New Epiphone Newport Bass.

[godofthunder]

   So I got the little monster home today and it really is a winner.  The stock strings are fng horrible and the source of all the buzzing,  I swapped them out for a new set and all the rattle and buzz disappeared.   I lowered the bridge, tightened the truss rod a 1/4 turned  and had to do a fair amount of filling the nut. Action is nice and low, plays like a dream.

[lowend1]

   So I got the little monster home today and it really is a winner.  The stock strings are fng horrible and the source of all the buzzing,  I swapped them out for a new set and all the rattle and buzz disappeared.   I lowered the bridge, tightened the truss rod a 1/4 turned  and had to do a fair amount of filling the nut. Action is nice and low, plays like a dream.

Pretty much the same thing I did today, minus the nut filing, because I know better than to attempt that, lol. My fingers turned black from those strings. Ordering DR SS Sunbeams tomorrow. The bridge was way high on the bass side, so I dropped everything down and started from zero. The funny thing is that even with that cockeyed setup, it didn't play bad. The "blend" knob doesn't seem to do a whole lot of blending - more like a slow rotary switch. Scott, what to you think about those who have opined elsewhere that the pickups are wired out of phase?

[godofthunder]

     I've heard about one person having switched the leads on the neck pickup because he thought it was wired out of phase. I'm honestly not sure if mine is or isn't.  I'll spend a bit more time with it before I swap the leads around.

[OldManC]

There will be one in California Coral arriving here tomorrow. I already have plans for the knobs and pickguard. I'm sure a set of DR short scale Sunbeams will be warranted as well.

Please let us know whether it looks as orange in person as it does in the stock photos. With a name like that I was expecting a little more reddish or pinkish. Could be my monitor as well... I'm interested in how that one looks in person.

[lowend1]

     I've heard about one person having switched the leads on the neck pickup because he thought it was wired out of phase. I'm honestly not sure if mine is or isn't.  I'll spend a bit more time with it before I swap the leads around.

I had to swap the leads on a P-bass pickup because it was out of phase with the TB Plus I put in the bridge position. That sounded REALLY thin with both pickups on. This is different - it's a little nasal and you lose some oomph, but that happens with a PJ setup too to some extent. Please give us a heads up if/when your curiosity gets the best of you.

[lowend1]

Please let us know whether it looks as orange in person as it does in the stock photos. With a name like that I was expecting a little more reddish or pinkish. Could be my monitor as well... I'm interested in how that one looks in person.

Oh, it's orange, lol. It's like a really bright mac & cheese. Monitors and cameras will vary, however, but here it is - I changed out the knobs...

[Dave W]

Nice!

On my monitor, that looks a lot like Subaru's Sunshine Orange color.

[lowend1]

Nice!

On my monitor, that looks a lot like Subaru's Sunshine Orange color.

However orange it looks in pics, it's brighter in person. And it's so tiny that it fits in a Gibson guitar gig bag.

[morrow]

I really don't plan on buying one of those , but I have to say I'm starting to get the appeal.

[uwe]

Egg yolk! 

After a lot of corn feeding.

[Rob]

"It's like a really bright mac & cheese" 

[lowend1]

I really don't plan on buying one of those , but I have to say I'm starting to get the appeal.

It has the same kind of appeal (color aside) as the the Gibson LP Jr Doublecut bass - namely that it's small, light and definitely off the beaten path, even within the realm of oddball short scale basses. The difference is that it's a lot easier to justify the cost of the Newport than the (now discontinued) Gibson.

[lowend1]

"It's like a really bright mac & cheese" 

I see cross-marketing possibilities.
"Its not too far from ad man to madman, you know." - Felix Unger

[morrow]

It has the same kind of appeal (color aside) as the the Gibson LP Jr Doublecut bass - namely that it's small, light and definitely off the beaten path, even within the realm of oddball short scale basses. The difference is that it's a lot easier to justify the cost of the Newport than the (now discontinued) Gibson.

The Jr just has one pickup in the sweet spot , and just two knobs , so it reacts a lot like a shortscale set neck Pbass with a cheap finish. (that said I absolutely love mine , it's one of my most favourite things to pick up and play)
This set up is closer to the SG at 1/4 the price.

[lowend1]

The Jr just has one pickup in the sweet spot , and just two knobs , so it reacts a lot like a shortscale set neck Pbass with a cheap finish. (that said I absolutely love mine , it's one of my most favourite things to pick up and play)
This set up is closer to the SG at 1/4 the price.

True. Doesn't the Junior have a coil tap also?
The middle knob on the Newport is supposed to be a blend knob but it reacts more like a switch in that there is very little, if any, gradual blending of the two pickups, which is the one letdown of the bass, from my point of view. It's either neck, bridge or both. The three knobs look better aesthetically, though, than having a switch there.