neepheid

Give an Epiphone Thunderbird Vintage Pro (now called Thunderbird 60s Bass) a try? Closer to the original Thunderbird than anything Gibson has done for a long time. Or save a chunk of change and get an Epiphone Embassy. Same pickups, same bridge, same scale length, same body wood. Set neck vs. neck through, mahogany neck vs. mahogany/walnut 7 ply, better ergonomics (smaller body, less reach to fret 1, better balance, lighter). But it's not quite as rock 'n' roll as a Thunderbird...

Aaaand that's the price back up to normal. Hopefully someone got a cheeky discount while it was at £299.

Found this oddbod on eBay... not mine. https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114827589616

Unless you got gifted the only bass you have and had no say in it then why would you be playing any cards other than the ones you have up your sleeve, metaphorically speaking?

It's a pity you're anti wide strap - the wide, grippy strap is your #1 weapon against neck dive, so much easier to implement with no changes to the bass. Then it's tuner replacement - get some Hipshot Ultralites or some other lightweight tuners on there. At least that's a mostly a direct replacement, apart from maybe having to add some screw holes which would be covered up by the back plates of the originals if you ever reverted. Moving the strap pin to my mind looks a lot more naff than a wide strap, and I don't know if it'll do you much good - the top horn isn't much closer to the headstock than the neck heel. But I've never done it so I can't say for sure what the effect would be. Also, I don't know that there's a whole heap of wood to screw into there - if it's just the side wood in the horn with no block at the back of it then it might be a bit risky to go screwing things in there that take weight. FWIW, I use a Neotech Mega strap with my JC. Have also used the strap which came with my 20th Anniversary JC - a wide leather type and found that to be tolerable (the Neotech is better though). But it's your bass, so do what you like

Phew.

I just think you've been unlucky. I arguably live in a more isolated, remote place than you and I've managed to end up in two bands, one doing a wide gamut of rock covers and the other doing original music that no-one likes And I started in my 30s. Back then, local music web forums were the way to go - these days I guess that Facebook groups are the modern equivalent.

Am I being oversensitive if I pick up a sanctimonious "if you don't take a spare bass (and whatever else) to the gig then you're an inferior bass player" vibe in threads like these? Some of you might just want to rein that in a little - some people can only afford one bass. Some of us don't take it as seriously as you - I regularly play in an originals band which hasn't "made it" and therefore gets a derisory token gesture of renumeration for our troubles, so excuse me if I lift a finger to that in my own lazy way because I don't particularly feel "professional" in this scenario.

Just save your "I told you so"s until after I fail, kthx.

As long as you've achieved stability, that's the main thing. 3/4 to a whole turn is a lot but hopefully that's it. At least you were having to loosen it - I'd have been more concerned having to tighten 3/4-1 turn in one go...

I don't take a spare bass with me. Spare strings, spare batteries, spare leads, sure but I'm confident in the quality and maintenance of my basses. I'm not playing at a level where it would be a disaster if I had to change a string/battery/lead.

That is a lot of change, but it's not clear over how long. When did you last play it and it was fine? The climate has changed quite suddenly though - an unusually crap May. Did you recently switch off your central heating? In the last few weeks, our dehumidifier has suddenly decided it has work to do after months of just sampling the air then going "nope, nothing to do here". Dunno how much that means.

If the strings were flat to the board then I'm surmising the neck was bent back and there was less than no relief? If so, to fix it I presume you had to loosen the truss rod. How much did you have to loosen it (in terms of number of turns)?

They have done "modern" remakes in the past - Grabber - 2009 as the Grabber II Ripper - 2009 as the Ripper II G-3 - 2012 as the Grabber 3 '70s Tribute I can't imagine you'll ever see the Victory again - it wasn't a great success when it was out and unlike the Grabbers/Rippers/G-3s, no subsequent artists of note were seen with them to generate the kind of nostalgia buzz required. That plus right now you'd need to stick some dynamite under Gibson's behind to get them to do anything interesting in the bass sphere right now...

Cool. And damn your deadpan delivery

Is this intended to be taken in jest, or am I supposed to debate it?

That one was pretty cringy, I thought my one effort was better, albeit possibly overthought.

I'm here, I've brought an Epiphone, what you going to do, snobby sound engineer, cancel the gig? Thought not, now get back behind that desk and do your f'n job. I really don't see the point in putting a Fender decal on a Squier or other non-Fender instrument (which this disease seems to chiefly infect, with a side order of Gibson TRCs on Epiphone Thunderbirds). It is what it is - if you play well, most of the talking is going to be about how good your playing was, not what brand of bass you were playing. So I focus on that, instead of what a minority of people deem important. I think what this inferiority complex stems from is possibly justified snobbery in the 50s/60s when the Fender Precision was seen as the gold standard in the recording/session musician sphere and all other basses were deemed to be inferior (a lot of them probably were - everyone was playing catchup and getting it wrong) because producers either couldn't be bothered learning how to record/EQ other basses, or couldn't afford to take the time to do so. Those days are long gone now but some people still cling to the ridiculous and outdated idea that if you're not playing a Fender (and more specifically, a Fender Precision) then you're somehow a rank amateur/not serious/mentally deficient/a dangerous deviant (delete as applicable). Codswallop. Instrument manufacture has improved immeasurably in the last few decades at the cheapest price point. The diminishing returns of spending more on an instrument have never been so diminished. Play your Epiphones, Squiers, Harley Bentons and whatever else with pride, they're fine working instruments and if you play well, it really doesn't matter what's on the headstock.

It plays and sounds great, but I would say that, wouldn't I? Not that it matters, it could sound amazing but if it doesn't float your boat aesthetically, you'll never gel with it.

I hadn't thought of that before, certainly could have been. While I've got you here, I forgot to confirm that my Embassy is indeed a product of the Epiphone Qingdao plant, stamped in November 2020. I found a serial number from one from the previous "Pro" issue and it was July 2018, same factory code. So, confirmed my suspicion - no factory change between the flat laquered "Embassy Pro" ones and the metallic finish new "Embassy" ones.

That's the original 60s batwing, first used on the Embassy Deluxe (Epiphone's Thunderbird equivalent) and later applied to the Newport (Epiphone's EB-0/3 equivalent) - but the Newport started life with a 2+2 so that headstock has got a historical basis for being present on a solid Epiphone bass too.

I know I said I had been able to overlook the lack of batwing headstock, and I have come to peace with it but I thought I'd waste 5 mins with Google and the GIMP to produce this: versus Did Epiphone get it right or wrong? That batwing is pretty f'n long - appreciate that it's 5 minute mockup in GIMP and have no idea if the picture I found of the batwing is at the right angle. Maybe it is a little silly looking after all and Epiphone did us all a favour by creating a reimagining of a classic that stands a chance of being ergonomically sound (and not having its headstock knocked on every PA stack/ceiling/errant cymbal it goes near)?

They're not. They're lower output in the M basses.

Yes, Epiphone ProBucker 760

Well, that was excellent service from GAK - next day delivery for less than a fiver, and double boxed too. It's a £300 bass so it's not going to be getting a setup or anything by the retailer so spent the first hour tinkering. Was able to get a nice low action with no buzz and am happy to report that the bridge had enough adjustment space for proper intonation with the stock strings, although it was a pretty close thing with the E string. As you can see from the bridge closeup, there are still a few turns of the screw left. Neck relief was fine and pretty much to my liking so I didn't mess with that. The good - lovely looking bass, it's a hard colour/finish to capture with the mobile phone - it's a deep, rich gold with a fine metallic flake to it and a stupid name. Finish is excellent quality, didn't see any oopsies in the surfaces. Some slight going over the lines at the top of the headstock where the gold impinges slightly on the black front, but nothing to get too annoyed about. Sounds good to me, definitely got some of that T-bird growl about it, but was only listening through headphones/practice amp so will reserve judgement until I hear it through the amp but if it sounds good with a practice amp then it surely can't sound worse! Fretwork is decent, no protruding edges that I could feel. Weight is good, pretty light without feeling unsubstantial. Balance is good, no neck dive that I could feel - Neotech Mega Strap used which is nice and wide, a thinner/shinier strap might not fare so well but that's not my setup so therefore not my problem. Electronics fine, no crackles, no hum. The bad - the tuners are pretty poor, quite a lot of play in them and not super accurate - tend to move in chunks. Might be tempted to replace these. The tone knob was loose - nit picking here and easy enough to sort by widening the split shaft on the pot slightly. Tone knob doesn't do a hell of a lot (at least not through the practice amp) but I rarely use anything but wide open so not bothered. All in all, the 2+2 headstock that I've been beaching about ever since these got released is a non-issue when you're playing it. I still think the batwing would have been the cherry on top but at £300 I'm happy to ignore it and it looks better in person than in photos.