Huh. Who'da Thunk It?

That's right: A flying V. Though this design is usually associated with metal, it was originally conceived in 1958, long before metal even existed. Country players flocked to it, but not surprisingly, it didn't really take off. Every now and then Epiphone or Gibson will re-release it.

So yes, there's definitely a stigma attached to it and it definitely isn't for everyone; they either love how it looks or they hate it. I personally don't care either way, because all I know is that it's super comfortable, feels great, sounds like my Les Paul, and seemingly weighs as little as my Longhorn. I really dig it.

Warning: GEAR POST

I haven’t posted anything about musical gear (read: basses or bass amps) lately, and seeing as how my Sitemeter indicates that most of the hits are from people searching for information about gear I’ve owned, I’ll post about my most recent acquisition. No, it isn’t an Epiphone EB-3 like I said it would be about this time last year. It’s an Epiphone EB-0. I’ll explain.

I’m a reasonably tall guy (5’11”) with what most would consider large hands. Problem is, I am very inflexible. Out of the 25-plus basses I’ve owned over the years, only one has been shortscale (30”): my Danelectro Longhorn. I bought that one on a whim and got rid of it pretty quickly. I shouldn’t have. For you see, standard scale basses have a scale of 34” or more, and that extra length has always been problematic for me. It requires a reach that my wrist has no problem protesting. I’ve tried wearing the basses at different heights, from down to my knees all the way up to my chest, but nothing helped. Fretting or playing scales at anything below the root G was just too uncomfortable. The solution? Short scale. The EB-3 is long scale, so that option is out the window.

Unfortunately, this meant selling my beloved Les Paul Standard 4-string. I adored that bass but just couldn’t use it to its fullest extent. The thing was just too damned long. So, a couple months ago I sold it to buy an Epiphone EB-0. It’s a short scale with one huge sidewinder (humbucker) pickup right at the neck. It’s an entry-level bass, and people either love it or they hate it. It’s a $200 instrument, and not unlike produce, you have to go through a lot of them to find a good one. I wanted one in black but no store would stock it, so I bought it through Musician’s Friend. I figured that if I didn’t like it, I’d just return it. Well, the first one arrived, and man, it was tweaked. The strings didn’t line up with the pickup pole pieces, and the bridge seemed off-center. So, back it went. The replacement arrived within two days, and visually it was just fine. It sounded good and felt surprisingly good as well. The problem is the intonation. On short scale basses, sometimes intonation is a problem. When you hit an open string, it’s supposed to be in tune open and also at the 12th fret. The harmonic at the 12th fret is in tune, but when fretted, it’s sharp. And then it just gets worse and worse the further up the neck you go. This bums me out because I spend a lot of time beyond the twelfth fret. Most of my parlor tricks take place up there. Without having access to eight other EB-0s to try out, I can’t say if it’s a quality issue or just something inherent to this particular short scale. I played the $13oo Gibson version, but it had the same problem.

So, I’m on the lookout for a better shortscale. There really aren’t too many options out there, unless you have one made. Ideally, I’d like to pick up a now-rare-as-hens’-teeth

Danelectro Longhorn,

or a Waterstone Indra,

or an Airline Map Bass,

or an Italia Torino,

or a Fender Mustang.

So, the quick and dirty review of my EB-0 is this:

1. Sounds reasonably good, very boomy, but really shines through my Hartke preamp

2.Very neck heavy. Actually, head-heavy. As I said to my band mate recently, the headstock is like a divining rod for dirt.

3. The intonation is abysmal. Stay below the ninth fret if you want any kind of accuracy.

4. The harmonics at the third and fifth frets are faint to nonexistent. This distresses me because this is also from where I pull some of my parlor tricks.

5. As you’ll see in about eight million other reviews, it’s a great beginner bass, but not so much for the semi-professional or professional. Or anyone who likes to play in tune.

I don't believe this is a matter of Got What I Paid For. I've owned cheaper basses than this that performed flawlessly. When its replacement arrives, I’ll keep it but convert it to fretless. But for now, it'll just have to do.