@@steveellis6090 On top of what you point out the same bassist should be playing the same notes in the same style in order to give a clearer demonstrative comparison.
Fun fact the 3 point bridge has been used on gibson basses as well as epiphone it does not really matter which you go for, theyre both high quality instruments the only difference is 1 has more tonal options costs less, and bears a name that you wount want to be caught with, on the other hand you have the other with a new bridge, granted if it was the older gibson EB style basses now you have the same bridge on both same electronic, different brand and the more expensive guitar having less knobs and less optional variety for tone with brand name tuners which doesnt mean anything because i can not think what was the last time you ever found tuners to be "low quality" it just does not happen on basses like these tuners are tuners, and they do their job regardless if you stamped "donald trump" on them or not. The brand name of the guitar along with the tuners Are worth way more then the tones you can get out of that guitar. If i went to warmoth tell them to build me a fender P bass (Warmoth does not put any logos on their headstock necks) and i go to a sticker shop pay like $40 to get a quality sticker i calculate where the sticker goes, put a nice big fender precision bass logo from the 70s grab it and tie it around a pickup truck and drive the pickup truck 2 miles down a highway with the guitar body behind. i go to Seymur duncan and ask for a antiquity P bass pickup and put it up for sale "lightly" used vintage 1973 Fender precision bass. Suddendly the price goes up to like $5,000 for the name alone, and of course any bastard that comes and doesnt poke their nose around too much such as open the electronic cavity, or anybody that doesnt have a clue how the setup of a vintage 70's P bass looks like would be fooled into thinking this is the real deal And i cant believe these 2 idiots call the 3 point bridge on the epiphone lower quality and talk shit about it like it was some sort of inferior design which by the way gibson has been using for more then 30 years now the Gibson RD bass use to have it the gibson thunderbirds the EB3's used to have the 3 point bridge, and you mean to tell me that youre falling for this bullshit which you know is not true. ALL of you are falling for this bullshit when you pay for a gibson youre paying for the brand name, end of story.
@@absolving I remember when I got my SG standard after playing Epiphone G-400s my whole life. The difference is outstanding. That's saying something because my Standard has a 50's neck on it, yet it still feels more manageable than the G-400, the Special, or the Junior I had.
I would like to point out that when doing comparison, where you pick on the strings you should both pick in the same spot for a proper comparison. The bearded guy was picking above bridge pick up in all switch position, that will give a much brighter sound. The guy with Epiphone picked more to the centre , that will give a much flatter sound. I have a Gibson 1962 EB3 and a more recent Epiphone , i find they sound the same.
To me the Epiphone is close enough that you would never tell the difference by the sound unless you were doing a side by side comparison. I think the best way is to get the Epiphone and upgade that horrible 3 pole bridge they always try to ruin their basses with.
Fun fact the 3 point bridge has been used on gibson basses as well as epiphone it does not really matter which you go for, theyre both high quality instruments the only difference is 1 has more tonal options costs less, and bears a name that you wount want to be caught with, on the other hand you have the other with a new bridge, granted if it was the older gibson EB style basses now you have the same bridge on both same electronic, different brand and the more expensive guitar having less knobs and less optional variety for tone with brand name tuners which doesnt mean anything because i can not think what was the last time you ever found tuners to be "low quality" it just does not happen on basses like these tuners are tuners, and they do their job regardless if you stamped "donald trump" on them or not. The brand name of the guitar along with the tuners Are worth way more then the tones you can get out of that guitar. If i went to warmoth tell them to build me a fender P bass (Warmoth does not put any logos on their headstock necks) and i go to a sticker shop pay like $40 to get a quality sticker i calculate where the sticker goes, put a nice big fender precision bass logo from the 70s grab it and tie it around a pickup truck and drive the pickup truck 2 miles down a highway with the guitar body behind, and put it up for sale "lightly" used vintage 1973 Fender precision bass. Suddendly the price goes up to like $5,000
in here these assholes are talking about the 2 point oh oh excuse me Ahem *cough* 3 point bridge like it suddendly became the worst thing Gibson has ever come out with, meanwhile in other videos that would not be seen as a flaw or hardly a flaw at all. Here they look at the epiphone and laugh at the 3 point bridge, calling it "lower quality" it works but the brand name "metal" is definetly a step up. Like are you fucking kidding me? its the same bridge gibson thunderbirds have been using since like forever, the older EB0 EB-3 used to have the 3 point bridge system its fucking ridiculous to claim something is lower quality on a brand that its whole popularity revolves around idiots like these saying "oh yeah bruh epiphone is really low quality" nu uh "bro" obviously youve never been to 3 or more guitar shops and compared side by side standard les paul models standard Bass models of these brands side by side same amp same equalizer same clean channel same cord same everything, the differences are barely if anything NOT noticeable other then arious neck shapes and sizes.
@@el_principe3611 THink aboot it thats like every single gibson bass right there, every single goddam gibson bass has had this bridge since they started making it, whats wrong with having it on epiphone? Theyre the same bridge on an epiphone as it is on the gibson, (im not talking aboot the babicz bridge in the video) What i dont understand is why these little fuckers in the video are talking down on the epiphone 3 point bridge, when the 3 point bridge itself has been the standard for gibson thunderbirds and Eb3s and eb0s literally forever, does that mean that the gibson 3 point bridge needs to be thrown away because "it doesnt have contact with the wood and doesnt sustain quite as long" Come on!!! get real!!!! Let me tell you why this is a load of bullshit, your pickups have wax potting inside of them, now what wax potting does is it *isolates* the whole thing to pickup only the string sounds, not the outside sounds, had this been an acoustic guitar, sure the body woods and neck woods can affect the sound of the guitar, however because this is an electric it doesnt matter if you have a floating bridge above the body where it doesnt make contact, or if you have a fixed bridge fully anchored t othe body, as long as some sort of string vibration happens over the magnets of that pickup, you can make sound. If pickups did not come wax potted then you would hear every single knock every single "wood tone" and feedback, but you would not want to hear how your "wood tones" sound on an electric guitar, because it is just a jumbled mess of *overtones* and constant feedback if you have a pickup thats not wax potted. Also you wount want your wood to vibrate in the same frequency as the sound that youre producing from the string, why? because the wood vibrating actually stops the frequency of the sound being made by your string, if it vibrates i nthe same frequency it cancels out the note. For example i want you to play a note on your bass on the G string 5 fret maybe 4th fret or 3rd fret, and i want you to sustain that note, when the sustain of your note becomes dead almost instantly you have found the frequency in which the wood of the guitar vibrates, and when that happens you loose sustain, why? well its easy because the wood is vibrating in the same frequency against the strings it cancels it out. To fix this you simply need to put a C clamp at the end of the headstock of your bass, now if you play the same note it may or may not be fixed, but now your dead note/ dead spot may have moved somewhere else on the neck of the guitar... This proves that if your pickups could really pickup the sounds coming from the wood of the guitar, it would be a very bad thing indeed and would offer no extra sustain whatsoever. Same thing goes for the bridge, it doesnt matter if that bridge is 5 inches high off the body wood, or fixed in place right to the body wood, as long as you have a string close enough to a magnet you will be able to make sounds with it
If you like everything else about the bass, Hipshot makes a replacement bridge that allows for more precise intonation. Which is the downside of the 3 point bridge and the reason bass players have disparaged Gibson basses my entire life. It's one thing to have a tech like Jack Bruce had and it's another to have to fool around with it yourself.
For the people who've never played the Gibson.........The neck is on the SG wider vs the Epi EBO or Squire Jag SS and feels substantial. It does NOT feel like a toy. Also, I've heard about the infamous neck dive issue w the Epi EB3, which is a full 34" scale. I believe that because of their small bodies, the SG, EB3 & EB0's were meant to strictly be SS basses.
So glad I've found a dedicated bass review channel, no fuss, really great work. Should start doing Amps though- RUclips needs a great thorough run through of the AD200 MK3 from orange
Big difference between these two that most don't realize. The Gibson is a 30" Shorty. The Epiphone on the other hand, is no longer a shorty, but is now a 34" Long Scale! Too bad... I'd so buy the Epiphone if it were still a true 30" Shorty!
Great work guys! You should let people know you can improve the Epi quite a bit just by adding the extension bar to the stock bridge. It brings the ball end and windings back about a half inch which improves how they cross the witness point(saddle) makes for better intonation and setup. Adds some mass to the bridge as well. EZ no mods installation!
FWIW i used to own a real Gibson 70s EB3 (with the full tone ckt they seem to have dropped?) I now have an Epi and it is really a great bang for the buck bass. BIG TIP - they vary, so best bet is to go to a store that has several to try out and find a "pick of the litter".
I just bought an EB3 with a slightly twisted neck for $100. WORTH IT. They don’t cut thru the mix as well as a P-Bass, but they do that nasty growl quite well.
Nice video guys! I used to own an Epiphone EB-3 and currently own a 2013 Gibson, and in my opinion the Gibson is a vastly better instrument well worth the upgrade. Different scale lengths aside, in the long run the Gibson's pickups, hardware and wood quality are far ahead of the Epi's. My particular Epi may have been a dud, but it suffered from microphonic pickups and hardware coming loose due to soft woods used, not to mention way more dive because of the longer neck. The Gibson can be had pretty cheap second hand, and I totally recommend spending the few hundred extra if SG basses are your thing. It's a lot of fun to play with a tone all its own. YMMV, but this is what I've experienced.
Bridge isnt as resonant, neck is full scale unlike the gibson, which makes a considerable difference in sound, different tone wood, also the epiphone had a ugly veneer layer on the top but the cutaways on the sides dont have that weird veneer so it looks pretty goofy in person, thats more personal preference, but I think it looks gross. You absolutely could buy an Epiphone and get some used pickups but their often very hard to find for a reasonable price, and often people sell the epiphone pickups but call them gibson even though a real gibson pickup could never go for that good of a price. Also a lot of the gibson ones that get sold are often very old and worn out, they wont be as vibrant or loud sounding, or they might not work at all. I recently bought a 70s Electra Tritone 2261 which is a Japanese EB3 copy but its of considerably higher quality than the Epiphone. I plan on replacing the pickups with brand new Curtis Novak EB pickups, which would set my back about 500 dollars for the set but its worth it to me to fix up a beautiful vintage reproduction rather a cheap epiphone. I would recommend buying a Japanese 70s lawsuit era EB3 over the epiphone, or at least looking up some on reverb, there are some really neat copies on there
I bought a 2022 Gibson SG Standard Bass and it has the same cheap bridge as the Epiphone in this video. However, it plays like a dream and has no tuning issues. I leave it in its case for two to three months at a time and it's still in perfect tune when I finally pull it out to play.
The Epiphone has a brighter tone which I like. Next time you two do a comparison try dialing up a more modern tone along with the jazz tone so Rock and Metal bass players can get a true idea of what the bass really sound like.
I'm very glad for this video. My first bass was and I still have, the Epiphone EB-3. Pros: I love the neck. No other bass comes close. The narrow thin neck makes easy fast paced fingering vs other basses. It's light compared to other basses. The Cons, the horrible neck dive. Now some people say it's unplayable with the neck dive, which is BS. It is very playable, but you have to be aware of it when you take your fingering hand off of it, which I have to adjust my amp. In that situation it sucks. The worst con is the mudbucker. You can hear clearly the huge difference between the Gibson and the Epiphone. When I bought the new Epiphone Thunderbird Pro active bass, others noticed a huge difference in the clarity. So because of this review, I would like to buy the Gibson SG bass as my passive bass. I also love my Thunderbird, for it too has a thinner neck than most other basses. I liked the JBass neck, but not the sound. I love the fat humbucking sound. PBass and Music Man necks are too thick for my taste. So that's why I love the Thunderbird. I love the SG bass neck the best though. I wonder how hard it would be to switch out the pickups in my Epiphone EB-3 for the Gibson's? Frankly, I would love to get a Rickenbacker 4004, for it has that growl that Gibson has, but different. They are hard to find, and when you do they are way overpriced. Supply and demand. Rickenbacker doesn't make enough to drive up the price which technically awesome basses, but not worth the price tag.
One of the best reviews I’ve seen. Nice playing and demo. Love that bridge pickup. Yes, I had about 4 EB3’s as well as multiple Fenders, Stingrays, Sterlings and an Ibanez ATK which was like an EB3 and stayed in tune abit more. Now, I have a burgundy Warwick Jack Bruce Survivor bass which is huge. Would consider getting this SG bass just to play Sweet Wine from Live Cream. What this bass allows you to do is bend strings. Bend to the ‘’blue note”, bend to the octave from the 7th pushing against the fret, like Jack Bruce did in West, Bruce & Laing and Live Cream. Very nice for power trio jamming.
I have always been of the view that there is no point assessing the sound characteristics of a guitar bass or whatever through effects pedals. Not even reverb (especially not on bass). Rigidity of bridge? The original EBOs/EB3s had two-point wrap-over bridges. I have not found that the supposed 'lack of contact' is an issue. There was plenty of vibration transmitted into the body through the original posts on a Gibbo bridge. Further, we are listening to two different players with different techniques. Remember the EBs are a time-warp, and here the Epi scores. It has the 2 tone 2 vol controls. Not sure why they extended the scale-length, but I guess this does work a little better for intonation. Lastly, no it's not an investment piece. Gibson production volume has been so high that even Custom Shop stuff will not be an investment. Buy it to play it. On the road gear gets trashed, so use it and abuse it. That is going to be the gauge of what you should spend. Oh, and slap some flat-wounds on!
I liked the fact that the Gibson has an even volume/tone over all frequencies, if you look away from the video and go by ear, you can really hear some of the epiphone note REALLY HIGH and stand out
I bought an Epiphone EB0 on Craigslist for $100 and swapped the bridge for a Hipshot, added a DiMarzio jazz pickup at the bridge, a 3 position pickup selector switch, and an EMG afterburner. Spent a total of about $300 and I'd put it up against the Gibson any day of the week.
@@TheBassChannel absolutely -you can mod forever but there are certain things that Gibson will put on it’s flag ship basses they cannot even be defined until they’ve been solved.
I loved the video! But you didn't mention Jack Bruce. :( I learned to play bass on on an EB-3 and learning my lines listening and learning Cream albums.)
I find these comparisons basically useless, because the Epiphone is designed to be more affordable. I own several Epiphones because I simply cannot afford a Gibson, and the fact is, the Epiphones do perform at a high level that makes spending all that money on one Gibson where I can own several Epis. It's easy to tweak the controls and the amp to where I can always get the tone I want. So if you want to spend the money, yeah, you will get a great instrument, but if you can't or don't want to, you will still get a great instrument.
Very nice demo! The Epiphone also comes in a short-scale which would have been a bit more of an even comparison. But my interest was in hearing the Gibson. Thanks. Helps me a lot.
@@bryanleigh6497 it actually did, it's called the elitist. Actually the most period-correct looking eb3 bass gibson has put out in recent years. They discontinued it though so they're pretty few and far inbetween.
Good video comparing the two, but they should have reissued the EB3 with it's varitone, it's still unbalanced but it has more variation with the sound, this is why I bought an EB4 with coil taps! great sounding bass
Nice video guys, can you guys do pickup comparison for eb/sg bass like u guys did for P bass? For example dimarzio, curtis novak, dark star, artec EB pickups
Heres the lowdown, first. The EB-3 from Epiphone does not model the Gibson SG Bass. Instead Epiphone decided to model the full scale EB-3L. Of course they’re going to feel different as they have different scale lengths along with a difference in string tension. If you wanted a full scale EB-3 that sounds great, buy the Epi and replace the electronics (I’ve had a few EB-3s that came with really bad pots even though Sweetwater and Guitar Center did a ‘quality’ check) with something from switchcraft. There also might be grounding issues with the Epi so triple check everything and isolate the problem. Replace the tuners and also get it set up yourself or by a luthier. Any bass can play and sound 10 times better if you put work into that instrument.
Will seemed very muted in this film, I don't know if it was caused by microphone placement or by panorama stettings. Hope you'll find a way to improve this, just a production hint.
Nice one, but I think you are playing the Epiphone in the "1" position of the pickup selector which means we hear just the bridge pickup from the 6th minute and after!
If you are into modding, the Epiphone is a great purchase. If you aren't into modding, and looking for this style bass to be your main axe, I would go with the Gibson myself. The Epiphone has a weaker pickup in the neck.
"This neck doesn't feel as sticky" The one that doesn't feel sticky is a nitro finish. That's one of the most easy to spot differences between nitro and poly.
Ummmmm, I actually like the Epiphone better. It has a bit more clarity. But that's just my tastes. I thought the Gibson was just all lower tones, with not even a hint of treble.
The Gibson SGs I had in the past had the 3 point bridge. The Babicz bridge on the Gibsons must be a fairly recent change. Babicz definitely a better bridge. I don't know who makes it, but there's a direct replacement bridge that's just like the Babicz. I would like to hear the difference (if any) between the stock 3 point & the Babicz style on the Epiphone.
Chris Davis -- The Babiscz bridge was one year only because Gibson stopped making the SG bass in 2016. And the Hipshot Supertone is a rival drop-in bridge which is not as full contact as the Babiscz, but allows sideways saddle adjustment which the Babiscz doesn't.
IMO and E tone has a lot to do with the players hands. Still the difference wasn't that big (except fir the harmonics part) seems like one could do really well with the Epi and just modding it. I definitely would go that route, but I can't really "feel" them through a video (as in neck) and my budget fir gear is pretty low
Completely agreed. The player is crucial in generating tone. That's why we switched about halfway through the video. The Epiphone is a great value for the budget-conscious player. A little 220 grit sandpaper to the back of the neck is a quick fix for the sticky lacquer.
Bassic Gear Review I noticed the switch. Maybe if you do another bass comparison do cuts between the same player on both basses with same settings sequentially. In this one they're really far apart
Bassic Gear Review Nice! And if that's not what you're going to be doing can you do the higher end Epi TBird (Classic Pro, passive Gibson PUs) against the Gibson one (if you can get one, they're no longer produced...)
The BABICZ FCH 3-POINT bridge does NOT come with the Gibson bass. Not sure where you guys got your bass but this bridge is a definite upgrade for $200. I'm afraid that Gibson still refuses to change the bridge despite all the criticism of it.
Ok, so the Epiphone is a full scale (deal breaker). I had a '69 Gibson EB3 and now looking for a less pricey equivalent (or close). They're right. The tone, the low end consistency across the neck, etc etc... Sweet Butter 😚
Honestly, wasn’t expecting it, but the Epiphone sounds just as good! At times even better to my ear. The Epiphone came across as having a broader spectrum, which I prefer! You get more boom with the Gibson but, it’s not that pleasing to my ears. On these comparisons you should be playing the same licks, for what it’s worth. And the shorter scale sounded flubby to me.
Neither one of them sound like the thing from the 60' & 70's! Pickups are WEAK!!! The old pickups were HUGE, DEEP, MONSTERS! I'd rather go cheaper with the Epiphone. Longer neck!! I bought a long neck SG Epiphone and put 1971 gibson humbuckers in it. INSANE LOW END!
please do the thunderbird you guys do some great reviews actually most of my tone has came from your guys reviews on pedals and if love to see the thunderbirds!!!
You guys crack me up.. some of your videos have been decently informative. Some.. wish dude on the right would focus more on playing instead of trying to look like he’s gods gift to bass ha. Dude on right, really appreciate your playing.
What these guys don't say is that any vintage Gibson EB3 (1961-79) sounds far better than these basses. The Epi is nasal sounding cheap crap, and the SG for over a grand forget it -- buy a vintage EB3 for not much more bucks.
![Tee Grizzley - Robbery 8 [Official Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/34_vkNV6wrU/mqdefault.jpg)
To us, the Gibson had more precise, clearer tone. The Epiphone is a real bargain though, it's still a great bass. Great job gentlemen, thank you.
Price tag dicks
But were both guitars set up properly with intonations set ?? If you are going to compare do it properly.
@@steveellis6090 On top of what you point out the same bassist should be playing the same notes in the same style in order to give a clearer demonstrative comparison.
Fun fact the 3 point bridge has been used on gibson basses as well as epiphone it does not really matter which you go for, theyre both high quality instruments the only difference is 1 has more tonal options costs less, and bears a name that you wount want to be caught with, on the other hand you have the other with a new bridge, granted if it was the older gibson EB style basses now you have the same bridge on both same electronic, different brand and the more expensive guitar having less knobs and less optional variety for tone with brand name tuners which doesnt mean anything because i can not think what was the last time you ever found tuners to be "low quality" it just does not happen on basses like these tuners are tuners, and they do their job regardless if you stamped "donald trump" on them or not. The brand name of the guitar along with the tuners Are worth way more then the tones you can get out of that guitar.
If i went to warmoth tell them to build me a fender P bass (Warmoth does not put any logos on their headstock necks) and i go to a sticker shop pay like $40 to get a quality sticker i calculate where the sticker goes, put a nice big fender precision bass logo from the 70s grab it and tie it around a pickup truck and drive the pickup truck 2 miles down a highway with the guitar body behind. i go to Seymur duncan and ask for a antiquity P bass pickup and put it up for sale "lightly" used vintage 1973 Fender precision bass. Suddendly the price goes up to like $5,000 for the name alone, and of course any bastard that comes and doesnt poke their nose around too much such as open the electronic cavity, or anybody that doesnt have a clue how the setup of a vintage 70's P bass looks like would be fooled into thinking this is the real deal
And i cant believe these 2 idiots call the 3 point bridge on the epiphone lower quality and talk shit about it like it was some sort of inferior design which by the way gibson has been using for more then 30 years now the Gibson RD bass use to have it the gibson thunderbirds the EB3's used to have the 3 point bridge, and you mean to tell me that youre falling for this bullshit which you know is not true. ALL of you are falling for this bullshit when you pay for a gibson youre paying for the brand name, end of story.
Gibson sounded better but not $1300 better.
Yeah it did, and it plays better
Trust me, when you play them side by side you can feel the huge difference in quality. Like night and day
@Curtis Talon now the fbi knows
Look around on Ebay and Reverb, I've been seeing some decent prices on them lately.
@@absolving I remember when I got my SG standard after playing Epiphone G-400s my whole life. The difference is outstanding. That's saying something because my Standard has a 50's neck on it, yet it still feels more manageable than the G-400, the Special, or the Junior I had.
I would like to point out that when doing comparison, where you pick on the strings you should both pick in the same spot for a proper comparison. The bearded guy was picking above bridge pick up in all switch position, that will give a much brighter sound. The guy with Epiphone picked more to the centre , that will give a much flatter sound. I have a Gibson 1962 EB3 and a more recent Epiphone , i find they sound the same.
To me, an EB bass definitely needs to be slightly dirty and playing nasty metal riffs. It even comes with its own devil horns.
Exactly right. The horns are so cool. I love the SG shape. It fits into metal SO well. These basses both sound pretty killer to me, too.
Chubby bass players are definitely superior I think.
Kevin Ramseyer Like Paul McCartney, do you mean? 🤔😏
They're phat. 😆
Chief among the reasons I'm trying to gain weight.
Oh dear! I'm skinny, and I'm trying so hard to learn bass. 😲
@@Jasper_4444 try packing them cheeseburgers and soon, youd be a master 😂
To me the Epiphone is close enough that you would never tell the difference by the sound unless you were doing a side by side comparison. I think the best way is to get the Epiphone and upgade that horrible 3 pole bridge they always try to ruin their basses with.
Fun fact the 3 point bridge has been used on gibson basses as well as epiphone it does not really matter which you go for, theyre both high quality instruments the only difference is 1 has more tonal options costs less, and bears a name that you wount want to be caught with, on the other hand you have the other with a new bridge, granted if it was the older gibson EB style basses now you have the same bridge on both same electronic, different brand and the more expensive guitar having less knobs and less optional variety for tone with brand name tuners which doesnt mean anything because i can not think what was the last time you ever found tuners to be "low quality" it just does not happen on basses like these tuners are tuners, and they do their job regardless if you stamped "donald trump" on them or not. The brand name of the guitar along with the tuners Are worth way more then the tones you can get out of that guitar.
If i went to warmoth tell them to build me a fender P bass (Warmoth does not put any logos on their headstock necks) and i go to a sticker shop pay like $40 to get a quality sticker i calculate where the sticker goes, put a nice big fender precision bass logo from the 70s grab it and tie it around a pickup truck and drive the pickup truck 2 miles down a highway with the guitar body behind, and put it up for sale "lightly" used vintage 1973 Fender precision bass. Suddendly the price goes up to like $5,000
in here these assholes are talking about the 2 point oh oh excuse me Ahem *cough* 3 point bridge like it suddendly became the worst thing Gibson has ever come out with, meanwhile in other videos that would not be seen as a flaw or hardly a flaw at all. Here they look at the epiphone and laugh at the 3 point bridge, calling it "lower quality" it works but the brand name "metal" is definetly a step up. Like are you fucking kidding me? its the same bridge gibson thunderbirds have been using since like forever, the older EB0 EB-3 used to have the 3 point bridge system its fucking ridiculous to claim something is lower quality on a brand that its whole popularity revolves around idiots like these saying "oh yeah bruh epiphone is really low quality" nu uh "bro" obviously youve never been to 3 or more guitar shops and compared side by side standard les paul models standard Bass models of these brands side by side same amp same equalizer same clean channel same cord same everything, the differences are barely if anything NOT noticeable other then arious neck shapes and sizes.
@@ernestochang1744 The bridge is the worst part of the bass
@@el_principe3611 THink aboot it thats like every single gibson bass right there, every single goddam gibson bass has had this bridge since they started making it, whats wrong with having it on epiphone? Theyre the same bridge on an epiphone as it is on the gibson, (im not talking aboot the babicz bridge in the video)
What i dont understand is why these little fuckers in the video are talking down on the epiphone 3 point bridge, when the 3 point bridge itself has been the standard for gibson thunderbirds and Eb3s and eb0s literally forever, does that mean that the gibson 3 point bridge needs to be thrown away because "it doesnt have contact with the wood and doesnt sustain quite as long"
Come on!!! get real!!!!
Let me tell you why this is a load of bullshit, your pickups have wax potting inside of them, now what wax potting does is it *isolates* the whole thing to pickup only the string sounds, not the outside sounds, had this been an acoustic guitar, sure the body woods and neck woods can affect the sound of the guitar, however because this is an electric it doesnt matter if you have a floating bridge above the body where it doesnt make contact, or if you have a fixed bridge fully anchored t othe body, as long as some sort of string vibration happens over the magnets of that pickup, you can make sound. If pickups did not come wax potted then you would hear every single knock every single "wood tone" and feedback, but you would not want to hear how your "wood tones" sound on an electric guitar, because it is just a jumbled mess of *overtones* and constant feedback if you have a pickup thats not wax potted.
Also you wount want your wood to vibrate in the same frequency as the sound that youre producing from the string, why? because the wood vibrating actually stops the frequency of the sound being made by your string, if it vibrates i nthe same frequency it cancels out the note. For example i want you to play a note on your bass on the G string 5 fret maybe 4th fret or 3rd fret, and i want you to sustain that note, when the sustain of your note becomes dead almost instantly you have found the frequency in which the wood of the guitar vibrates, and when that happens you loose sustain, why? well its easy because the wood is vibrating in the same frequency against the strings it cancels it out. To fix this you simply need to put a C clamp at the end of the headstock of your bass, now if you play the same note it may or may not be fixed, but now your dead note/ dead spot may have moved somewhere else on the neck of the guitar...
This proves that if your pickups could really pickup the sounds coming from the wood of the guitar, it would be a very bad thing indeed and would offer no extra sustain whatsoever. Same thing goes for the bridge, it doesnt matter if that bridge is 5 inches high off the body wood, or fixed in place right to the body wood, as long as you have a string close enough to a magnet you will be able to make sounds with it
If you like everything else about the bass, Hipshot makes a replacement bridge that allows for more precise intonation. Which is the downside of the 3 point bridge and the reason bass players have disparaged Gibson basses my entire life. It's one thing to have a tech like Jack Bruce had and it's another to have to fool around with it yourself.
The video is pretty decent, except for the fact both basses were rather quiet compared to your voices which made things a little hard to hear.
Yep
Nice pfp bro
@@jery3385 thanks girl
No problem girl
Your pfp reminds me of fucked up times, according to my friends who've read it atleast.
this video is what the internet needed for a long time... Amazing job!
Jim Dragon Thank you!
jahaaa ;-)
Another big factor in tonal differences is where you are plucking. Sweater guy is over the mudbucker and BOSS guy is over the bridge pickup.
I Like the Epiphone more. GREAT DEMO!!!!
For the people who've never played the Gibson.........The neck is on the SG wider vs the Epi EBO or Squire Jag SS and feels substantial. It does NOT feel like a toy. Also, I've heard about the infamous neck dive issue w the Epi EB3, which is a full 34" scale. I believe that because of their small bodies, the SG, EB3 & EB0's were meant to strictly be SS basses.
So glad I've found a dedicated bass review channel, no fuss, really great work. Should start doing Amps though- RUclips needs a great thorough run through of the AD200 MK3 from orange
+Noah Fox Thanks! We definitely want to do more amps in the near future.
Bassic Gear Review how about some Traynor amps?!
Big difference between these two that most don't realize. The Gibson is a 30" Shorty. The Epiphone on the other hand, is no longer a shorty, but is now a 34" Long Scale! Too bad... I'd so buy the Epiphone if it were still a true 30" Shorty!
Great work guys!
You should let people know you can improve the Epi quite a bit just by adding the extension bar to the stock bridge.
It brings the ball end and windings back about a half inch which improves how they cross the witness point(saddle)
makes for better intonation and setup. Adds some mass to the bridge as well. EZ no mods installation!
FWIW i used to own a real Gibson 70s EB3 (with the full tone ckt they seem to have dropped?)
I now have an Epi and it is really a great bang for the buck bass. BIG TIP - they vary, so best
bet is to go to a store that has several to try out and find a "pick of the litter".
I’ve been playing a eb3 since the 60s you can’t beat the true bass sound and the neck works great with my short fingers
in deep sound it looks a lot like paul mccartney's hofner
I just bought an EB3 with a slightly twisted neck for $100. WORTH IT. They don’t cut thru the mix as well as a P-Bass, but they do that nasty growl quite well.
I have an epi eb3 with everything modded out (new neck pickup, no bridge pickup, new bridge, tuners, nut, electronics). Pretty neat.
Nice video guys! I used to own an Epiphone EB-3 and currently own a 2013 Gibson, and in my opinion the Gibson is a vastly better instrument well worth the upgrade.
Different scale lengths aside, in the long run the Gibson's pickups, hardware and wood quality are far ahead of the Epi's. My particular Epi may have been a dud, but it suffered from microphonic pickups and hardware coming loose due to soft woods used, not to mention way more dive because of the longer neck. The Gibson can be had pretty cheap second hand, and I totally recommend spending the few hundred extra if SG basses are your thing. It's a lot of fun to play with a tone all its own. YMMV, but this is what I've experienced.
Couldn't I just buy the Epiphone and then buy some used Gibson pickups and like save a decent amount?
Micro USB
The main problem with the EB-3 isn't the sound but the playabiliy and the neck dive
@@NtWarlock maybe a heavier bridge would balance It?
Bridge isnt as resonant, neck is full scale unlike the gibson, which makes a considerable difference in sound, different tone wood, also the epiphone had a ugly veneer layer on the top but the cutaways on the sides dont have that weird veneer so it looks pretty goofy in person, thats more personal preference, but I think it looks gross. You absolutely could buy an Epiphone and get some used pickups but their often very hard to find for a reasonable price, and often people sell the epiphone pickups but call them gibson even though a real gibson pickup could never go for that good of a price. Also a lot of the gibson ones that get sold are often very old and worn out, they wont be as vibrant or loud sounding, or they might not work at all. I recently bought a 70s Electra Tritone 2261 which is a Japanese EB3 copy but its of considerably higher quality than the Epiphone. I plan on replacing the pickups with brand new Curtis Novak EB pickups, which would set my back about 500 dollars for the set but its worth it to me to fix up a beautiful vintage reproduction rather a cheap epiphone. I would recommend buying a Japanese 70s lawsuit era EB3 over the epiphone, or at least looking up some on reverb, there are some really neat copies on there
Both sound similarly good but the Gibby's overtones are much clearer, probably due to the different bridges. Good show guys!
I bought a 2022 Gibson SG Standard Bass and it has the same cheap bridge as the Epiphone in this video. However, it plays like a dream and has no tuning issues. I leave it in its case for two to three months at a time and it's still in perfect tune when I finally pull it out to play.
what an awesome channel Will! I can't believe that I just now discovered this. Thanks brother :)
SG definitely has more of that Jack Bruce doomy thump. Epiphone sounds a bit more generic electric bass, but not bad.
The Epiphone has a brighter tone which I like. Next time you two do a comparison try dialing up a more modern tone along with the jazz tone so Rock and Metal bass players can get a true idea of what the bass really sound like.
Great playing by the guy with the Gibby. Nice & tasteful.
I meant Nick, with the Boss shirt......
I'm very glad for this video. My first bass was and I still have, the Epiphone EB-3. Pros: I love the neck. No other bass comes close. The narrow thin neck makes easy fast paced fingering vs other basses. It's light compared to other basses. The Cons, the horrible neck dive. Now some people say it's unplayable with the neck dive, which is BS. It is very playable, but you have to be aware of it when you take your fingering hand off of it, which I have to adjust my amp. In that situation it sucks. The worst con is the mudbucker. You can hear clearly the huge difference between the Gibson and the Epiphone. When I bought the new Epiphone Thunderbird Pro active bass, others noticed a huge difference in the clarity. So because of this review, I would like to buy the Gibson SG bass as my passive bass. I also love my Thunderbird, for it too has a thinner neck than most other basses. I liked the JBass neck, but not the sound. I love the fat humbucking sound. PBass and Music Man necks are too thick for my taste. So that's why I love the Thunderbird. I love the SG bass neck the best though. I wonder how hard it would be to switch out the pickups in my Epiphone EB-3 for the Gibson's?
Frankly, I would love to get a Rickenbacker 4004, for it has that growl that Gibson has, but different. They are hard to find, and when you do they are way overpriced. Supply and demand. Rickenbacker doesn't make enough to drive up the price which technically awesome basses, but not worth the price tag.
I have the SG, and put a headstock strap on it, neck dive solved!
One of the best reviews I’ve seen. Nice playing and demo. Love that bridge pickup. Yes, I had about 4 EB3’s as well as multiple Fenders, Stingrays, Sterlings and an Ibanez ATK which was like an EB3 and stayed in tune abit more. Now, I have a burgundy Warwick Jack Bruce Survivor bass which is huge. Would consider getting this SG bass just to play Sweet Wine from Live Cream. What this bass allows you to do is bend strings. Bend to the ‘’blue note”, bend to the octave from the 7th pushing against the fret, like Jack Bruce did in West, Bruce & Laing and Live Cream. Very nice for power trio jamming.
I have always been of the view that there is no point assessing the sound characteristics of a guitar bass or whatever through effects pedals. Not even reverb (especially not on bass). Rigidity of bridge? The original EBOs/EB3s had two-point wrap-over bridges. I have not found that the supposed 'lack of contact' is an issue. There was plenty of vibration transmitted into the body through the original posts on a Gibbo bridge. Further, we are listening to two different players with different techniques. Remember the EBs are a time-warp, and here the Epi scores. It has the 2 tone 2 vol controls. Not sure why they extended the scale-length, but I guess this does work a little better for intonation. Lastly, no it's not an investment piece. Gibson production volume has been so high that even Custom Shop stuff will not be an investment. Buy it to play it. On the road gear gets trashed, so use it and abuse it. That is going to be the gauge of what you should spend. Oh, and slap some flat-wounds on!
I liked the fact that the Gibson has an even volume/tone over all frequencies, if you look away from the video and go by ear, you can really hear some of the epiphone note REALLY HIGH and stand out
I bought an Epiphone EB0 on Craigslist for $100 and swapped the bridge for a Hipshot, added a DiMarzio jazz pickup at the bridge, a 3 position pickup selector switch, and an EMG afterburner. Spent a total of about $300 and I'd put it up against the Gibson any day of the week.
The Gibson will win every time.
@@TheBassChannel absolutely -you can mod forever but there are certain things that Gibson will put on it’s flag ship basses they cannot even be defined until they’ve been solved.
You have to have the same person using both basses. Two players pluck at different tensions. I’ll take the Epiphone
I loved the video! But you didn't mention Jack Bruce. :( I learned to play bass on on an EB-3 and learning my lines listening and learning Cream albums.)
I find these comparisons basically useless, because the Epiphone is designed to be more affordable. I own several Epiphones because I simply cannot afford a Gibson, and the fact is, the Epiphones do perform at a high level that makes spending all that money on one Gibson where I can own several Epis. It's easy to tweak the controls and the amp to where I can always get the tone I want. So if you want to spend the money, yeah, you will get a great instrument, but if you can't or don't want to, you will still get a great instrument.
Very nice demo! The Epiphone also comes in a short-scale which would have been a bit more of an even comparison. But my interest was in hearing the Gibson. Thanks. Helps me a lot.
The Epi EB3 does not come in short scale
@@bryanleigh6497 it actually did, it's called the elitist. Actually the most period-correct looking eb3 bass gibson has put out in recent years. They discontinued it though so they're pretty few and far inbetween.
great video. You might want to redo it with the Epiphone pickup switch set in the dual position.
Good video comparing the two, but they should have reissued the EB3 with it's varitone, it's still unbalanced but it has more variation with the sound, this is why I bought an EB4 with coil taps! great sounding bass
Nice video guys, can you guys do pickup comparison for eb/sg bass like u guys did for P bass?
For example dimarzio, curtis novak, dark star, artec EB pickups
I don't think the basses' volumes were the same level. One was way louder.
Heres the lowdown, first. The EB-3 from Epiphone does not model the Gibson SG Bass. Instead Epiphone decided to model the full scale EB-3L.
Of course they’re going to feel different as they have different scale lengths along with a difference in string tension. If you wanted a full scale EB-3 that sounds great, buy the Epi and replace the electronics (I’ve had a few EB-3s that came with really bad pots even though Sweetwater and Guitar Center did a ‘quality’ check) with something from switchcraft. There also might be grounding issues with the Epi so triple check everything and isolate the problem. Replace the tuners and also get it set up yourself or by a luthier. Any bass can play and sound 10 times better if you put work into that instrument.
Will seemed very muted in this film, I don't know if it was caused by microphone placement or by panorama stettings. Hope you'll find a way to improve this, just a production hint.
Thanks for the awesome comparison. Does the Gibson have neck dive?
Nice one, but I think you are playing the Epiphone in the "1" position of the pickup selector which means we hear just the bridge pickup from the 6th minute and after!
To my ears, Ephiphone sounds too soft and dull while Gibson sounds clearer and thicker, but for the price wise, Ephiphone is not a bad choice.
Great job Guy's where can I get that BRIDGE that is on the American.............
Great video, really straight-forward. Effective job showing the differences in each bass. Both of these guys rip btw!
Thanks y'all. Kudos!
Comparing 2 guitars that aren't the same scale .
that's exactly what I was thinking! but did they mentione
that?
If you are into modding, the Epiphone is a great purchase. If you aren't into modding, and looking for this style bass to be your main axe, I would go with the Gibson myself. The Epiphone has a weaker pickup in the neck.
I have the EB-3 model and the nice thing about the Epiphone is it's long scale.
"This neck doesn't feel as sticky" The one that doesn't feel sticky is a nitro finish. That's one of the most easy to spot differences between nitro and poly.
great demo guys, i have the gibson, i love it !!
Nice video. Two things you brought up but didn't tell us: the scale of each bass, and the msrp for each. Would you? Thanks.
Epiphone: 34" Scale, $349. Gibson: 30.5" Scale, $1,679 (price according to Gibson.com, but surprisingly enough, varies depending on retailer)
+Bassic Gear Review I invite you guys to smoke a few bowls and play my bass collection for a day
@@landonrutledge2649... So classy zzzzzzz
Ummmmm, I actually like the Epiphone better. It has a bit more clarity. But that's just my tastes. I thought the Gibson was just all lower tones, with not even a hint of treble.
The Gibson SGs I had in the past had the 3 point bridge. The Babicz bridge on the Gibsons must be a fairly recent change. Babicz definitely a better bridge. I don't know who makes it, but there's a direct replacement bridge that's just like the Babicz. I would like to hear the difference (if any) between the stock 3 point & the Babicz style on the Epiphone.
Chris Davis you're probably thinking of Hipshots SuperTone. And the Babicz coming stock was for the 2015 models only (all basses)
Chris Davis -- The Babiscz bridge was one year only because Gibson stopped making the SG bass in 2016. And the Hipshot Supertone is a rival drop-in bridge which is not as full contact as the Babiscz, but allows sideways saddle adjustment which the Babiscz doesn't.
IMO and E tone has a lot to do with the players hands. Still the difference wasn't that big (except fir the harmonics part) seems like one could do really well with the Epi and just modding it. I definitely would go that route, but I can't really "feel" them through a video (as in neck) and my budget fir gear is pretty low
Completely agreed. The player is crucial in generating tone. That's why we switched about halfway through the video. The Epiphone is a great value for the budget-conscious player. A little 220 grit sandpaper to the back of the neck is a quick fix for the sticky lacquer.
Bassic Gear Review I noticed the switch. Maybe if you do another bass comparison do cuts between the same player on both basses with same settings sequentially. In this one they're really far apart
We're shooting another today. We'll try that.
Bassic Gear Review Nice! And if that's not what you're going to be doing can you do the higher end Epi TBird (Classic Pro, passive Gibson PUs) against the Gibson one (if you can get one, they're no longer produced...)
Leiria65 It may be a bit tough for us to get the Gibson Thunderbird, but we if come across one, we'll definitely do it.
The BABICZ FCH 3-POINT bridge does NOT come with the Gibson bass. Not sure where you guys got your bass but this bridge is a definite upgrade for $200. I'm afraid that Gibson still refuses to change the bridge despite all the criticism of it.
The Epi's great.
These guys are great
I have an Epiphone sg and while I admit the Gibby is a superior bass is it $1200 better?
Ok, so the Epiphone is a full scale (deal breaker). I had a '69 Gibson EB3 and now looking for a less pricey equivalent (or close). They're right. The tone, the low end consistency across the neck, etc etc... Sweet Butter 😚
Nick's bass sounds AMAZING!!
So who won? David or Goliat?
Honestly, wasn’t expecting it, but the Epiphone sounds just as good! At times even better to my ear. The Epiphone came across as having a broader spectrum, which I prefer! You get more boom with the Gibson but, it’s not that pleasing to my ears. On these comparisons you should be playing the same licks, for what it’s worth. And the shorter scale sounded flubby to me.
Neither one of them sound like the thing from the 60' & 70's! Pickups are WEAK!!! The old pickups were HUGE, DEEP, MONSTERS! I'd rather go cheaper with the Epiphone. Longer neck!! I bought a long neck SG Epiphone and put 1971 gibson humbuckers in it. INSANE LOW END!
Could you guys do a video comparing the Gibson eb-3 to a Rickenbacker 4001 or 4003
Totally love the fuzz 🤘💀🤘
Nice vid you guys, but I could barely hear the Eb-3 at times.
Did the Babicz bridge come as stock equipment on that Gibson??
Dave Dreiwitz from Ween has a great eb3 tone. I literally can't stand mine, it breaks my back... and I can't even give it away, nobody will take it
Not quite sure if it will do the same job as the old EB3 with it's lack of tone variations.
Sssssh. Don't say the 'c' word. You'll give them anxiety, and they'll lose weight, and the skinny fingers won;t play so good!
The Epiphone’s long scale. We’re talking apples to oranges here (sorta).
Does the epiphone sounds as dark when di'ed ? I quite like dark sounding bass. Have you tried it with flats ? I quite like flats too ;)
please do the thunderbird you guys do some great reviews actually most of my tone has came from your guys reviews on pedals and if love to see the thunderbirds!!!
We currently only have access to one Epiphone Thunderbird Pro but we'll try to see if we can get a couple more.
@@TheBassChannel how did it go?
what was your opinion of the Gibson neck being a Jazz bass person?
You guys crack me up.. some of your videos have been decently informative. Some.. wish dude on the right would focus more on playing instead of trying to look like he’s gods gift to bass ha. Dude on right, really appreciate your playing.
That Gibson looks like a 30" scale. I thought the Epiphone gives the Gibson a run for its money! You could always throw an Aggie pre in that Epiphone.
Turn up the amplifier
What strings did the Gibson have?
Watching with my Gibson sg bass
Will the Babicz bridge fit the epiphany and are there any mods needed?
I had an epiphone eb3 it was cheap, and had a lot of noise from the mudbucker, probably not even grounded
Sound exactly the same to my ears and the probably better playability and looks of the Gibson probably don’t justify the price
Hola, ¿el bajo Gibson da problemas de cabeceo? gracias
Not gonna lie if I had the money I would choose a 1967 EB-0 instead
What strings are on them?
Would you recommend this for someone looking for something that will sits low and under the kick as in sampled hiphop or something similar ?
Gibson basses are great for that kind of sound.
Seems like both basses do a good job of protecting virginity.
The Epiphone tuners are Pot Metal? Wow, that was a low blow.
$400 for the Epiphone and $1500 for the Gibson. Is it worth the price for a beginner? No. When you are getting paid to play, then get the better one.
What these guys don't say is that any vintage Gibson EB3 (1961-79) sounds far better than these basses. The Epi is nasal sounding cheap crap, and the SG for over a grand forget it -- buy a vintage EB3 for not much more bucks.
my dream is the Gibson eb 3.........i think that Epiphon play good, but Gibson sing.
WHAT'S UP GUYS!!!!?? Ha RIP to my ears
What strings work best?
Dad wants his jumper back ha!
dude on the right is playing with louder attack
It's cool!!! Gibson the first! :)
Gibson and Epiphone are different company, but they have similar items.
Gibson own Epiphone as Fender own Squier.
The epiphone sounds better.
nice demo, i have the gibson, worth every penny , (no i am not wealthy )
Is that a 1x15 Cabinet?
+Isaiah Johnson Yes. It's an Ampeg B100R Rocketbass Combo with a 15" speaker.
I know this is music. And i respect it. But i hate and i mean hate this style of bass playing. Keep playing tho