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Epiphone EB-0 Bass Guitar

 

Review of the Epiphone EB-0 Bass Guitar by The Man in the Jar

Oh dear, looks like it might be love at first sight, again...

Features of the Epiphone EB-0 Bass Guitar

Tuners - Massive open-backed (not covered or sealed) tuners with equally massive clover leaf knobs set the retro scene for this early 60's classic.

Headstock - Could this be another example of a slightly-too-large Epiphone headstock?  Whatever you decide there's enough good stuff about the rest of this bass to ignore such details. The headstock is nicely decorated with the Epiphone logo and a classical emblem in abalone.

Nut - The black plastic nut abuts the fretboard and is accurately cut.

Neck - The short scale mahogany neck is an absolute joy to play. The slim depth compliments a satisfying fretboard width that narrows  really sexily towards the nut. The cherry finish matches the body and just allows the grain to peep through. 

Fretboard - The rosewood fretboard is very dark with a tight grain. traditional dotmarkers are in pearloid.

Frets - The 20 medium-fat round profile frets are scrupulously polished and perfectly finished.

Action - Good from the box, but the shorter scale makes it naturally easier to fret the strings in any case.

Body - This is a big-bellied, wide-arsed SG pretending to be a bass, right down to the slightly offset demonic horns and the hint of contouring around the body's edge. It's mahogany of course which gives it a good weight and counters the SG tendency towards neck-heaviness, but the guitar is not too heavy overall on the strap. And of course that cherry finish - beautiful!

Bridge - The chrome bridge is not itself attached to the body. Instead it slots onto three large screws, two at the back of the bridge and one in the centre front, and is held there by string tension. The string height is therefore adjusted by means of these three screws.. The bridge contains three grooved blade saddles that are moved forwards and backwards along individual long screws. This gives a very wide range of intonation adjustment for each string. The back of the bridge has a slotted lip into which the ball ends of the strings anchor.

Pickups - One socking great Sidewinder Humbucker sits crammed as close to the neck as it can get under its expansive chromed cover.

Controls - One Volume and one Tone both sporting vintage style speed knobs.

Scratchplate - Stylised teardrop in three-ply black/white/black plastic.

Strap-buttons - Two medium-sized strap buttons, one on the base of the body and one on the back of the body forming part of the neckplate at the heel. 

Output Jack - In the front of the body below the bridge.

Finish - Really good, the cherry finish is flawless.

 

Sound of the Epiphone EB-0 Bass Guitar

This bass has the coolest retro sound. Think early Black Sabbath or Cream. Back in the days when recording technology was pushed to capture its voice this style of guitar was pumping out throbbing, full-toned bass lines that were underpinning the anti-flower-power sub culture, the sounds that gave us Heavy Metal, that much needed alternative culture that kept rock alive during the worst travesties of the 70's. I love the sound of this bass.  

 

Overall Impressions of the Epiphone EB-0 Bass Guitar

Ok, social history aside, this is a basic musical instrument that is extraordinarily good at what it does, and that is delivering classic rock bass tones a-plenty. It's a joy to play, the short scale and slim neck making the job a lot easier than it could be. If you play in a heavy rock or heavy metal environment there are many bass guitars aimed specifically at what you do. But this is a replica of the bass that helped create what you do. I cannot believe the price is so low for such a fabulous piece of kit. Buy one now or regret it forever. 

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