ShortScale.org

so, since i sold my bronco bass to finboy, i've been itching for another bass (this working thing confuses me i have money? to spend?)
anyways, i've been trying to decide between the Epiphone EB-3 (mike watt bass!) or the Epiphone EB-0 (shortscale!)
i still have my jazz clone .. so reg scale is covered.. but. i've been playing both of them for the past 6 - 8 months everytime i go into the music store
so i'd like to get some feedback from my fellow shortscalers.
essentially i'm grabbing this to create some gnar fuzz tones in a new project that i'm starting up and playing bass in (we're called Ladwig!.. no website or anything yet) kinda melvins/jesus lizard/witch kinda stuff..

so..

or


(in both cases i'm looking at the cherry red bass)
price difference between them is about $130.

serfx wrote:so, since i sold my bronco bass to finboy, i've been itching for another bass (this working thing confuses me i have money? to spend?)
anyways, i've been trying to decide between the Epiphone EB-3 (mike watt bass!) or the Epiphone EB-0 (shortscale!)
i still have my jazz clone .. so reg scale is covered.. but. i've been playing both of them for the past 6 - 8 months everytime i go into the music store
so i'd like to get some feedback from my fellow shortscalers.
essentially i'm grabbing this to create some gnar fuzz tones in a new project that i'm starting up and playing bass in (we're called Ladwig!.. no website or anything yet) kinda melvins/jesus lizard/witch kinda stuff..

so..

or


(in both cases i'm looking at the cherry red bass)
price difference between them is about $130.

Funny you should post this...

As I've been on my SS bass quest lately, now resolved, I spent a good 30 minutes on the EB-0.

DO NOT BAI!

I pulled it off the wall, and fell immediately in love with it. It's extremely comfortable to play, very light, and looks waaaaaaay cool. Plugged it in and it was like waking up next to fat chick that beer goggled you into bed the night before.
I get that pickup is called a mudbucker and it's supposed to produce an unpronounced bass attack... but it's not just mud. It's mush, it's oatmeal. It sound so completely terrible no matter how I fiddled with the amp. Not only is there no attack, but there was no differentiation between notes. It was like listening to drone track with an earful of semen. wubba-wubba-wubba-wubba... I've gotten more tonal variety from my ass while taking a shit.

I wanted to like it, because it looks and feels so good. But it's unusable. That pickup is just too far up on the body, even if you put something better there it's not gonna give you any punch. I would have tried the EB-3, but it's not shortscale so I wasn't really interested, but if that pup configuration was on the EB-0's body... then we'd be talking.

i have always wanted an EB0, and have played a few different specimens. the key is raising the pickup, as i agree that they're way too muddy off the rack. no one plays them, so no one has probably complained before. try it, and raise the pickup.

i love it.

hotrodperlmutter wrote:i have always wanted an EB0, and have played a few different specimens. the key is raising the pickup, as i agree that they're way too muddy off the rack. no one plays them, so no one has probably complained before. try it, and raise the pickup.

i love it.

I'm going to be pissed if all I had to do to get a decent tone out of that shit box was raise the pickup... because I loved the way that thing played.

i always assumed it'd be really neck heavy, but they're suuuuuuuper comfortable. i wish the neck wasn't as chubby, but it's nice for a bass neck. close to my thunderbird.

and i know this is being really queer, but i've always wanted to put the short eb-3 guard on an eb-0. i've mspaint'd it and it looks grand.

I snared a Columbus EB-3 copy that seems to be EB-0 scale. Best of both worlds. The neck pickup is boomy as fuck and the bridge has a decent bite to it. If youre not a short-arse like me get the EB-3.

my brother has an EB-0
yeah, i dont like it... too muddy, and stuff. i preferred my p-bass when i owned it.

i'd try an eb-3 though.

well no purchase yet today, did another run over to the shop, played the eb-3 for about half an hour, really dig it, i was playing it through a fender baseman tv 12
i dig it, might want to raise the neck pickup, not sure, it felt really well balanced, didn't have a strap handy though os it was all sit and play.

the eb-0 they only had in the "intro packages" and appeared to be reluctant to open a box to let me try it. actually that appeared to never even be an option.

i also played a firebird bass, felt weird, balanced akward for me, loved the neck feel, hated how much wider it felt then the eb-3 though.

i'll spend another couple weeks thinking about it i suppose, so the more input the better.
also the eb-3 just got a price drop to $330CAD from $470CAD .. so that is kinda awesome

serfx wrote:the eb-0 they only had in the "intro packages" and appeared to be reluctant to open a box to let me try it. actually that appeared to never even be an option.

not a good sign.

serfx wrote:i also played a firebird bass, felt weird, balanced akward for me, loved the neck feel, hated how much wider it felt then the eb-3 though.

a thunderbird? yeah, they're weighted completely different than the EB's.

I really liked the sound of the Epiphone T-bird bass that I got to play but the tuners were shiiiiiiit.

hotrodperlmutter wrote:

serfx wrote:the eb-0 they only had in the "intro packages" and appeared to be reluctant to open a box to let me try it. actually that appeared to never even be an option.

not a good sign.

serfx wrote:i also played a firebird bass, felt weird, balanced akward for me, loved the neck feel, hated how much wider it felt then the eb-3 though.

a thunderbird? yeah, they're weighted completely different than the EB's.

yeah, its really kind of funny, as i know most of the guys who work there quite well, so chances are they just figured i was in for a visit etc.. but i still think it is bullshit customer service to not offer someone to try something out that they have mentioned.
and yes i ment a thunderbird, fun things, but really not my scene.

Man, are there any other shortscale basses?

Have you checked out the Gretch Jet bass... it is shortscale I believe.

Look for either of these in pawn shops.

what the hell are those?

and i don't think i could get along with the strange cut off at the end..

also, p-bass pickups. not a fan. (but thats just me..)

I played an amateur EB-3 copy and fell in love with it. Well, at least with the bridge pickup. The neck pickup was completely useless mud, even though I was playing through a guitar amp. It might sound better in a larger room like at the guitar store, most things do.

Maybe you should check out a violin bass? There are a few copies floating around. Of particular note are probably the Hofner($400) and the Jay Turser($300).

Also, if you're into 6 string short scales, there are a few around, like the Agile Argus, Schecter Hellcat, and Danelectro.

serfx wrote:
also, p-bass pickups. not a fan. (but thats just me..)

Sugarplum, you just broke my heart.

serfx wrote:what the hell are those?

and i don't think i could get along with the strange cut off at the end..

also, p-bass pickups. not a fan. (but thats just me..)

DeArmond Jetstar Bass.
My love for them is like a truck bezerker!

being a short scale really isn't the key..
basically i use my jazz base clone for a lot of of faster, thrashy bass parts that i play with a plectrum

i'm looking for something i dunno little more mean, and i like the eb-3 (it is full scale)
i've looked into doing a bass VI but it just isn't for me. i want to stretch my fingers out, as i write about 90% of my bass parts on my acoustic bass..

endsjustifymeans wrote:

serfx wrote:
also, p-bass pickups. not a fan. (but thats just me..)

Sugarplum, you just broke my heart.

i like how they sound when other people play them (for example Phil, my bass player in zero cool, and the I.C.B.M.s rocks a P-bass) but when i try to get what i'm after out of them, it just isn't there (this could also be a limitation of my skill)

I have this perverse fantasy to somehow stick a p-bass neck on an EB body.

Then I realise I rather play with photoshop than an actual bass.