The Last Bass Outpost

Gear Discussion Forums => Other Bass Brands => Topic started by: Chris P. on November 23, 2017, 03:35:45 PM

Title: Eastwood EB1
Post by: Chris P. on November 23, 2017, 03:35:45 PM
http://eastwoodcustoms.com/projects/eastwood-eb-1-bass/
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: Granny Gremlin on November 23, 2017, 04:34:09 PM
Man, they totally f***ed it up - they put real F holes on the thing and actually made it hollow  :P
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: clankenstein on November 23, 2017, 05:57:33 PM
hmmm if you are going to change the headstock why curse it with banjo tuners? Identifying the pickup as "humbucker" does not inspire me either.The thing i thought was most interesting about the Eb1 was that it was a large hunk of mahogany...
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: Dave W on November 23, 2017, 07:10:51 PM
Wrong scale length too. All the wrong changes.

(http://s2.quickmeme.com/img/48/483ef0911f5e27073a015b45aee7a288b9c8d3bfa104f8bfe6625572f97cfa52.jpg)
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: Basvarken on November 23, 2017, 11:57:48 PM
Silly.
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: Chris P. on November 24, 2017, 03:16:42 AM
It's like they've never seen one and make a copy by watching an old black and white picture, while checking a cheap Höfner too.
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: Alanko on November 24, 2017, 07:31:59 AM
I admire Eastwood's brave strides to bring back extinct designs but 1) I wish they did it properly and 2) I wish it wasn't Eastwood making them. Every Eastwood I've played has had a slightly crude 'import' feel to them, and has been overpriced purely because they dredged up and did the R&D on old designs. They cut corners horribly. For example the Ovation Magnum reissue they came up with had simplified EB-3 style circuitry, which wasn't what Ovation were going for with the original. Plus I guarantee that the original Ovations were better made.

Making a 32'' semi-hollow EB-1 is simply ignorant.
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: uwe on November 24, 2017, 10:58:48 AM
They were probably unduly inspired by the Epi EB-1: That was both medium scale and hollow (though the F hole was only painted on). Those Epis actually don't sound bad, just nothing like a true EB does.
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: doombass on November 24, 2017, 11:37:59 PM
I really don't feel offended that they chambered the body and made the f-holes "real" instead of painting them. In fact I think Gibson cheaped out on the original if you look at it in reverse. What if the Gibson EB had a chambered body and real f -holes while the copy would have had them  painted on? Even if Eastwood in this case choose to use terms of their changes to "few" and "subtle" they do point out there are changes made and furthermore calls it a tribute. When Gibson/Epiphone releases reissues you rarely see any mentions of them being different from the iconic original.
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: ilan on November 25, 2017, 01:30:25 AM
I feel your pain, guys.
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: westen44 on November 25, 2017, 03:02:30 AM
What a missed opportunity.  Pretty sad.  When I clicked on the link, my hopes were way up.  But then they got quickly dashed.
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: 4stringer77 on November 25, 2017, 07:36:59 AM
There are a couple nice looking aspects. The color of the stain and the purfling lines along with the gold speed knobs and banjo tuners are used to a nice effect. A bar bridge would have been a better choice for the vintage look and the location of the bridge seems a little higher up on the body than it should be. The top of the body and the corners don't match the lower half's violin corners. Could have been better executed overall but any attempt at an EB-1 tribute is at least flattering. I'm guessing the pickup sounds nothing like an overwound sidewinder and unless tastes change drastically, it's doubtful we'll ever see pickups like that manufactured on a large scale again.
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: Granny Gremlin on November 25, 2017, 07:59:21 AM
The banjo tuners are the cheapest Chinese no name ones you can find tho (what you get on Firebird copies on Ali Baba).
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: Dave W on November 25, 2017, 10:12:01 AM
I admire Eastwood's brave strides to bring back extinct designs but 1) I wish they did it properly and 2) I wish it wasn't Eastwood making them. Every Eastwood I've played has had a slightly crude 'import' feel to them, and has been overpriced purely because they dredged up and did the R&D on old designs. They cut corners horribly. For example the Ovation Magnum reissue they came up with had simplified EB-3 style circuitry, which wasn't what Ovation were going for with the original. Plus I guarantee that the original Ovations were better made.

Making a 32'' semi-hollow EB-1 is simply ignorant.

I've seen some Eastwoods that were nice looking and not crude at all, e.g. their version of the Höfner Club, but it sounded nothing like the original. Regardless, they don't seem to be consistent from what I've seen. Just guessing, maybe they farm these out to different factories.
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: Basvarken on November 26, 2017, 03:06:05 AM
I'm pretty sure they do Dave. For that kind of money they aren't making them in a custom shop in the USA.
And I'm also pretty sure that they make these "mistakes" on purpose in order to keep clear from copyrights.
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: Chris P. on November 26, 2017, 07:56:14 AM
One hope: The V turned out much better than expected....
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: Dave W on November 26, 2017, 04:33:28 PM
I'm pretty sure they do Dave. For that kind of money they aren't making them in a custom shop in the USA.
And I'm also pretty sure that they make these "mistakes" on purpose in order to keep clear from copyrights.

Eastwood is a Canadian company. From the beginning their instruments have all been Asian imports, they've never had a factory in Canada. What I meant was that I suspect they farm these custom issues out to various bidders instead of working with one consistent Asian manufacturer. That would explain why the quality seems so inconsistent. Of course, I could be wrong.

Minor "mistakes" are no big deal, but in some cases (like this one) the changes aren't minor. No doubt they need to avoid angering the big boys, but in this case Gibson doesn't have a trademark on the shape of a violin, and scale length and body composition are functional and can't be trademarked.
Title: Re: Eastwood EB1
Post by: Basvarken on November 27, 2017, 02:12:14 AM
Ah yes. Canadian. And several different Asian manufacturers sounds credible too.