The classic vibe ofthe EB and the versatile tones its capableof delivering make it a solid option for alltypes and levels of players, be it an intermediatelooking to make a move up, or anaddition for a regularly gigging player.Both had been developed by an upstart company called Fender, and Gibsons original solidbodies, the Les Paul guitar and Electric Bass ( VG, February 06) were introduced after Fenders goods had shaken up the scene.Changethe question to most iconic electric guitar and bass manufacturer ever, and that numberwill probably skew heavier in favor ofthe company Leo built.
Gibson has keptbusy on the bass front over the last coupleof years, but its the new incarnation of theEB that could break the mold about whata Gibson bass can be. ![]() The new body shape for theEBwhich the company says draws inspirationfrom their SGactually has little resemblanceto other basses with the EB moniker.Its shapely cut seems to draw more flavorfrom a few models outside the Gibson line,including some sort of reversed-horn Mosrite. And in contrast to thedark red-tortoise pickguard, the clean andsimple finish highlighting the grain ofthe ash body pushes the vibe of a classic,woodsy instrument from the early 70s. And moving up the neck took me tothe traditional and recognizable headstockthat houses a quartet of 20:1 Grover tuners,letting me know I was indeed checkingout a Gibson. The EB appeared to be puttogether well: I didnt detect any finishblemishes, the neck matched up in thepocket cleanly, and all the hardware wasinstalled nice and tight. User-friendly for intonation and string-height adjustments, this big bridge also excels in vibration transference. As I explored thelandscape up and down the semi-chunkyneck, both it and the fretboards topside feltsmooth and pit-free, and around back thesatin finish was inviting. But while slidingmy cupped hand up and down the sides ofthe fretboard, however, I did find a numberof sharpish fret edges along the way, sharpenough to tear up a paper towel with just acouple of passes. Instead, they outfitted the EB witha full-contact, top-load bridge from Babicz.User-friendly for intonation and string-heightadjustments, this big bridge also excels invibration transference. Even with the instrumentstill unplugged this was evidentnotonly to my ears, but my body as well. Newly designed by Gibsonluthier Jim DeCola with the intention ofproviding both power and versatility, thepassive pickups loaded into the EB bass area pair of beefy alnico 5 humbuckers. Prettystraightforward, they share a master tonepot and each of the pickups has its own volumecontrol. However, each of the volumeknobs is also a pushpull control, which allows swapping from humbucker to single-coiltones via a pop of the black top-hats. ![]() Rolling thetone knob to about 6 and blending in thebridge pickups volume about halfway gotme to a nice, rich and smooth sound withdefined midsspot-on for taking on 70sclassic rock or punk, to thick blues runsand whatever else between. And switchingthe neck pickup to single-coil mode withthese settings did add a bit more girth and slicing kick to the tone. ![]() And while the EBs tone isnt blindingly bright or biting here, theresplenty available for covering funk, dance,and anything else in need of more aggressivepunch and definition. There was justa hint of hum when soloing the bridgepickup with the coil tap engaged, but forthe most part, it was relatively minimal.And blending in the tapped neck pickupswallowed any hum considerably. As muchas I liked the humbucker tones, I did findmyself favoring the tones with both pickupscoil-tapped and adjusted to pull mostof the sound from the neck. The dressing work on the frets wasa little disappointing, but overall, the basswas put together well.
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