Epi Pro Bird5 er on Ebay

[uwe]

That sounds good. At least they're working on it. As we learned from the Ric 4004 experience, even upmarket products can't sometimes get pup response with a 5 string right firat time around. My dealer has a Pro V in stock now too and I'll be checking it on Saturday. My guess is that it will have the same B string issue.

[Dave W]

from TB

If it is BS then He is doing a convincing job.

Wonder if it's the same guy who posted the same negative review under different names on different sites?

I smell BS. With very rare exceptions, you know pickups are wound as a coil that covers all strings, not one for each string. There have been cases were the field of the pickup isn't wide enough for the outer strings, but an output issue with just the B and not the G? Doesn't make sense.

[uwe]

I tried a Pro V today. It looks great (I had a natural) and feels great, I like the porous feel of the maho wings. 4 of its 5 strings sound great, lovers of angry piano tone that still has warmth and fundamentals will be in ecstasy at first listen, the sustain is excellent. The brdge state of the art and quite a hunk, but utterly reliable looking. I loved that bass and was heartbroken I could not take it with me. Why? The kid fro Talk Bass is spot on - the B string has issues, big ones. It's not the construction of the bass, the B string vibrates tautly and the string quality is great too when you play the bass unplugged, all very even. But for whatever reason, the pup fails to pick up the B string properly. And it's not just a volume issue. For lack of better description the B string sounds patently out of phase with the signal sometimes even cutting out. I've played bass with weak B strings like the Ric 4003S/5, but whatever deficiencies those basses had that is nothing compared to the Pro V. Which is a pity as everything else on the bass makes it a worthy TBird. Hope they work it out. And while I think its great that Epi employs hearing impaired people, maybe they shouldn't be using only them in acoustic quality control.

And hey, I'm not the kid from Talk Bass in another guise.

Uwe

[Dave W]

Too bad. At least we have it first hand from a reliable source. I believe you, of course, I just can't take the word of someone who posts the same negative review in three different places under three different names (although that might not have been the guy from TB).

Since the issue is with the B but not the G, my guess is that the preamp is the problem, not the pickup.

[uwe]

I thought about the preamp too. The B string did some strange things. One moment it sounded brittle and the next it became increasingly louder, swelling in tone, as if the electronics had issues digesting the B string signal quickly enough. I just discarded that option becuse in my simple non-electronic mind I always thought one way to not have issues with the B string was to have active electronics.  But it might be just that.

That bass was the first non-Gibson TBird I played with a real Gibson feel to it, no doubt due to the neck-thru construction. Great sustain. Once the B string is worked out, I'l gulp it up in a heartbeat.

[Dave W]

Just buy it for $500 and spend another $250 on a Sadowsky preamp. With shipping and installation, the total shouldn't be more than $1000. There you go. 

[chromium]

Did it make a difference playing the B up higher on the neck?  You mention the open E (and other strings) ring out strong, so I wonder if the B sounds any stronger at the 5th fret and above?  This might help you validate that its a pre-amp issue - specifically, a pre that can't handle frequencies as low as the low B can sling.

[uwe]

It didn't sound as bad higher uo the neck, but who plays a B higher up the neck than say 7th fret? I certainly don't. Go much higher and the harmonics go all crazy on those things.

[chromium]

Yeah but at least that tells you with some amount of certainty that the pre is at fault, and not the pickups.  That's an easier fix, IMO.  A tech could easily bypass the pre with a push/pull pot like I did for Andy on his LP bass, or wire it permanently passive.  Or you could go all out with a new pre-amp, to Dave's point.  That is, of course, if you really wanted to go out of your way to fix a new bass that should work right to begin with.

Sounds like the pre-amp they used (probably intended for a four string) can't handle that ultra low ~30Hz frequency of the open B.  

Bad enginner!

 

[TBird1958]

Not to discourage commerce here but I *think* the Gibson Studio 5er Uwe already owns more than obviates the need for the Epi...................... 

[Dave W]

Uwe is a completist. Pointing out that he doesn't need it won't discourage him at all. 

[uwe]

Uwe is a completist. Pointing out that he doesn't need it won't discourage him at all.  

How despicably mean you can be, Dave.   You say "completist" like it has to do with compulsive hoarding instincts, when in fact it's just obsessive hoarding instincts.

[Dave W]

I didn't think hoarding had anything to do with it.

[Barklessdog]

The Giant European hamster strikes again

The Great Hamster, European hamster or Cricetus cricetus is much larger, and prettier, than its familiar domesticated cousins. It has a brown and white face, a black belly and white paws and can grow to be 10in long.

[Highlander]

I smell a rat...