Epiphone El Segundo

XLR and 1/4' jack, onboard "graphic" EQ and volume. There is a slight neck dive, but I guess that's all acoustic bass guitars. But the dive is not too bad, it creeps down rather than drops down. The battery compartment buzzes from the string vibration, I find myself toying with it often to get it to the right spot so that it won't buzz.

It doesn't put out much sound unplugged, but sounds pretty balanced. I bought this bass originally for teaching lessons so that I don't have to drag an amp around. Then I got into a acoustic jazz group where we recorded a demo. I tried using 1/4" through DI, XLR right into the board, THERE WAS A HISS. I brought it into the shop thinking it might be a faulty wire, the answer I got was that the pickup and the pre amp was probably left over from another instrument (Elec/Acou guitar, perhaps?) and is not right for the bass. Solution: get another one. Also, the E and A string is definitely hotter when plugged in, and fret noise is pretty loud.

overall setup was great. when I saw this bass, the D string had been replaced, but that's not the factory. There is no binding on the back or the butt (by the strap button) that you would find on higher end acoustic instruments. Pickup problem, see above.

never had any problem with it in terms of durability. solid as a rock.

never had to call. I was suggested to call about the getting a new pickup/pre-amp, I never bothered.

If you are looking to buy this bass to sing songs around the campfire, you will find that it is a little too quiet to compete with your choir and the guitar.

If you are looking to buy this bass for stage, you MIGHT notice the hiss. Anti-feedback feature is cool. But you will have to play with the EQ to balance the string volume.

If you are looking to buy this bass for recording... look else where.

I ended up buying an Ibnez AEB10BE for about the same price.

Purchased 2001.
Piezo pickup
Laminant top
Good tuners
Poplar finish
3 EQ w/ volume control

The sound of the instrument is warm and full but very, very quiet. Tried to play it with another person playing acoustic guitar and could not hear the bass at all. Minimal fret buzz. Sound via electric is solid, but the EQ settings are important. Can pick up all the fret noise or none, but with none you completely lose the high end of the bass. Adjusting the EQ and volume has gotten worse over time. It now crackles and sometimes completely cuts out when adjusting. But the outputted volume is solid.

Bass was setup well from the factory. Nothing was missing and there were no flaws that I had to correct immediately.

Not reliable. Not durable. It holds it's tuning well. But as I said before the EQ controls and volume controls have completely worn out in less than 5 years of moderate play.

NA

If someone stole this, as long as I got insurance money I would cheer. I have been playing this for 5 years and have played better (Martin) but in the end, the acoustic bass is not a priority of the guitar manufacturers and it shows. In the end, I think I would sell it and not buy another acoustic bass.

Pickups Piezo/Epi-Six
Hardware Chrome
Scale 34"
Nut Width 1.65"
Neck Joint Set
Neck Material Maple
Fingerboard Rosewood/Dot
Binding Body
Body Material Mahogany
Top Lam. Maple
Finishes Natural

Run of the mill, no frills

I'm in a rock band and we decided to do some acoustic sets and it worked out great. It has a very full sound. Although the low end definitely overpowers your high end. Can never seem to get the EQ set right on it. High end doesn't seem to boost, nor is it powerful enough to go past the low and no extra push. There is some nasty fret buzz. No matter how hard you press down. Tried all kinds of strings on it. Ran it through my amp, someone else's stack, a PA system. Gets the low boom feedback if you face the speaker, otherwise, it is clear and crisp. Boosts nicely.

Noisy string. That's it. Finish is good. Doesn't have a pick guard, but I don't use picks. Seems to be solid constructed. Not happy that it is laminate top, but I am a cheap bastard.

Used it live a few times. No backup. Only one problem, had to change the nine volt in it. It has been great for reliability.

NA

I've had it for about 6 months. It does good at acoustic. I rated it based on all acoustic electric basses, not just the price range. So for it's price I think that it holds it's own fairly well.