three Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 (edited) 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 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msb Posted February 8, 2023 Share Posted February 8, 2023 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bloke_zero Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
msb Posted February 10, 2023 Share Posted February 10, 2023 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 Does anyone who owns one of these have an idea of the weight of them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted February 18, 2023 Author Share Posted February 18, 2023 They could have done with setting the bass up before filming... 1 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
three Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 (edited) 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 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
three Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 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 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnt Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 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: 1 5 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted February 18, 2023 Share Posted February 18, 2023 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
three Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 (edited) 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 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grayn Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 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. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 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. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 Well, that's taken the shine off of my GAS for sure. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 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. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted February 19, 2023 Share Posted February 19, 2023 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bnt Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) 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 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Old Horse Murphy Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 (edited) 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 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kyndainverse Posted February 23, 2023 Share Posted February 23, 2023 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grayn Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 Improved? Hipshot upgrades. Not sure about those new tuners. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted February 24, 2023 Author Share Posted February 24, 2023 1 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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