[BryanXChristopher]

there are a few things about the EB2 which i am unclear about.
first, i have been told by one person that it has a shorter scale neck, but i have never heard that from anyone else, and also, some listings on ebay say that the switch on the bass is a mute button, but then i have been told it is to switch into "baritone" mode. which is correct? and also, what is baritone mode if that is what that switch does?

[jules]

The EB2, like all 60s Gibson basses except the Thunderbird, is a short scale bass. That is 30.5 " rather than 34.5" (actually 3/8" not .5)

They never made a long scale semi until the Les Paul Signature bass in the early seventies.

The mute is the metal contraption under the bridge of some (but not all) basses. It is effectively a device for pushing a piece of felt against the strings and dampening them a little. This is different from the baritone button, which is a button, rather than a switch or lever

[Granny Gremlin]

The Baritone switch engages a 2nd order high pass filter - effectively cutting out the majority of the bass frequencies leaving you with a more clanky and trebely sound (think 60s British invasion bands). Many people mistake this for a bass boost switch - but in fact the thunderous sub-woofing lows are what the mudbucker sounds like naked - the switch strips them away to reveal a more audible tone.

[donnervogel]

"the thunderous sub-woofing lows are what the mudbucker sounds like naked ..."

... with the highs and mids filtered away! As we've now learned, a standard sixties EB 2 doesn't have an unmodified pup sound option. It's either bass and low mids filtered away ("baritone") or treble and mid filtered away ("regular", but it really isn't).

Uwe

[Granny Gremlin]

Devil's advocate you are Uwe, but you do raise a valid point.

I'm still skeptical about that theory (and it is still a theory, not fact) - baritone off mode sounds too similar to a regular EBO (which has no choke circuit). Removing the inductor coil from the circuit creates a differant sound, true, but as to which sound is a truely naked mudbucker has not yet been prooven scientifically (shame on you, Uwe, you are usually the one calling for scientific evidence after all :P ).

[BryanXChristopher]

in trying to research the eb2, i have noticed that the epiphone rivioli would appear to be almost the same thing, but the electronics look a little different, does anyone have any info on those? and also, does having the bridge pup in the eb2d combat that overpowering low end of just the mudbucker well?

[jules]

When you say the electronics look different - are you saying you have a wiring loom for each and they look different, or are you talking about a schematic?

Yes the bridge pickup does offer a much brighter sound, but it depends exactly what you mean. No it doesn't turn the EB2 into a bass that can perform well in loud live situations, but yes, for home, small gig and studio use it does add something.

EB2s just don't do loud gigs that well. I've taken mine along, played it at the sound check, and then decided to use something else each time....

[donnervogel]

I saw Mando Diao at a loud gig in a former musical theater , ok Jules, theatre and the bass player played an EB 2 - while I applaud the coolness factor: he might not have bothered to change notes after all, it was one big drone throughout the concert and they didn't have a bad sound overall, this wasn't one of those metal gigs where the bass drum drowns out the bass. You could here the EB 2 drone fine :lol: , but you couldn't discern any notes even though he played with a pick.

Jake, re our little scientific discussion: I always found my EB 2 "the woofer of woofs", even woofier than my EB-0/3 slotheads and attributed that to the hollow body construction and the strings I used on it, but actually the EB 2 with its maple multi ply body should sound brighter than the mahogany bodied EB-0/3s. So maybe it is the filter ... I'm gonna find out soon as I intend to have my 1968 EB 2 modded in that way, i.e. a toggle with three options: baritone, naked mud, "filtered lows and mids mud".

"Scientific evidence" - pah, who ever said that?!!!

Uwe

[santi]

I own an Epi Rivoli (no Rivoli II). The schematics are the same than in EB2. The pickup are poor. So I changed it for an original 68 EB2 pickup. Now it is a great bass.

[catfur]

This might have come up before I was on the board and I don't know what age most of you are or what kind of music anyone plays/listens to here, but the bass player from an L.A. band called Black Rebal Motorcycle Club uses several 60's Rivoli's and an EB-2 and they all sound amazing(my opinion)! The band is lumped in the shoegaze/psych genre by most, but they have a unique spin on whatever they're doing even though I don't like the folky stuff on their last album, but whatever.
His (Robert Turner) bass sound turned totally changed my mind about semi-hollow body basses. I know he uses a plethora of pedals which I'm sure contributes to his sound, but some of of their songs have the most powerful,defined, and coolest bass sound on them! I've seen them live many times and been blown away so I know it's not studio trickery or another bass. He's also a phenominal bass player which helps, but I didn't know if anyone had any insite to why his basses sound SO good.