar tones from both but it seems to me that there are more tonal variations on the Newporter. I don't think , in a blind test, anyone would have a keen enough ear to tell the two apart. ( mind you I have tinnitus in both my 70 year old ears!!) I also own a 1969 Gibson EB3 (slot head type) and NEITHER sounds like that!!!!
  21. JohnDaBass
    Yup arrived on time curtesy of Guitarguitar ,great service. Very good quality of finish for such a reasonable price point. MIC great neck finish, no sharp frets, lovely gloss finish just like the Gibson necks does not appear to be sticky at all. I could swear that the fretboard was rosewood but the spec states otherwise. No neck dive, a well balanced bass on strap or knee. Tuners seem fine and the tailpiece and two bolt bridge offer more than enough intonation adjustment. I don't feel the need to up grade the arrangement. I may possibly reverse the bridge to improve access to the intonation screwheads. Pickups sound fantastic. Neck PU has that familiar and faithful EBO timbre, bold, woody, deep forceful drive ( think of Felix Pappalardi in Mountain) . The TB Pro is positioned to offer both an EB3 honk ( think of Free's Mr Big) but also a driving Thunderbird vibe ( think of the Who & Entwistle). When the TB Pro is solo's there's even a smidgen of Stingray lurking. I feel that the control VBT loom would benefit from a @KiOgon upgrade to exploit the full potential of the Pups. Weight is around 3.7Kgs. For £350 it's a handsome bass, sounds great, reminds me of the '67 I once owned and is very close to the '64 I always wanted. I have read all the stuff regarding the p××s poor marketing launch but I am very content and pleased with this reissue that sounds and feels a great bass. BTW the neck profile is bang on like my Epiphone Alan Woody Rumble Kat. ( Forgot to say that the Newporter fits the Rumble Kat hard case "snugly") Congrats Epiphone for offering such a great Newport reissue.
  22. JohnDaBass

    Embassy

    JohnDaBass replied to stewblack's topic in Bass Guitars

    What did you change in the control loom? VVT : VBT ?
  23. JohnDaBass
    Not sure, but have tried a different 5v psu ? Some of those psu can be quite noisy.
  24. JohnDaBass
    I think @Woodinblack may have a solution. Maybe the hum through the Zoom is originating from a poorly isolated power supply. It would be worthwhile feeding the AC mains cord through a ferrite ring a couple of times to clam the noise entering the Zoom. Many low cost hi fi units use a similar solution rather than redesigning their psu to meet EMC regs in curtain countries.
  25. JohnDaBass
    Awesome, fabulous mahogany with maple top, I imagine it just sounds sublime. GLWTS.
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