Squier Paranormal Rascal vs. Epiphone Newport - Vintage Vibes Galore! - LowEndLobster Tone Shootout

Hey Everyone! Today we're putting our Squier Paranormal Rascal Bass up against our slightly modified Ephone Newport! We have a special tone shootout today as we'll be testing these basses back to back with both roundwounds (SIT Foundation) and Flatsounds (La Bella Deep Talkin Flats). Vintage vibes await you in this short scale bass battle. Let's do this!

[edwilson]

I just got the shell pink version. Going to make it a breast cancer awareness bass in honor of my wife and daughter, who are both breast cancer survivors. I’m loving it !!!

[thefool]

The Squier with flats sounds awesome. That bass is a winner. It had bark, bite, and sonic flexibility. It has the mojo and looks killer. The other bass was ok but not even close tone wise. Shy in the lows and thin in the highs. Great demo as always.

[Cliffswanson]

This is a really excellent demo showing the very obvious tonal differences between these two basses. And I totally agree that the Paranormal Rascal bass sounds stellar when strung with flats. Thanks for putting in the time to make this demo!

[taitoradephx]

This is the EXACT comparison I was looking for, thank you!

[jonsidell]

That Rascal is begging for some lollipop tuners.

[jamesdykes]

Man the tonal possibilities in the Squire sure kick the piss out of the Newport. Thanks for the demo. Great stuff.

[thomasjoudo]

you sold me on the rascal with your last video, it arrived last night and is spectacular, was looking forward to this video, love the flats.

[trekster]

Yup, added the same flats to my Rascal. Wish you could update this Bass to six claws!

Been contemplating mods, since the pickups are 4-conductor and there is plenty of routes space beneath the pickguard. However, I've decided instead to swap out the volume and tone pots with a jazz bass stack set. 😊

[VillageMonk]

Was really torn between getting one of these two basses but this video made my decision really easy lol. Even though i like the look and colour options of the newport better the thin clanky sound of those pickups is really disappointing. The rascal sounds really nice and full and with the tone up even still has some clarity without being thin. The thiner neck and better qc is really the icing on the cake for me as well. Great video thanks for the comparison!

[BassPlayer]

I installed LaBella flats on my Paranormal Rascal HH a couple weeks and you are correct. They are staying on the bass. This bass is indeed a rock solid playing/sounding bass. I was shocked at the quality of this killer Squier. Cheers!

[JohnnieDelong]

I'm going aginst the flow and saying I liked the Newport. That being said you had to put some hard work and money into it before that test. Stock I would buy the Squier but thanks to your skills thumbs up to the Newport, liked the highs in the tones.

[matthewlongstaff]

My ideal bass would be a Mustang, but with the pickups of the Rascal and the blend control of an Epiphone.

[ericm]

I own that exact Squier Paranormal and it is awesome. Those Fender pickups are probably some of the best sounding pickups I have on any bass. Deep, round with clarity. Really amazing sound.

[davidvitale]

If only I was in the market for yet ANOTER bass, that Sherwood Green Rascal would be on order. Can't say enough good about the tone and vibe. Sounded fantastic.

[rshack]

I'd love to hear a comparison of the Fender vs Squier Rascals!

[mossknives]

Thanks for the review! Just ordered the “Lowend Lobster Red” version! (Fender calls the color Candy apple red).

[st.johnfromdesmoines]

A very interesting comparison! I like most of the tones on both basses. And I like the look and features of both basses. I think my next bass will very likely be a short scale and could very likely even be one of these two specifically! I respect and admire both, though I think the Squier is more novel and unique.

Two things that are equally true of both basses for me: they both sound better with flats, and they both sound better finger style. I really wish we could've heard 50% tone, though, because I almost never use either 100% nor 0% tone on any instrument. I also wish we could've heard how their slap tones sounded, because even with as sloppy and acutely limited of a bass player that I am, tragicomically rudimentary slap is still a factor for me!

What I can say for sure is that when it comes to neck pickup vs neck pickup and bridge pickup vs bridge pickup (at both 100% and at 0%, but especially at 0%), I preferred the sound of the Epiphone across the board - a completely clean sweep! I felt like they had more personality and character - or at least a personality and character I resonate with more strongly. For lack of a better way to say it, they struck my ears as "more cohesive". Also, at 0%, the Squier pickups just sounded like mud, where the Epi retained a little more bite and personality.

I also strongly prefer the look of the Epiphone. Having actually held neither one of them, I can only speculate on feel, but apart from upper fret access being clearly better on the Squier, I strongly suspect that I would also prefer the feel of the Epiphone too. I definitely like that it's not an offset body like the Squier, but also like that the Squier is string-through. I also like that the Squier came perfect out of the box where the Epi needed some serious work to get to where it is.

Where I'm undecided is as it comes to the sounds of the middle position. You're right: the middle position is much much beefier and fatter on the Squier and much much thinner and more scooped on the Epi. It's a phase thing, as you said - and I suspect it wouldn't be super difficult to mod either one to have a phase on/off switch, giving both basses equivalently both kinds of middle position sound. But taking them as they currently are, the problem is, I'm having a REALLY hard time deciding which middle sound I like better. With a pick, I definitely prefer the Squier, but with flats and finger style, I really prefer the Epi.

Though I realize there are significant differences, and this is a fairly weak comparison, the personality of middle position on the Squier reminds me a little bit of a darker, thicker J-Bass, where the middle on the Epiphone doesn't profoundly remind me of anything, with the closest far distant thing maybe being a Rickenbacker. Since I have a J-Bass but don't have anything even remotely like a Ric, that'd make the middle position tone more valuable to me on the Epi. The problem with the Epi middle (besides being thin) is that I hear a little less difference than I'd want between the middle position and the bridge position. They're not completely redundant by any means, but the pickup settings on the Epi don't quite sound like "three completely different things" to me either.

But maybe that's okay. Between the beef of the neck, and the articulation of the bridge, maybe a weirdly scooped thing is an okay third option.

So, I'm torn on the matter of the middle. I also admire the build quality and novelty of the Squier. But put everything on the scales here (no pun intended), and at least preliminarily, I think I probably still prefer the Epi overall. I reserve the right to change my mind on this later after more contemplation and exposure. But off the cuff, at least, go ahead and put me down for Team Epiphone! :-)

Lastly, what happened to the beard? You do you, of course, but personally, I prefer the bearded look on ya. :-)

Great vid! Thanks for uploading!

Cheers! 🍻

[willistaylor]

Lob,
I was so close to buying a Rascal Bass, but for me, found it quite heavy and I also found the neck too narrow for my liking.
I ended up buying a Gretsch G2220 Short-scale Bass.

[springsteenguy]

Thanks for another great video. I respect your opinion and your approach to bass reviews. You rock, man.

[vincentmorelli]

The color alone sells me on the Rascal. I'd like the Newport if it didn't have the pickup issue. Would love to hear it with that sorted out if it makes a difference.