Nice Versatile bass

This bass is Gibsons take on a modern bass design.

This bass is fairly versatile, as it uses two humbucker with coil-split functionality. Using push-pull pots for switching between humbucker and single-coil modes is also a nice touch, as it doesn't add any additional controls to the bass, leaving the design with just 3 pots.

Its worth mentioning that even in a j-bass config (both pickups in single-coil mode) the instrument doesn't sound like a typical jazz bass at all. The large open pole pieces of the Alnico pickups make them sound warmer and noticeably darker, but also somewhat punchier than most single-coil pickups. In the humbucker mode these pickups do not sound like MM humbuckers at all (even though they look almost identical to the MM humbuckers). They also do not sound like the typical Gibson mudbuckers, even though they do bear some tonal resemblance. The bridge and neck pickups are wound differently and use different materials, so tonally they are very distinct. Coil splitting works really well and changes the sound of the instrument drastically, but using pickups in different modes (e.g. neck pickup in single-coil and bridge pickup in humbucker mode) produces noticeably more noise (although generally it is not an issue).

The body shape is not something completely unique - its different just enough to be recognizable. In that sense it is a step down from the much more unique design of the 2013 EB. Ergonomically this shape is really comfortable, and the balance is great.

Acoustically the instrument is amazing - it resonates extremely well, to the point where it almost feels like its a semi-hollow instrument (even though it is not). My biggest gripe would be that the pickups (atleast to my ear) don't fully flesh out the harmonic richness of the instrument and have a distinct voicing to them which is not for everyone. While the pickups do give these basses a certain growl (especially noticeable with fresh strings), they also don't capture high frequency content accurately, and make the instrument sound relatively muddy with old strings. That is unsurprising considering their relatively low resonant frequency and high impedance.

Comparing it to a Custom Shop Fender Jazz bass (which I sadly do not own, but have experience playing) - this bass sounds much thicker and darker (with the pickups in the single coil mode) even though acoustically it is louder and brighter. The neck profile is much wider but also less round, resembling more of a "D" shape. The EB4 is definitely doesn't have as fast of a neck as a Jazz Bass, but is still rather comfortable, as the neck is on the thinner end of the spectrum. The Contour of the body on the Gibson feels more modern, but the arm cutaway on the front of the body is much more shallow than on a traditional Jazz bass, making it slightly more awkward to play in certain positions (especially if you prefer playing with a pick).

To get an idea of the pickup voicing it is worth listening to sound demos of the 2015 Thunderbird and this bass side to side - they use the same pickup design, but have a completely different build and use different materials. Because of that, all the similarities in the frequency response are mainly due to this voicing, even though the overall tone of the instruments is very different.

In the past Gibson made a lot of unique instruments with distinctive design and sound. EB4, in my mind, can be viewed as a descendant of Gibsons 1987 IV and V basses (and a great improvement over them). Let me elaborate: both use thunderbird pickups (EB4 uses the same pickups as 2015 thunderbird, although they were originally designed for the 2013 EB bass), both use fairly similar ergonomic body shape and wide string spacing. Unlike the 1987 basses, the 2017 (and 2018) models use swamp ash (which overall gives these basses a much more modern sound), and provide much more tonal options with the coil-split function. Overall its a great versatile bass (with all of the sound options you can get with the 2-mode pickups), however the tonal properties of the pickups may be its biggest flaw (depending on your preferences). Especially, since its difficult to get replacement aftermarket pickups that fit the thunderbird pickup shape and don't require routing. I would strongly recommend playing this bass and "feeling" how it responds to your playing style (and even listening how it sounds acoustically, if it comes down to it). If you want more versatility out of this bass, I would strongly recommend swapping the pickups out for a more neutral-sounding alternatives, which capture the mid and high frequencies of this bass better.

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