New Epiphone Newport Bass.

[lowend1]

I see one a' them Creamsicle-colored ones in my future...
Honestly, the only thing I dislike about these is those knobs. Probably have to budget for replacing the Sidewinder if it is anything like the one that came on my '98 Epi EB-0.

[morrow]

I'm no authority , but I believe their current mudbuckers are much improved from the early ones.

Those were god awful.

[Dave W]

I'm no authority , but I believe their current mudbuckers are much improved from the early ones.

Those were god awful.

lol

One man's godawful is another man's treasure.

Original mudbuckers on Reverb right now are priced at $275-$325, except for one non-functioning one with no cover. With all the sub-$50 alternatives out there, that tells you that the early ones are still valued. They were used on plenty of hits from the late 50s into the 70s, primarily by Brit bands.

I love clean tones, but I also love the overdriven ones.

[Alanko]

I think Morrow might be referring to the early Epiphone mudbuckers from the '90s?


I think the cost of original Gibson '60s pickups makes sense. If you are restoring an EB-0 then a $35 Artec pickup is a bit of a compromise.

[morrow]

Yes , I meant the Epi humbuckers when they first put out the reissues , there were a pile of basses out then.

They did not do the early Gibson pickups justice.

[Dave W]

I think Morrow might be referring to the early Epiphone mudbuckers from the '90s?


I think the cost of original Gibson '60s pickups makes sense. If you are restoring an EB-0 then a $35 Artec pickup is a bit of a compromise.

Yes , I meant the Epi humbuckers when they first put out the reissues , there were a pile of basses out then.

They did not do the early Gibson pickups justice.

Thanks for clarifying...but the 90s Epi pickup was based on the specs of the late 70s Gibson mudbuckers. Not bad, just not the vintage tone of the classic mudbuckers.

[Dave W]

And Scott just dropped a video of the new Newport. I definitely don't need any more basses, but I want one! In Pacific Blue!

[Basvarken]

Sounds great. That's a lot of bass for not much money.
Epiphone is (again) Gibson's own strongest competitor.

[Alanko]

Yes , I meant the Epi humbuckers when they first put out the reissues , there were a pile of basses out then.

They did not do the early Gibson pickups justice.

You can still buy them, marketed under the 'Guyker' brand. 1.2 k ohms DC resistance and small magnets. They must use an unusual gauge of wire on the coils to produce a conventional output from such a low impedance.

They work, but they lack the supernatural compression and tonally obscuring low mids soup of mudbuckers.

[lowend1]

That's surprisingly vintage-sounding. My fears about the mudbucker were apparently unfounded. Now if my contact would only get back to me so I can place my order...

[godofthunder]

    Ths was just a quick demo in store, the setup was god awful but other than that I give it a 9.9. Beautifully built little bass and a great take on a often overlooked instrument.  The neck pickup doesn't have the resistance of the mudbucker of the past but it does have the tone, I'm guessing resistance is 15k-20k. The neck pickup plays very well with the Thunderbird pickup, it's a great combination.  Finish and build quality are near perfect, the pacific blue is absolutely stunning  and puts the finish on my two 2021 NRs to shame.  I've no dimensions but the short scale neck feels a bit like my 62 EB0 but a flatter profile on the back. The frets are dressed very nicely and no sprout or sharp edges. My only beef with the bass is the badge on the headstock I would have much preferred the class script gold logo.
   With a MAP of $379 it's hard to resist.  I put a deposit on it and will be bringing it home soon.

[uwe]

Doesn't sound half-bad!

Thanks for a (relatively) undistorted demo, Scott. 

[Dave W]

Thanks, Scott.

It sounded great despite the setup being less than ideal.

[tore00]

Another Epiphone in the wanted list

[lowend1]

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.