Like most musicians, I spend far too much time watching gear videos on YouTube. Back in 2021, I came across a video titled “Top 5 Boutique Guitars You’ve Never Heard Of” that included Fidelity Guitars. I was struck by the retro vibes of their instruments gave them a follow on Instagram.
Prior to buying this old Hag, my exposure to short-scale basses was limited to cheap, poorly set up, beginner models at places like Guitar Center or Sam Ash (RIP). I had long been of the mindset that “real” bassists only play full scale or longer. This opinion was based on absolutely nothing than the hubris of a chronically online bassist who bought into the tropes that shorties were for kids or beginners. As I got older, I ended up stepping away from playing for a few years. When I came back to it through a few other musician friends, I was much more open-minded. One of my best friends had exclusively played short scales for his whole career (Hofner, Vox, etc) and I really dug the sound he got.
Roscoe basses feel like home to me. My first ever “nice” bass was Roscoe LG3005 that I bought off of a website called Superbass back around 2002. I was in a band that was playing between 3-5 times a week and finally could justify spending the money on a high end instrument. To this day, no bass has ever felt more like home than that bass.
I owned an Atelier Z back in the mid 2000s and loved it, but when I stopped playing music regularly and had bills to pay, it was sold off. As I began playing again during the 2020 covid pandemic, I began playing more and more short scale basses, but still missed having the low B string for those moments when it’s needed. There aren’t very many short-scale 5 strings out there, so when I saw this one, I jumped on it.
I had been wanting to get a hollow body bass ever since I played a vintage Gibson EB-2 in a Nashville studio back in 2006 but never had the money, the right deal, or was playing the appropriate music at the right time. When I began looking on Reverb at short scale basses because I was wanting to expand my short scale options beyond my vintage Hagstron, I found this bass. It looked cool, but knowing nothing about Kent basses and being worried that it might be a bit of a basketcase, I didn’t seriously consider buying it. That is, until I saw the video that Jake Serek put out as part of his “All The Basses” series where he profiled interesting, and lesser known basses. Seeing him walk through the bass’s construction, issues, sound, etc made me feel much more comfortable. Especially considering he is a well-known and respected luthier. So, I made him an offer and he accepted.
I fell in love with the Gibson EB 2 when recording with Peter Adams and the Nocturnal Collective in Nashville at Chris Grainger’s (Wilco, Sixpence None The Richer) studio on November 11, 2006. I had brought my Benevente SCB 5 string, but Chris wanted to go for a more vintage style tone than the super crisp, active tone. He recommended I try the bass they had in the corner of the room. It was a 1960s Gibson EB-2 in cherry. I plugged it in and we engaged the mutes and I immediately was smitten. I’ve wanted one ever since, but could never justify the cost. When I came across this one that seemingly had been through a lot, I saw that it was in my price range and decided to take a chance on it.
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