New Epiphone basses

[Johnny Crab]

Got my ivory Embassy this week, and, like every time I go outside my preferred box, I am again shown that I cannot truly like anything other than a P Bass. But damn-it’s truly gorgeous. Keeper for that reason alone.

Guess we're different. My entire December has been:

SX short scales(Jazz and P/J) for our weekday gig on a micro-sized stage b/c dings don't matter on them

Red Fender P and cherry Embassy for all of the weekend and Christmas gigs. I find that they compliment each other nicely.

PS: with T-Birds and many other basses, the pickup closest to the neck is used 99% of the time. The rear pickup gets dialed in if a bit more clarity is needed. Exception: one buzzy stage makes the SX Jazz get both pickups dimed as it becomes hum & buzz-bucking.

 

[Instagator]

I received one of the first of the Embassy Basses.The fret work,fit and finish are outstanding. Absolutely no fret grab.
My thought was,if you order one of the very first ones.. Epiphone would intend for you to put the word out(hopefully for the good) that their product was worth buying.I posted a review here at TB.I am very pleased with the Embassy and I am very picky.

 

[woodyng2]

at first..I was going to try and like this bass..but read a post by someone who bought one and said that the build was really cheap..and they sent it back for a refund..I also like all the machine heads on one side of the headstock..made me stop and think..mostly about that if I did want to get another bass..I would rather spend more and get more..but thats just me..

Actually,it seems the reports i’ve read so far about the new Epi reissues have been pretty evenly split,PRO and CON. So,like any other brand of mass produced instruments,there will be variations in quality. (Keepers and Clunkers).

 

[dukeorock]

Yeah..I think you will like the gibson much better..and for me..I am just not looking at $400 instruments anymore..

Not new, at least. Half the time, after you mod a $400 bass, you wind up spending $800 on your $400 bass

I’m (sorta) joking. Some folks love em and that’s fantastic.

 

[woodyng2]

I shoulda kept my original ‘67......now i can’t afford one,except for the reissue.

 

[redstrand]

Not new, at least. Half the time, after you mod a $400 bass, you wind up spending $800 on your $400 bass

I’m (sorta) joking. Some folks love em and that’s fantastic.

reminds me of this

 

[blazebarlow]

Not new, at least. Half the time, after you mod a $400 bass, you wind up spending $800 on your $400 bass

I’m (sorta) joking. Some folks love em and that’s fantastic.

the musicians I am around are just not putting a $400 modification into a $400 bass..doesnt make sense..here is the kind of bass I am looking at....scroll down and click on the small pictures to see the entire instrument...makes a man want to stand up and beg for buttermilk............Invalid Link Removed

 

[dukeorock]

Yep, that’s a whole other level!

the musicians I am around are just not putting a $400 modification into a $400 bass..doesnt make sense..here is the kind of bass I am looking at....scroll down and click on the small pictures to see the entire instrument...makes a man want to stand up and beg for buttermilk............Invalid Link Removed

 

[woodyng2]

Hmm,a $3k bass vs a $400 one.
Apples and ......started to say oranges,but “and Cadillacs” seems more appropo.
Those would also be 2 basses that probably don’t even begin to sound alike.
Can’t really feature playing gutbucket RnR with the Elrick.....

 

[Gaolee]

Really want to get my hands on the Masterbilt ABG. Especially in the tobacco sunrise finish. I would love to have an acoustic, and that one will fit with the rest of the familyView attachment 2842298

Loar archtops like the one in your picture are fantastic guitars. Mine is just like that one, and it gets played all the time. I pick it up on a near daily basis, which is saying something considering how many other toys I have to play with.

 

[woodyng2]

well..my last 4 cars have been cadillacs..if you cant envision the elrick doing rock and roll..maybe you need to expand your imagination..its a jazz bass..ever heard of a jazz bass doing rock and roll..?..I have rocked with the best of them..I like quality..I like good looks..I like rock and roll..and My girlfriend likes it too..and she is one dynamite looking babe..

I’ve owned several Jazz basses over 40+ years of playing. Even played RnR wih them...
My dachsund loves my Rickenbackers,and he’s one helluva dynamite weinerdog.

 

[Johnny Crab]

Tobacco burst is here, my strings put on, gig test tomorrow night. Pics and report then.
NOTE: played 1964 T-Birds for over a decade(1973? to 1985 or so).
Like this one except it didn't require light gauge strings(one problem with this old one plus the original intonation-failing bridge).
[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
So why buy it at that price(and problems it has) when you can get a brand new one like this for 1/16th of that price here...or you can buy 16 new ones and still have money left over!
Epiphone Thunderbird Vintage PRO Bass - Tobacco Sunburst

 

[RedVee]

Tobacco burst is here, my strings put on, gig test tomorrow night. Pics and report then.
NOTE: played 1964 T-Birds for over a decade(1973? to 1985 or so).

Love to hear your report.

 

[Johnny Crab]

Report....................
Sound
Scott was right, all of the upper register notes "pop out" with the same full force as lower fret notes.
Band loved the looks and sound, so did I, and the above note thing over comes one of BOSE' major problems with crossing over at 140Hz. On many basses, unless EQ'ed to prevent it, upper register notes(esp on the G string) get very weak on the BOSE b/c of the cross over point(sends a lot of stuff to the vertical array). This DID NOT happen with this new T-Bird! Finally, this one copies the new Embassy in that one can play a disco tune on it and the "pop" techniques actually sound great compared to a 64 T-Bird which was a real pain(extreme EQ) or impossible to get that done.

Feel
Feels like an old friend, having played 64 T-birds for over a decade, but built slightly more sturdy. You can see this in the thicker headstock and area of concern at the neck/headstock joint. Neck is similar to a Fender Jazz bass but the neck-thru build and construction feel and sound are the big difference. The only thing not liked on this new one is the pickup screws. They protrude(bubble-head) and have almost-sharp edges that can be felt and distract when your thumb drags over them while sliding it to a new position along the E string. The '64 T-Birds, IIRC, had smaller/flatter screw heads while the ones on these EpiBirds feel monsterous. I may have to look for a replacement OR grind the screw heads down a little. The pickup screws on GrecoBirds/3-pickup Les Pauls do not have this problem either. Pics of that later comparing a Greco pickup screw to the Epi. I'm 99% sure I'll pull a screw out of an Embassy here, go to a very good hardware store, and make a bulk purchase of correct screws with the flatter/smoother heads. Pictures and hardware update(spec of screws bought) later when it's done.

Summary
Other than the screw issue, it seems Epi knocked one out of the park with these basses. We're still waiting on a white one to get here to confirm I didn't just "get lucky" with this one.

Pics later as the gig last night put me home at 4AM, then 9 hours of sleep, then "day" with wife, and now making up time at work.

 

[Lowbrow]

Hi - sorry for being a bit delayed on the uptake, but here's the new Embassy that showed up about a week and a half ago from Sweetwater - It's a real beauty, I've had time to set it up (truss/bridge) and it's responded just fine to therapy. No significant manufacturing QC issues that have made themselves evident to me so far, and I'm pretty tuned in to that sort of stuff (used to work in a guitar shop, blah, blah). Sadly - and likely due to the harsh chilly/dry Pittsburgh weather - I do have a considerable amount of fret sprout, but hey, that's life. Sounds pretty decent, too, if quite a bit different than the P tone I'm used to. I'm happy and feel it was well worth the $400.

 

[woodyng2]

Hi - sorry for being a bit delayed on the uptake, but here's the new Embassy that showed up about a week and a half ago from Sweetwater - It's a real beauty, I've had time to set it up (truss/bridge) and it's responded just fine to therapy. No significant manufacturing QC issues that have made themselves evident to me so far, and I'm pretty tuned in to that sort of stuff (used to work in a guitar shop, blah, blah). Sadly - and likely due to the harsh chilly/dry Pittsburgh weather - I do have a considerable amount of fret sprout, but hey, that's life. Sounds pretty decent, too, if quite a bit different than the P tone I'm used to. I'm happy and feel it was well worth the $400.

View attachment 2855826

Looks really creamy! Very nice.

 

[Gringo Basso]

Update on my cherry Embassy, I changed the strings (Sweetwater sent a new set of D'Addario nickel wounds because the A string wasn't right) and it's super! No adjustments needed, intonation, action and frets are all good. This really rounds out my collection of basses and it's one of the nicest-looking instruments I've purchased, just a beauty. 400 bucks very well spent. My phone camera is crap so I included a photo that Sweetwater sent me, a nice thing that they do.

 

[Johnny Crab]

Road test. Changed strings to lighter gauge(neck stayed good), minor tweaks on pickup heights. Passed with flying colors. Same thing the EpiEmby did with the BOSE, upper notes do NOT get lame like some other basses(BOSE crosses at 140Hz sending bass guitar fundamentals to the vertical array of micro speakers).
View attachment 2858167

PS:
Sweetwater vs. the USPS update. Ordered a white one with case on 12/4/17. It "disappeared"(Sweetwater said it shipped, USPS says they never got it although their website showed ACCEPTED on 12/5/17....somebody is not being truthful) and Sweetwater wanted to "hold my $$$ until later in January when we expect more". Told them forget it, found another one like the picture above that weighs in at a low 8lbs3oz, used the $$$ they were going to "hold" for another white one, and said "Send lighter tobacco burst one now". Back to the '70's when I had two '64 T-Birds like this BUT they were single pickup ones.

 

[Old Blastard]

reminds me of this

Bottle Rockets are awesome.
And I own a $2,000 $1,000 car.

 

[woodyng2]

Update on my cherry Embassy, I changed the strings (Sweetwater sent a new set of D'Addario nickel wounds because the A string wasn't right) and it's super! No adjustments needed, intonation, action and frets are all good. This really rounds out my collection of basses and it's one of the nicest-looking instruments I've purchased, just a beauty. 400 bucks very well spent. My phone camera is crap so I included a photo that Sweetwater sent me, a nice thing that they do.

That’s a LOT of stickers,lol...
Great looking bass!