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NBD: Epiphone Embassy Pro

#61
OK, so I finally took order of the replacement Epiphone Embassy Pro that I ordered a while back.The first one that arrived had some major neck issues that couldn't be fixed. This strikes me as unacceptable because on the back of the headstock it says "Inspected and set up in USA by Epiphone" which isn't the case here at least.

So the guys as Sam Ash ordered a replacement, set it up for me and I have to say I'm very happy so far. For a 400 dollar instrument its fantastic. The fret work is pretty good, but the build and quality and sound are all great. And yes, the intonation issue on the bridge is real, I have my saddles all the way back in order for the intonation to be correct. I will probably replace that with a drop in. I'll review my thoughts on another thread, but finally it showed up and I'm super happy with the service I received at Sam Ash Hollywood. They did a great job setting this up for me.
IMG_1205.jpeg
 
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#62
BassDaddy77 said:
Fresh out of the box from MF. This is the "Dark Cherry" finish. Epiphone is killing it lately with their basses, IMO. I was gonna grab a T-bird Vintage Pro, but since I already own an older T-bird, I thought I give this a go. Man, am I glad I did! I am quite impressed with this bass right out of the box. Fretwork is excellent. Finish is excellent. Pickups are crazy good. Hardware is better than I was hoping for, and the tuners are much better than I've had on past Epiphones. It's light (I'm guessing at or under 8 lbs), resonates well, sounds thunderous, and looks the business! I can't believe Epiphone is selling these for $399. The only thing I might do is throw a set of TI flats on and call it a day. View attachment 3408301
View attachment 3408303
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Nice
 
#63
E S Anderson said:
OK, so I finally took order of the replacement Epiphone Embassy Pro that I ordered a while back.The first one that arrived had some major neck issues that couldn't be fixed. This strikes me as unacceptable because on the back of the headstock it says "Inspected and set up in USA by Epiphone" which isn't the case here at least.

So the guys as Sam Ash ordered a replacement, set it up for me and I have to say I'm very happy so far. For a 400 dollar instrument its fantastic. The fret work is pretty good, but the build and quality and sound are all great. And yes, the intonation issue on the bridge is real, I have my saddles all the way back in order for the intonation to be correct. I will probably replace that with a drop in. I'll review my thoughts on another thread, but finally it showed up and I'm super happy with the service I received at Sam Ash Hollywood. They did a great job setting this up for me.View attachment 3569155
Click to expand...

Which drop-in are you going to replace it with? I have a black one coming from Zzounds tomorrow and I'm sure it'll have the saddle issue, which I'm bummed about after reading these threads.
 
#64
Conjure86 said:
Which drop-in are you going to replace it with? I have a black one coming from Zzounds tomorrow and I'm sure it'll have the saddle issue, which I'm bummed about after reading these threads.
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Yep just arrived. S/N 1812xxxx, bridge installed 1/2" higher up, saddles came all the way back and the E and A are super sharp. There is no adjusting them. I'm returning it and washing my hands of it. Such a shame, it's such a comfortable and good looking/sounding bass.
 
#66
redstrand said:
I got lucky with mine, qc is always a crap shoot
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Normally I'd agree with you, but I think this is why Epiphone removed this bass from their site and any association with it online. I also think this is why only a couple online vendors stock the Embassy Pro now. Any Embassy Pro made in mid to late 2018 (and beyond?) has the saddle installed too far up on the body which makes intonation impossible.

See attached. This is the E string with the saddle all the way back; as in, no more room to adjust how sharp it is. It's unacceptable.

I'm super, super bummed. I love this bass otherwise; love how light it is, how it plays, how the pickups sound, how comfortable the neck is, how it looks. I'm just fully convinced that ANY online vendor that stocks these at this point (got mine from Zzounds, Guitar Center also stocks them), is going to have this saddle issue.
 

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#67
Conjure86 said:
Yep just arrived. S/N 1812xxxx, bridge installed 1/2" higher up, saddles came all the way back and the E and A are super sharp. There is no adjusting them. I'm returning it and washing my hands of it. Such a shame, it's such a comfortable and good looking/sounding bass.
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There's been so much good said about these basses. What a shame that Epiphone couldn't have done a better QC job. Sweetwater has removed them from their site as well.
 
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#68
I was aware of this issue when I bought my Embassy Pro eight months ago, and made sure it was set up with correct intonation all the way up the neck before I walked out of the store with it. The saddle on the E string is all the way back on mine, while there is room for adjustment on the other strings. I immediately swapped out the crappy stock strings for DR Sunbeams. After eight months and seasonal weather changes, nothing has moved and the bass is still perfectly in tune everywhere. I got lucky, I guess.
 
#70
O.P. here. I ultimately ditched mine as well due to the un-intonatable bridge problem. Shame, because this bass sounded and looked AMAZING. Perhaps Epiphone will revise and re-introduce these at some point in the future.

I ended up trading mine out for a Sterling by EBMM Ray 24CA. Very different from the Embassy tonally, but I like it so far. And, it can be intonated properly.
 
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#71
BassDaddy77 said:
O.P. here. I ultimately ditched mine as well due to the un-intonatable bridge problem. Shame, because this bass sounded and looked AMAZING. Perhaps Epiphone will revise and re-introduce these at some point in the future.

I ended up trading mine out for a Sterling by EBMM Ray 24CA. Very different from the Embassy tonally, but I like it so far. And, it can be intonated properly.
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Well, in a twist of fate, I tracked one down that definitely doesn't have the bridge issue. Funny enough, it's the exact one that Steve from Premier Guitar used in his review video in early 2018:



I was kind of desperate to track a "good" one down as I love this bass. I'll have it this week and I'll report back after a setup :)
 
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#73
StatesideRambler said:
Does anyone know if Epiphone has acknowledged that there's a problem with the Embassy Pro? I mean other than the tacit mea culpa of removing it from the website?
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I believe one of the users on this forum spoke to Epiphone about the issue and they actually told him to "wait it out" until the bad ones had been sold. Kind of shady, if true.

I believe the "bad" ones start at serial number 1808xxx (Aug. 2018) according to what I've read; my bad one was 1812xxx (Dec. 2018).
 
#77
Conjure86 said:
I'll reply with the serial number datestamp when I get this one, but this review was done in Feb 2018. I'm guessing the bass was built in 2017.

Again, I believe the "bad" ones start at serial number 1808xxx (Aug. 2018) according to what I've read on this forum; my bad one was 1812xxx (Dec. 2018).
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Thanks so much for clarifying. I've seen a few that start with 17, so I'm hoping those are good.
 
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#78
Frankie Fender said:
Thanks so much for clarifying. I've seen a few that start with 17, so I'm hoping those are good.
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From my research, you can kind of tell in pictures/videos if a used one will be "good" based on the position of the bridge. Is it installed closer to the claw tailpiece and not the bridge pickup? If yes, and the saddles aren't all the way back (especially the E and A), then it should be fine.

The issue is that on the bad ones, the bridge was installed almost 1/2" higher closer to the bridge pickup, and the saddles would have to be all the way back on the bridge for it to get even close. Even then, it's super sharp.

Epiphone, if you're listening: fix the issues and re-release this bass.
 
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#79
The serial number on my Embassy Pro is 190xxxxx and as I wrote above, only the E string saddle is all the way back. The intonation is perfect so far after three full seasons in a harsh climate. It would be prudent to play one of these basses before buying or rejecting one based solely on the serial number. Perhaps the bridge become will be an issue with my Embassy Pro at some point, but I only paid $350 new w/gig bag, and I've earned more gigging the thing than it cost. It's too bad sloppy quality control messed up a great bass at a great price.
 
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#80
Barton Lee said:
The serial number on my Embassy Pro is 190xxxxx and as I wrote above, only the E string saddle is all the way back. The intonation is perfect so far after three full seasons in a harsh climate. It would be prudent to play one of these basses before buying or rejecting one based solely on the serial number. Perhaps the bridge become will be an issue with my Embassy Pro at some point, but I only paid $350 new w/gig bag, and I've earned more gigging the thing than it cost. It's too bad sloppy quality control messed up a great bass at a great price.
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That's good news! Where did you buy it?
 

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