PaulThePlug Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 https://www.guitarworld.com/amp/news/epiphone-relaunches-the-embassy-bass-in-a-range-of-finishes-for-2021 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MartinB Posted February 13, 2021 Share Posted February 13, 2021 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stewblack Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 I'll have one of each please 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bertbass Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 If only they had the batwing headstock. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 That green one's a cracker. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 I’m letting these grow on me. Want the green or gold with a white pickguard. Absolutely no need at the moment. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jonno1981 Posted February 14, 2021 Share Posted February 14, 2021 The green one is a cracker! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 (edited) GAK have a nice discount on the Smoked Almond finish Embassy - down to £299... https://www.gak.co.uk/en/epiphone-embassy-bass-smoked-almond-metallic/943613 Why am I telling you this? Because at £299, I can overlook the lack of batwing headstock, and I have done so Edited May 20, 2021 by neepheid 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 Has anywhere you can try one got them in stock? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 1 minute ago, Stub Mandrel said: Has anywhere you can try one got them in stock? Guitar Guitar in Edinburgh has a green one. That's probably nowhere near you but you said "anywhere"... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stub Mandrel Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 (edited) 4 hours ago, neepheid said: Guitar Guitar in Edinburgh has a green one. That's probably nowhere near you but you said "anywhere"... Oddly enough that's the last but one shop I bought a bass in... ...but I'm in South Wales a.t.m. Edited May 20, 2021 by Stub Mandrel Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skybone Posted May 20, 2021 Share Posted May 20, 2021 They look great Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Grahambythesea Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 It seems very strange they took them out of their range only to reintroduce them just with some different paint choices. I wonder whether they’ve switched the factory making them or changed the woods they’re made from. 🥴 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cato Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 (edited) 41 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said: It seems very strange they took them out of their range only to reintroduce them just with some different paint choices. I wonder whether they’ve switched the factory making them or changed the woods they’re made from. 🥴 There seems to be something happening in the world of budget guitar paint. Squier have started putting out some really nice finishes especially on the skinny stringer Jaguars and Jazzmasters and Epiphone likewise are offering Les Pauls and particularly SGs in some really eye catching colours. Hopefully we'll start seeing more options on budget basses soon. Edited May 21, 2021 by Cato 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 5 minutes ago, Grahambythesea said: It seems very strange they took them out of their range only to reintroduce them just with some different paint choices. I wonder whether they’ve switched the factory making them or changed the woods they’re made from. 🥴 I know the fingerboards have changed from rosewood to Indian laurel. I have also heard rumblings of incorrectly located bridges on some of the first issue (the flat colours and "Pro" on the end of the name) which gave *some* people intonation issues, so perhaps it was a case of "stop what you're doing, let's take a look at this" before continuing. I doubt it would be a factory change - Gibson went to the bother of building their own dedicated Epiphone plant in Qingdao during the naughties so I can't imagine they'd outsource production now. Will do some serial number detective work when I receive my one. Plus there's maybe been pressure to rationalise product lines since Gibson got rescued from bankrupcy in 2008. Gibson USA has been doing next to f-all in basses since then as far as I can tell so maybe some of that filtered down. Currently on the Epiphone website there's no mention of EB-0, EB-3 or bolt on Thunderbird, for example. Also some name changes - the "Pro" moniker being dropped from the Embassy and "Vintage Pro" excised from the Thunderbird - it's now simply an "Epiphone Embassy Bass" or a "Thunderbird 60s Bass" Who knows? All I know for sure is that you can buy an Embassy today, and I say that's a good thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveXFR Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 I liked them when I first saw them. Now I really don't like them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 5 minutes ago, SteveXFR said: I liked them when I first saw them. Now I really don't like them. Why not? Just being nosey. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveXFR Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 3 hours ago, neepheid said: Why not? Just being nosey. Not sure what it is really. Just not finding the aesthetic to my taste Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 (edited) 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. Edited May 21, 2021 by neepheid 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveXFR Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 Does it have the same pickups as the Thunderbird vintage pro? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted May 21, 2021 Share Posted May 21, 2021 14 minutes ago, SteveXFR said: Does it have the same pickups as the Thunderbird vintage pro? Yes, Epiphone ProBucker 760 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 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)? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 (edited) I think with the body shape, the batwing works. They did a refined version of the batwing in the 1990’s… but the one you’ve done looks loads better Edited May 23, 2021 by AndyTravis 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 1 hour ago, AndyTravis said: I think with the body shape, the batwing works. They did a refined version of the batwing in the 1990’s… but the one you’ve done looks loads better 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AndyTravis Posted May 23, 2021 Share Posted May 23, 2021 1 hour ago, neepheid said: 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. Yeah, think the big batwing suits the body shape more - especially with the elongated horn. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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