Epiphone SG

[William James Easton]

everyday my love for mike watt grows a little more. so i am toying with the idea of getting a cheap SG for my spare bass. anybody used one, got one, recomend one? or should i just get one of those bargin squire jazz basses that have just dropped in price. I do like SG guitars burt have never used the bass version.
any advice?

[lozbass]

I was checking out some Epiphone EB3s for a friend's son around a month ago (alongside various Squier classic vibes and VMs etc.) - I was generally very impressed by the quality of materials and construction (set neck etc.) Playability out of the box was a bit of an issue but the staff at Music Ground in Manchester were happy enough to do a quick set-up/rod adjustment and the example I played in there was excellent (thanks Music Ground - credit where it's due). Tonal variety is suprisingly good - the clarity of the pickups is much better than the old mudbuckers IMO. I was able to get a very poky, refined and compressed sound out of the (soloed) bridge pickup - the bass sounded like something that cost 4 or 5 times as much. I think shop prices are around £270 and online around £180 - a bargain in my opinion but play a few - the neck isn't the thinnest and I wouldn't be massively surprised if there was variation across individual instruments. Factor in new strings and a pro set-up and I think you'll get an excellent instrument for the price.

[neepheid]

How could you not notice/mention the neck dive?

I have an Epi EB-3 (it was my first bass) and much as I love it, you'll have to put up with holding the neck up as you play - small body + ludicrously long neck = neck dive. A thick grippy strap helps.

I guess an EB-0 wouldn't be so bad being short scale, but I can't comment having never held one.

The trouble with Epi EB-0s is that the second hand prices seem to be a bit steep for what they are.

Once again I shall harp on about how much I hate the 3 point bridge. I replaced mine with a Hipshot Supertone.

[budget bassist]

I tried an epi EB-3, it was totally unplayable and it sounded like mud. Of course it may have been poorly set up, and i like a nice punchy active sound, you might well like what i call mud. The only way to really find out is to try one.

[markytbass]

They have an EB3 in my local music shop (or at least they did when I was there last) so I may pop in today to give it a try. I think they wanted £299 for it wich I think is a bit steep so won't be buying one from them.

[Frusty]

I have a Tokai SG bass for sale that is, IMHO, better than the Epi's:

[url="http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=27086&hl=tokai"]http://basschat.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=27086&hl=tokai[/url]

Edited October 26, 2008 by Frusty

[spinynorman]

I used to have a 1970s Japanese EB3 copy which was short scale and had a black EMG Select humbucker in the bridge position, so it would have been a good start for a Mike Watt lookalike. It's the only bass I regret selling. The long scale EB3 just looks wrong to me. I'd keep watching eBay for a Japcrap one.

[OutToPlayJazz]

I have a pupil who has an EB0 & the build quality is lovely. The sound is pretty clear, but bear in mind that these basses only do "that 60's sound." I've played the EB3 in a couple of stores & it's a nice enough thing, but I ask the same question as I do of Hofners... Why would you limit yourself to only one sound like that?

Rich.

[Stylon Pilson]

[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='314881' date='Oct 26 2008, 09:30 AM']I have a pupil who has an EB0 & the build quality is lovely. The sound is pretty clear, but bear in mind that these basses only do "that 60's sound." I've played the EB3 in a couple of stores & it's a nice enough thing, but I ask the same question as I do of Hofners... Why would you limit yourself to only one sound like that?

Rich.[/quote]

My Sinsinodo only has one sound, but it's a good one. I can see why you might not want a one-trick pony as your only bass, but if you've got more than one instrument, then flexibility is barely a concern.

I've always thought that the SG-style basses look cool but I've never seriously considered purchasing one, despite owning a cherry red Epiphone SG 6-string and thinking it's the dog's danglies.

S.P.

[NancyJohnson]

I've been thinking for some time about buying an Epiphone SG (the six-string, not the EB bass variants) and converting it to a basitar a la Chris Ballew of PUSA.

P

[lozbass]

Some useful comments and experiences - to quickly respond to a few:
Neckdive - I honestly didn't find this a particular problem on the examples I tried (neither did/does my friend's son), that said, I've been playing a Ripper for much of the past thirty years (on a variety of straps) and may have adapted my posture/style a little;
3 point bridge - again, not a problem to me but I've used one for years. In fact, I find them to be very useable and reliable once you get used to them - I tend to have quite a lot of pro re-strings and set-ups too and haven't had a luthier/tech complain. I didn't really compare the newer 3 point with my older one but it didn't look/feel flimsy and I quite like the solid fixings;
Muddy sound and lack of versatility - I tried a few examples and had some serious time with the EB3 in Music Ground (the bass at the Manchester shop was nicely set-up at my request). To my ears, the bass didn't sound like the Gibson EB0s and 3s I've played over the years. The sound was much more refined and clean and the bridge pickup soloed was surprisingly compressed and modern. With a bit of tweaking of the controls and some variation in right-hand positioning I was able to get a really useable and varied palette (had this not been the case, I wouldn't have recommended the bass for a beginner);
Prices - I had a good look around: in-store price is around £270 (with a cash discount) but you can get an EB3 for about £180 online. Pros and cons to each, however, I'd be more likely to opt for the online purchase and spend some of the savings on a decent set of strings and a good pro set-up.

[spinynorman]

Here's what the man himself said about his EB3 on Talkbass. I just think if you're coming to an EB3 because of Mike Watt a standard one, Epi or anything else, isn't going to cut it.

watt
09-08-2002, 07:07 AM
hi,

what I got in my eb-3 is a blend control where that four-way switch was. I have a bartolini pre-amp too so the other controls have changed too. there's a boost/cut control for mid, bass and treble. the fifte knob is a master volume.

one problem w/the eb-3 is the serious pickup mis-match: the neck one is so much more powerful than the bridge one. the pre-amp buffers both pickups and makes them equal in sense of blending. another problem w/a volume for each pickup too is that when you have to come up or down in level, you lose your mix between the two pickups - that's why I like only one volume knob.

[William James Easton]

mmm maybe i should just let mike watt be mike watt and not take my mental watt love to far!

[William James Easton]

mmm maybe i should just let mike watt be mike watt and not take my mental watt love to far!

[andy67]

I had one, totally concur with the build quality, however...pups are nonsense! they started squealing with feedback when I turned my amp up!! horrible, horrible sound from them.


lovely to play though and as i said nice build.

[markdavid]

I had an Epiphone EB0 (not the 2 pickup longscale EB3 which is , I believe aimed slightly higher in the market) and it was probably the most comfortable bass I have played , nice and light , short scale slim neck , played nicely and sounded good. The only problem with the bass was that the intonation on it was awful , unfortunately I ended up getting rid of it and now regret it , I probably should just have taken it to a repair shop to sort the intonation problem

[Lfalex v1.1]

I've been toying with the idea of getting one of these, so this thread is a boon!
Interesting to see what Mike Watt has had done to his.
I'd be concerned if the Pick-ups are [i]that[/i] mismatched. It could be more readily altered by having 2v 2t and a blend instead of the 4-way.

A good point from Rich, here;
[quote name='OutToPlayJazz' post='314881' date='Oct 26 2008, 08:30 AM']I have a pupil who has an EB0 & the build quality is lovely. The sound is pretty clear, but bear in mind that these basses only do "that 60's sound." I've played the EB3 in a couple of stores & it's a nice enough thing, but I ask the same question as I do of Hofners... Why would you limit yourself to only one sound like that?

Rich.[/quote]

However, it's a criticism that could just as readily be aimed at the good old Fender "P"! One-sound wonders!
Also, If you already have something of a collection, a bass of this type wouldn't be too much of a hinderance on the inflexibility front...

Still thinking about one, but I've got to try one first.
And then buy that very one if I do like it...

[spinynorman]

[quote name='Lfalex v1.1' post='315873' date='Oct 27 2008, 03:14 PM']I've been toying with the idea of getting one of these, so this thread is a boon!
Interesting to see what Mike Watt has had done to his.
I'd be concerned if the Pick-ups are [i]that[/i] mismatched. It could be more readily altered by having 2v 2t and a blend instead of the 4-way.[/quote]

The Gibson EB3 and the Epi (Japan) Elitist EB3 had a choke on the neck pickup, which cut the output and stopped it overwhelming the rather weak bridge pickup when they were on together. There's also a neck-pickup-solo-with-choke position on the varitone knob, which I guess was so the front row of the audience wouldn't evacuate their bowels if you switched from bridge to neck. I had an Elitist EB3, but rarely used anything except the full on mudbucker. I don't know how the standard Korean/Indonesian Epi is wired.