bassbiscuits Posted May 7, 2016 Share Posted May 7, 2016 A bit late as I actually got this last weekend, from a friend considering selling his who agreed to lend me his to try. Can't say fairer than that. I picked it up immediately before I was about to do a gig, so having sound checked with my normal P bass I decided to give this a spin. Straight from the off it sounded great, so I used it for the whole first half. It played well, looked ace (it's the goldtop version) and was much more versatile than I expected it to be. I mainly wanted it as a lightweight bass (currently have a niggling shoulder injury) and for a new more stripped back folky/vocal/alt originals band I'm doing. But it fitted in perfectly well for a loud classic rock covers set. The varitone dial stayed on the middle setting of 250 - the 500 setting just brought on rapid feedback on such a small stage - which gave me a P bass with flats sound. So far so good. The neck is a good handful but not a problem, and no issues of neck dive either. The build quality seems good - nut is well cut and the rosewood neck has neat, tight grain and no sharp fret ends etc. Really impressed by how loud it was too - real punch and meat to it, which isn't what I expected. As a hollow body it's got that slightly microphonic, airy, woody sound to it, but plugged in and turned up its surprisingly hefty and fat. Overall a really surprisingly versatile and usable bass, which is a lot of fun to play and which certainly turns heads on stage. Needless to say, I bought it off the mate in question on the strength of that gig, and can see it doing a lot more gigs with me! I took it to the Midlands Bass Bash on May 7 to give people a chance to try it out too. All good. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulmcnamara Posted May 8, 2016 Share Posted May 8, 2016 Probably one of the most under estimated basses out there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uk_lefty Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 These look amazing!! Anybody have a rough idea of how much a lefty conversion would cost... And whether it would be effective? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pow_22 Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 Had mine strung with Pyramid flats and the tone was immense! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norris Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 It looked and sounded great at the bash. Shame (or probably good job) you had to go before I had a chance to try it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheGreek Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I finally had mine delivered yesterday after a friend of mine collected it on my behalf when I bought it several weeks ago. Weird experience playing it for the first time. First thing I noticed was the roundwound strings - I've been playing tapewounds for about the last 6 months and the feel from the strings was weird and TBH took a bit of getting used to( NB: not the Basses fault). The weight is virtually unnoticeable - the spec says 8.4kg but it feels much lighter than that - so light even compared to my lightweight Bass Collection Nanyos - playing was an absolute joy if not a bit weird due to the lack of gravity. Tone was a bit surprising - I expected the hollow body to have an unusual tone - somewhere closer to a D/Bass - but I found that the Epi is quite happy to turn out acceptable solid bass tones. Lovely warm tones too. This isn't what I'd normally buy so we'll see whether or not I actually gel with it - if not, expect to see it in the "Basses For Sale" thread soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassbiscuits Posted May 9, 2016 Author Share Posted May 9, 2016 [quote name='paulmcnamara' timestamp='1462697399' post='3044905'] Probably one of the most under estimated basses out there? [/quote] I reckon so. I like the fact that its not a cheap version of the actual artist's bass - it's a model all of its own. Mine's strung with TI flats too, which sound amazing - a perfect halfway house between fat flat wound thump (which really suit it) and flexible, usable, mainstream bass tone. I agree with some of the other posts here too - it does cover a lot more solid body tonal territory than you'd expect by looking at it, which for me is a good thing as I'm not particularly a retro sort of player. The weight and balance are very favourable - different to a small solid body, but nothing that feels wrong or awkward. Genuinely really impressed. And Norris - I can bring it over when I see you later in the week - you're more than welcome to give it a whirl. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deedee Posted May 9, 2016 Share Posted May 9, 2016 I used mine the other night at a gig for the first time in a few weeks. It really does cut through amazingly well. I'm usually a Stingray man through and through, but these have such a good, consistent tone across all 4 strings that I'm struggling for a reason not to use this as my main gigging bass. Although I have also got a Steve Harris P on its way 🙄 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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