Epiphone EB-3

This is my second chinese-made eb-3. My first was cherry; this is ebony.
while the first was nearly perfect in every respect, this one has manufacturing flaws, and took me an entire evening to set up properly.
I came close to returning it and was a little ticked that the joker at Epiphone in the USA that inspected it checked off on each category (on the inspection card) that it was perfect.
You can read my previous review for my opinion on the features as they apply to this bass too. the only thing I would add is that where you can see the wood inside the control cavity, it certainly looks more like alder than mahogany...could they be using alder instead of mahogany on the painted ones to save money?...hmmmmm

this sample, unlike the one i had last year, is VERY microphonic. these aren't potted, but why is one bass fine and the other isn't?
output is low also...it sounds great, the output is about that of a p-bass, but nowhere near that of the other bass-weird.

body and neck are flawless, inlays flawless. chroming is irregular and missing in some areas on hardware. truss rod was completely loose and rattling around, neck was bowed, nut glued in cockeyed,one bridge stud insert came completely out of the body (I re-glued it). I took off the control panel to find the bridge ground wire just floating there unattached to anything.

well, now i suppsose this bass will be fine for the long run, but the microphonic sidewinder PU bothers me. perhaps a dimarzio model one is in order at some point.

I dunno...i probably wouldn't have had any trouble getting this bass covered under their warranty, but the USA inspection is apparently a joke now. this is the first (out of many i've owned) epiphone product I've had any trouble with.

Mine is a Korean-made 2003 Epiphone I procured second-hand at a used guitar shop. It didn't come with a hard case, but I was able to get one off of Musician's Friend for about $90, and it fits like a glove.

The pickups are passive, but the neck pickup doesn't act like it [more on this later]. Dunno what kind of wood it is made out of, but the body is pretty light. The transparent finish is not as nice as I've seen on Gibsons -- the real deal has a subtler flavor to it, more of a stain than a full lacquer -- but the cherry red is always appreciated.

The toggle switch is a 3-way rooster, and it has two volume knobs and two tone knobs (one for each pickup). Whoever owned it first slapped on some flatwound strings, which is how I roll anyway. I would suggest you do the same, as I've never heard good things about the strings Epiphone has laying around.

I will start off with the bad news.

1. The bridge pickup is tiny and tinny, smaller than the average soapbar on a guitar. This is fine for home rehearsal, as it will not bother the neighbors, but I can't imagine anybody actually using this. However, it does very well with a fuzz pedal, if you are looking to make your bass sound like a guitar.

2. The neck pickup requires a sensitive EQ. The first time I took this on a stage, the low end made the microphones feed back. Have you ever heard a bass feed back? You will, with this piece of machinery.

3. The really low end -- really, anything below the A string -- does not come through very well. Anybody who loves to bang away at an open E string will be disappointed with the sound they get out of this. Breaking Benjamin fans: look elsewhere.

4. Alone, this is a monster. In the band setting, you will fill in the cracks, but you may not be able to cut through the mix without some doing.

The good news:

1. The neck pickup feeds back because it is the loudest pickup I have ever heard in my life. I had a Fender Jazz Special, and this bass is at least twice as loud. What you are getting with this is thick, raw power.

2. The primary strength in this bass is in the A and D strings. If you are looking to get this bass, make sure you are willing to play up around the middle range, maybe only about an octave below the guitar. While playing the low E-string range isn't doable, the power you get from the higher end provides more than enough punch to make up for it.

3. To cut through the mix, crank it to a treblier, woodier end. You can crank it back to your boomy bass sound once rehearsal is over.


I would give the sound a perfect 10 if it weren't for the wimpy bridge pickup. Many people have complained about the "muddy" sound of the neck pickup, but y'know what? That's why you get this bass. If you don't want to sound like Jack Bruce/Paul McCartney, then don't get this bass; you will waste your money.

The action was actually a bit low and buzzed all over the place. This is the primary fault with the bass and its bridge: buzzing. I still have some trouble with buzzing, but I work around it with some doing. I will agree that the 3-point saddle construction is hard to work with, but I was able to work with it in my living room.

I might consider raising the bridge pickup, but as it isn't the main course, I haven't given it any real thought.

The neck is incredibly straight, and the tuning is second to none. As somebody who has sold a perfectly fine hollowbody bass because its floating saddle prevented it from being in tune with itself, this is a big deal. The clean, clear sound this gets on a trebly EQ requires a clean, clear fretting, and Epiphone delivers. This monster is carefully crafted.

The chrome hardware is in fine condition, but then it's only about five years old, so we'll see how it does in a few decades.

This feels like a solid piece of machinery. I do have to open it up and re-tighten the input jack every month and a half or so, but this is a small inconvenience. Everything else -- the tuners, the bridge, the pots -- have been solid so far, and the bass is light enough to be knocked around without too much worry.

Then again, this is a relatively young bass. Time will tell how well it stands up to the strain of aging.

I don't have a warranty, as I got it from a secondhand guitar shop, and I haven't dealt with Epiphone personally.

I've been playing bass for about five years, and this is my favorite bass so far. I am in a band with a late 60s hard rock vibe, and this jives perfectly with that intent. I wish it had a thicker low end, but I have been laying it heavy on the middle range instead, and that works just fine.

Other bassists curse me for saying this, but I like this bass more than I liked my Jazz Special. Yes, I miss the heavy low end, but then I'm not playing that kind of music. This is louder, more powerful, thicker, deeper, and generally a more entertaining instrument. If you want a full 60s bass tone with lots of power but not a lot of rattle, go for this.

About two weeks ago I got a brand new EB-3, made in China. it has volume and tone controls for each pickup, a 3-position bridge/both/neck pickup switch (not a varitone), and both pickups have individually adjustable pole pieces - VERY nice feature. The good old reliable 3-point bridge has a good range of adjustment for intonation. I can't ask for anything more on a passive bass. The tuners are solid and dependable, and have not slipped a bit.

The bass is a slight neck-diver, but not early as bad as many basses I've seen. All it takes to counteract the dive is a broad suede strap. That solved it. Finish is a flawless transparent Cherry, the classic Gibson/Epi color. Inlays on the fretboard are beautifully done. Overall fit and finish are absolutely impeccable.

I replaced the original roundwounds with D'Addario Chrome flats in light gauge. I tried some heavier strings, but the neck is quite slender so the heavier gauge strings induced more bow than I liked. The light gauge chromes are a great fit, and they sound great. I've played it in public a couple of times and have had no problem cutting through the mix and being audible. The sound is deep and authoritative. With the pickup selector, you can get the passive tones you need out of this bass.

With D'Addario Chrome flats on it, the sound is solid and deep, and it balances very well in the mix. The neck is slender and fast, and it plays easily. For the money, this is a very solid value and a bass you'll enjoy for years.

The fit and finish are excellent throughout, the inlays are nicely done, and overall the finish work is as good as any of the eight basses I own. On mine the frets are nice and even with no buzz and with no protruding fret ends (common on other brands).

There are adjustable pole pieces on both pickups so you can adjust each string's output as needed. The factory setup had the neck pickup pole pieces screwed down slightly below the chrome cover, and I brought them out a bit so they were just a bit further out than the cover's surface. After playing I found the E volume was weak, so I adjusted the E string pickup out a couple of turns farther and turned the other screws back in one turn to balance the sound. It worked like a charm, and that's the point of adjustable pole pieces, innit? Mine is 9 pounds which is on the heavy side, but OK. It's a slight neck diver but a wide suede strap does away with that problem.

With any Gibson-style headstock instrument, you can assume that any substantial fall to the floor will break off the headstock. That's life. If you want to knock your basses over, buy Fenders - their headstock design is much more robust. That said, this bass is beautifully assembled and finished, the neck is slender and fast, and the hardware seems solid.

One thing to watch on the EB-0 and EB-3 series is that the thin nut holding the output jack in place can easily come unscrewed. I use silver nail polish on the jack threads to keep that nut in place. Strap buttons are solid, although I use a Dunlop-type strap lock on the top one.

The other common maintenance/repair is that the pins holding the 3-point bridge in place tend to back out occasionally. If this happens, just remove the pin, coat the inside of the hole with super glue and re-insert the pin. Tap it into place with a rubber hammer or other soft-faced tool. Problem solved.

I see no reason that this bass won't last a lifetime with decent care. I normally bring a backup bass, but I won't need it with this Epi. I plan to keep this one forever, and would replace it if needed.

No experience - but Epi is there if you need them.

Overall, this is solid, dependable bass. With passive pickups and the simple hardware on it, there's no reason you can't take it anywhere and depend on it for years.

Just got this new from AMS. It is made in China. very nice one-piece mahogany body-really nice actually...I'm quite surprised. very light too. The neck is okay, typical cheapo graft about 2/3 of the way towards the headstock, but it's almost invisible. fingerboard is a nice piece of rosewood. fretwork is superb-as good as anything I've seen. headstock is way too big-why do they do this?-just looks a little retarded. Poor balance. this is the supreme neck-diver of all time (something they could have avoided if it had been short scale).hardware is fine, finish is great, pickups are actually better than I expected. they must have re-designed the sidewinder since the 90's era Rivoli reissues because it actually sounds like an EB pickup from the mid 70's era (the ones where it was moved away from the fingerboard were wound a little differently and this kinda sounds like that). strings are junk.

no complaints about the sound/s. I'm using it with a mesa 400+ and a superfly. very quiet electronics, well-shielded with paint and foil backing in cover, neat wiring.
cheap input jack, but works ok so far.

fantastic workmanship for the price, and as good as anything under $1k. a little clunky compared to the Gibson SG bass currently produced, but the finish and details are about equal.
haven't found any flaws. was set up fine right out of the box like other epiphones I've owned.

seems more solidly built than my '67 Gibson, but they hardware and electronics are definately not as well-made...while the parts function fine, they are cheap pots, switches, jacks, tuners. I plan to replace the jack with a switchcraft, the rest of it should be fine.

i don't have any experience

I've been playing since Humble Pie was still a band.
I own several basses (dano, gibson, fender,etc.) but find
myself liking these inexpensive reissues more and more, and if
one gets banged up or stolen, the world isn't going to come to
an end.
i wish it were short scale and had dot markers-the trapezoids
look stoopid.

The features- one huge neck pickup, one small bridge pickup, two tones, two volumes, three way rotary pup selector with chicken head knob... wonderful finish, chrome everything, fat inlays, full scale neck (score) 3 point bridge, classic SG shape (duh) nicely done rosewood fretboard... this bass looks incredible... a ton of tone control that is probably more than I need but your standard Gibson/Epi setup...

The sound is a bit of an enigma. I play thru a BBE Bmax preamp, Crown CE1000 power amp into an SWR Goliath III... my rig is POWERFUL and really pushes my bass tones up front... Played alone, wow, this thing is incredible... a deep deep bass sound that nearly shook the fixtures off the ceiling... the bridge pickup is a bit thin sounding, but when you kick in that neck pickup it kills... Now played with my band is a different story... with this bass, it seemed like no matter what I tried, I could not get the tone to cut thru... it probably also doesnt help that we are tuned waaaaaaaaaay down, but finding a punchy cutting tone was quite a task. Now I had my amp cranked and I can tell you that the pickups are nice and quiet so that is a plus I suppose... but this thing is a beast. The sound is HUGE, but does not cut through two guitar players tuned down and a drummer with a huge Peart-like setup. I think maybe if I swap out the neck pickup (the Dimarzio model one is the only direct replacement available that Ive seen)it would be more usable. Even with the sound shortcomings I refuse to give up on this bass! I give it a 7 because it does sound good, its just going to take some work to really coax the true tone from this beast. I think they could have worked a bit harder on the pickups, giving them more tonal range, but I refuse to believe its a one trick pony!

Wow, here is where this bass shines... the playability is excellent. Out of the box the action was a bit low, but as my band tunes down pretty low I always have to adjust the action high (but Ive gotten used to that!) so thats no problem. I will tell ya right now though that Im not a huge fan of the Gibson/Epi three point bridge... I also have an Epi Tbird and have gotten used to it, you know it does the trick, but I just dont feel that it has enough adjustability... Im definately going to replace it with a Hipshot Supertone bridge (this may also help with the lack of punchiness too!)... I love love love the neck... full scale, its nice and long and sexy... it has a super slim feel that makes it seem to play faster... it has a glossy finish all over even on the neck which some folks dont like cause of the "sticky" feel but I have no problem with it... after a while the glossiness will mellow out with repeated playing and it should be fine... Im not sure what kind of wood this guy is made from, but it seems solid enough... and like everyone else says, the pickup selector is a bit on the loose side right out of the box... no big, just be a bit gentle on her... I plan on installing a three way toggle in its place so no big deal. The bridge pickup can raise and lower a fair amount (I raised it up a ton last night, got to see if this will help the tone cut through) the neck pickup, not so much. Its just kind of there. Ive looked this bad boy over and havent found a flaw in the finish anywhere... the finish is spectacular... really this bass looks amazing, it def gets reactions when you pull it out of the case! The frets look good, the nut is well cut... of course this bass does the famous "neck dive" which can put some strain on your forearm from holding it while you play, but its really not that big deal, one of my other main basses is the Epi tbird so im used to this hahah... just hold onto it and be careful and you should be fine. Im giving it a 9, it was close to a 10 but the loose pickup selector (this seems fairly common with this bass dont you think Epi might want to fix that?)will cause it to lose a point... otherwise fantastic!

Im sure this bass could stand up to a beating... time will tell... im pretty harsh to my basses while I play so a live show or two will be the ultimate test... the hardware seems pretty solid, not too worried about that... the finish is very well done but like any bass you can expect the normal wear and tear, buckle rash, the "oops I didnt see it leaning on the amp and knocked it over" bumps and bruises... strap buttons are good, going to replace those with straplocks anyway... I feel that I could depend on this bass, and I usually gig without a backup cause Im crazy. Im giving it a 10, again, compared to other instruments in this price range its a solid beast that could easily be my main workhorse once I get the tone issues ironed out...

Havent had to deal with the company yet, so thats a good thing. Like I mentioned earlier I do have an Epi Thunderbird... Ive had that sucker for about 4 years now and never had a problem with that (now that I said that somethings going to break on it.) I dont remember how long the warranty is but I think it will be ok. Leaving this as "no opinion" cause I dont have one! haha.

Ive been playing the bass for about 15 years. I have 6 other basses... two fenders (MIA Deluxe and a MIM standard p bass) a Carvin 6 string, an Ibanez EDA, a Warmoth Jazz with a Fender neck (with an EMG MM humbucker) and my Epiphone Tbird... I would say that they all share equal time in my hands and the EB3 is def one of my new faves! I do wish I had done a bit more research relating to the sound of this bass... I saw it and told my wife I wanted it for christmas, and BAM! there it was christmas morning, honestly I had never played one but I was in love with the look (not the first time Ive purchased a bass this way! I know, shame on me always try before you buy! hahah). I think even with the reviews I read about the sound here I would still have wanted it... if it was stolen I dont know if I would get another one... I will let you know the answer to that once I have all the mods/upgrades done to it that I want! hahah... I love the look, it truly looks evil, it almost empowers you when you hold it, you feel like the coolest kid in school haha... I love the neck, the neck is great, very slim and fast... Im not 100% in love with the sound, that needs work, but im willing to put in the time and effort ya know? Im not a huge fan of neck dive either, but eh, what are you gonna do? My favorite feature is the neck. I will say it again, love the neck it is sweet. Compared to my other basses it really is sort of an odd sheep. Its sound is like nothing else in my collection... its deep and thumpy (muddy even?) but so powerful that its hard not to grin when you kick that neck pickup on. Its really confusing, one moment Im really into it, the next minute im frustrated at the luck of punch and definition... maybe im trying to fit a square peg in a round hole with my band, but the playability and feel of this bad boy makes me want to make it work for me. I wish it had less knobs! hahah, I hate lots of knobs and this one has a ton it seems, I could do without the tone controls, ideally I would have two switches: an on/off for each pickup. I will tell ya, I really love this bass, im going to keep experimenting with my amp and the bass itself to unleash its inner growl and punch... I give it an 8 for style and playability, but the tones not all there... but it could be...

This is the Korean-made EB-3 with the long (34") neck, cherry finish. It has the mahogany set neck and the mahogany body, a "sidewinder" neck pickup, a mini-humbucker bridge pickup.

I have found with this bass that I can get the sound I like, but that it will require some work by me the player. If you just turn up both pickups with flat EQ on your amp you probably won't like the results. The big neck pickup is overpowering, and you need to dial it in carefully. Also, choice of amp/cab is important. I have several amps, both tube and ss, and a good clean amp will help to get the most out of this bass. As for cabinets, I am using a combination of a Marshall MF-400 straight cabinet with an ampeg 4x10 HLF cabinet and with this combination I don't have any problem "cutting through" the rest of the band. With my amps I can "dial in" the appropriate amount of bottom while still keeping a nice crisp high end from the bridge pickup. Overall, I find that the tone is very good (again, this is feedback from people that have heard it) but you must do some work and now what you are doing to get it. My rating reflects the experience/work involved, not the end result.

I have been playing for many years, with my primary instrument being a fender jazz that I have owned since 1969. I was looking for an alternate bass as I am not crazy about taking my old jazz bass out for performances, practices, etc. I am kind of tired of the looks/feel of most of the basses out there, and was looking for something a bit different. Well, I can tell you that this is a very playable bass - the neck feel is extraordinary, rivaling my fender, and the right hand position (I use all the fingers of my right hand) is very good. Plus, I can get a decent slap sound, and harmonic plucking with the right hand (with thumb damping) is not difficult. Fit and finish as well is as good as any I have played - I have had to make very few adjustments and none that I would consider unusual. Looks - my wife said "that bass is beautiful".

I have not had any reliability issues with this bass, and don't expect to. It does have the neck dive problem, but I have always been careful with handling of my instruments, so I don't really see this as an inconvenience. I have owned the instrument for approximately 6 months.

Should not be an issue with Gibson/Epiphone backing.

This bass is everything I thought it would be, I have no disappointments. I am the type of player that gets very familiar with an instrument, and sticks with it. In the time that I have owned the EB-3 I find myself drawn to playing it. I would recommend it with the caveat that it is probably not a good beginner instrument as you must work with it to find your sweet spot of tone. For the price this was an exception purchase.

For starters, It's a Gibson style SG EB bass. It is absolutely gorgeous and made extrelemly well, in fact Gibson made a huge mistake by authorizing this one, side by side comparison with the new Gibson re-issue EB-3 really can't justify the cost difference. In fact the Epi smokes it in appearance........This guitar is gorgeous beyond words! Plays awesome, sounds extra good and while it's top heavy the long neck makes it worth the pain.

It may be a bit muddy but most amplifier EQs will overcome, for tone radicals buy Gibson replacement pups and you'll have something better than the original.

Honestly it's hard to imagine any better on a production line guitar. The pickup selector switch nut was a bit loose and that's it. This baby was well done. Nice Job Korea!

This I'll know better in time but from what I can tell it will last forever with normal care.

Don't wanna know............

I've been playing guitar and bass for around 40 years and can't remember a better value, this would have been a great purchase for the money way back when I started. If it were stolen I'd get another and sleep with it! I don't think anything compares for twice the price and I see this being a huge $$ collector in years to come. hello Gibson, either give up on the re-issue EB-3 or learn a lesson from the Epi enterprise. This baby Rocks

'07 Korean 4 String All Mahogany, Cherry Gloss, 34" Scale Trapizoid Inlays

I love the long and beautiful neck,I am 5'7" small hands and I'm all over it, plays like a jazz bass. You will need to raise the bridge PU,add new strings, and (very important) run it through a Sans Amp! And a quality Bass Amp!

Great factory set up on the 2 I bought (Black and Cherry) You will probably need to raise the bridge PU. Action was great

Watch the Selector switch, it can be made to overturn by using to much pressure, don't Ape out on it. Everything else is solid. As soon as I have rehearsed with the band with these basses, I will gig with them. I guess having two, means, I like backup.

When I needed a part for my Son's EPI ZAK Les Paul I called the warranty dept., And Gibson answered. They got the part to me right away(they sent me "Gibson" Les Paul parts) If it Looks and sounds like a Gibson, smells like a Gibson, and Oh yeah, made by Gibson ....

PRO for 30yrs, My other Gear includes, A Fender HWY 1 P Bass, Epi Firebird, Korg Triton, Mackie, JBL, SWR Redhead, Vox, Squire Butterscotch Tele, I Would be totally bummed Man, if it were stolen and then I'd replace it. I love the build Quality of these basses, I've owned over 350 instruments over the past 40yrs. Can I Play? you bet! I was the Original Bass player for Eddie and the Subtitles. And other famous people you've never heard of.

SG shape body, long scale length, trapezoid inlays, set neck, Big chrome humbucker in neck position, litlle mini-humbucker in bridge position.

Let me start by saying this bass is totally bad-ass. Just got this baby last week and it rocks the plaster of the walls! This is a total heavy rock tone monster. Mated well with my SVT classic. Think Wolfmother, Captain Beyond, Mountain. Big, fat bowel churning tone. The wide vintage style humbucker with the long neck scale is the perfect combination for loud dino-rock. My guitar-snob band mates were duly impressed.

Bass came with a standard factory setup that way too low for my style. Stock strings were crap and were immediately tossed. I slapped on some high beams and set it up to taste. 1000% improvement. A pro setup would make this instrument absolutely dynomite! Bass is overall very well built considering it's made in Korea and only cost $400. I had to tighten down the rotary switch and that was it. If you look closely you can see where they cut corners to keep the price down. Upgrades are widely available. The important thing is the basic platform is solid. I got he bass in Ebony. It looks stunning with the chrome hardware and trapezoid inlays.

This bass is rock solid.

dont know. bought bas through music123. They have good customer support. never had a problem.

Great bass for someone looking for a loud rock bass. This thing is meant to be played loud and proud through a vintage style Ampeg or Marshall. Incredible bang for buck value. You will be instantly cool when you strap this puppy on!

Japanese-made in 2006. Standard scale, four strings, large humbucker on the neck and a mini-humbucker on the bridge with independent volume and tone knobs each, knob-stlye three-way pickup selector. Mine is the cherry version.

This is definitely a rock guitar. The neck pickup is very boomy and the bridge pickup is mighty crisp. The sound is definitely on the brigher end. Don't expect to get typical jazz or slap sounds from this bass. I usually either go direct or use a cheap 120-watt Fender amp. I plan on getting a SansAmp Bass Driver soon. Other than that, I don't use effects on basses.

There were three flaws in the factory setup:

1. The pickup selector needed to be tightened. A couple of hours into getting it, when trying to switch between pickups, I was rotating the selector itself.

2. The mini-humbucker needed to be raised as there was a significant difference in volume between the two pickups. Since minis are less-powerful, in needs to be closer to the strings to get the same volume.

3. The action was a bit low on the bass side causing some buzzing on the E string.


With those exceptions, everything was great. Good intonation, no flaws. This is a totally beautiful instrument!

I haven't had this bass for very long, so I can only guess based on my other Epiphones. I figure it'll last a while. I mostly got this bass for recording and jamming as I play guitar in my regular band. But I'd love to work in a set where I play this baby.

Never had to deal with Epiphone, so no comment.

I really like this bass. It looks amazing and I love the rock sound (I've got a thing for mini-humbuckers). I would definitely get this bass again if it were stolen. After making the few adjusments noted above, the EB-3 is perfect for what I do.

Most of my experience with other basses is with P-style basses. I like this much, much more.

The only complaint about the bass itself is that it has serious neck-dive. I also had some troubles finding a case for this axe. There are simply no hard cases designed for the SG-style. I ended up getting a generic universal case, though the fit isn't exact. But I'd rather use a generic case that needs a little extra padding than a gig bag. I love this bass to much to protect it with foam and canvas.