Epiphone Embassy basses

MartinBush

Has anyone had the opportunity to try these out?

I am in the research stages of seeking out a bass. My criteria are probably not quite the same as others on here...

Providing an instrument is playable and not shonky quality when the time comes to buy I expect to either seek out a second hand instrument from here for £100 or less, OR something like a Squier Bronco, CV or one of the Epiphones like the Embassy.

The reason for this is I want to like the look of whatever I end up with (and I like the looks of the CVs and Embassy models) and, should I need to (and I have needed to in recent times), I want to be able to sell it on with reasonable ease and make some money back.

So, while I have read lots about the Squier models I haven't seen much about the Epiphone basses.

Over to you!

ICBM

I haven't played an Embassy, but every other modern Epiphone bass I have - EB-0, EB-3, Rivoli, Thunderbird, Jack Casady - has been uniformly excellent, far better than its price point would indicate. I wouldn't have any worry about buying one even to use for playing in a band, if it's the type of sound and look you want.

The Squier Bronco is also excellent for the money, but does feel a bit more like a child's-size bass. It's not just the scale length, it has a thinner neck as well, and the body looks a bit cheap. That said, I preferred the last one I tried to a Fender Mexican Mustang Bass at four times the price...

UnclePsychosis

Haven't played one, but that new metallic green one looks fantastic. 

MartinBush

The Epiphone ones do look good - I'm very much attracted to the style of instruments. I guess that makes me a bit less musical than some on here

The Bronco ticks boxes for me as regards price and I don't know a great deal about the sounds of different types of bass, so that's almost less important. I essentially want something I can use on my own recordings that has all the notes. Until now I have been playing basslines on my LP and then knocking the pitch down in Reaper. That's OK as a note-taking approach, but I can't really jam that way and come up with ideas.

I did have a bass in mind that was listed on here but I wasn't in a position then to take it up. At about £60 that would also have been fine. 

paulnb57

I have a Bronco, its great! I fitted Hipshot tuners that cost more than the bass! Also, put a rail (guitar) humbucker in it, not strictly necessary though.....I dont really get the child size perception some folk have, its bigger than a six string, its light and comfortable, it makes thumpy bass noises! Its cheap especially used...whats not to like?

PhilKing

This is mine.  It's a 60's original, so I don't know what the new ones are like, but this is great.  It's a non-reverse Thunderbird, but looks much cooler.

ICBM

paulnb57 said:

I have a Bronco, its great! I fitted Hilshot tuners that cost more than the bass! Also, put a rail (guitar) humbucker in it, not strictly necessary though.....I dont really get the child size perception some folk have, its bigger than a six string, its light and comfortable, it makes thumpy bass noises! Its cheap especially used...whats not to like?

I agree, but even for a small bloke like me (5’6”, small hands) it feels a bit child-like. Not bad, just not like a full-size bass. It’s not the scale length, it’s the combination of the small neck profile and body I think. Even the Mustang Bass feels more ‘full size’ because the neck profile is more like a standard Fender.

But the Bronco sounded better than the MIM PJ Mustang I tried, both unplugged and plugged in, even with its cheap single-coil guitar pickup. If I’d been buying I would have taken the Bronco and like you upgraded the pickup, tuners (and bridge).

For the money they are they’re a fantastic buy.

Funkfingers

PhilKing said:

It's a non-reverse Thunderbird, but looks much cooler.

Beat me to it. The Embassy Bass has most of what is good about a T'Bird without the "snap me" neck-into-headstock transition. 

According to the official product description, the modern Embassy has master volume, balance and tone controld rather than dual volumes plus tone arrangement of a vintage piece.

ICBM

Funkfingers said:

The Embassy Bass has most of what is good about a T'Bird without the "snap me" neck-into-headstock transition.

Only marginally.... and the neck joint is weaker than the Thunderbird's through neck.

More importantly the Thunderbird looks infinitely cooler .

Epiphone ones are good too - I really should have bought one a few years ago when they were going for £150 second hand.

PhilKing

ICBM said:

Funkfingers said:

The Embassy Bass has most of what is good about a T'Bird without the "snap me" neck-into-headstock transition.

Only marginally.... and the neck joint is weaker than the Thunderbird's through neck.

More importantly the Thunderbird looks infinitely cooler .

Only if you are talking reverse Thunderbirds, in which case I agree, but with the non-reverse, the construction is the same.  Here's my reverse body Thunderbird (of course it's had a headstock break!):

ICBM

PhilKing said:

Only if you are talking reverse Thunderbirds, in which case I agree, but with the non-reverse, the construction is the same.  Here's my reverse body Thunderbird (of course it's had a headstock break!)

Yes... I should have said I consider all non-reverse Firebirds/Thunderbirds to be hideous ungainly abominations.

That's very nice. I had a '76 one which I paid £100 for in the early 90s... because someone had already had a failed go at re-attaching the headstock. Wish I hadn't sold it now.

PhilKing

ICBM said:

That's very nice. I had a '76 one which I paid £100 for in the early 90s... because someone had already had a failed go at re-attaching the headstock. Wish I hadn't sold it now.

This one's a 63.  I picked it up for around $400 I think, back in the late-90's.  It came in several pieces, since it was the second headstock break, and this time it took part of the neck.  I took it to Will Scott in Pembrokeshire and he made an amazing job on the repair.  He actually inlayed different wood veneers to match the neck laminates.  It is really hard to see the break now, but I still worry every time I play it.  The headstocks are huge and the neck is so thin at the nut.

Funkfingers

PhilKing said:
It came in several pieces … I took it to Will Scott in Pembrokeshire and he made an amazing job on the repair.

I know Will Scott. I've been shown the "before" photographs of your bass. 

ICBM

PhilKing said:

This one's a 63.  I picked it up for around $400 I think, back in the late-90's.  It came in several pieces, since it was the second headstock break, and this time it took part of the neck.  I took it to Will Scott in Pembrokeshire and he made an amazing job on the repair.  He actually inlayed different wood veneers to match the neck laminates.  It is really hard to see the break now, but I still worry every time I play it.  The headstocks are huge and the neck is so thin at the nut.

Mine was very similar - someone had already tried to replace the broken section with a piece of a laminated Framus neck! I cut that out and double-scarfed a new piece in, although I didn't do a proper 9-ply section, I just used a single piece of mahogany. Appearance aside, I think there's enough proof that the laminate doesn't make a significant difference...

I did deliberately shorten the nut to headstock distance slightly so it didn't get quite as thin at the weakest point. That was one reason I sold it though - just too scared to gig it.

PhilKing

Funkfingers said:

PhilKing said:
It came in several pieces … I took it to Will Scott in Pembrokeshire and he made an amazing job on the repair.

I know Will Scott. I've been shown the "before" photographs of your bass. 

He's made a few guitars for me and repaired several too.  He made me a Les Paul custom with a 25.5" scale and in Gretsch Orange, a semi hollow 5 string bass with piezo bridge and Bartolini pickups, fixed up a John Birch and Les Paul Standard.   I know him from when he was in Ilkley.   Say hi to him for me, next time you see him.

PhilKing

ICBM said:

I did deliberately shorten the nut to headstock distance slightly so it didn't get quite as thin at the weakest point. That was one reason I sold it though - just too scared to gig it.

Yes, I've never played out with this one, but have recorded with it a couple of times.  If the space it tight, I'm always worried that I'll whack the headstock on something and it will be all over.  The Epiphone Embassy sounds almost the same as the Thunderbird, but I've never gigged with that either.  It has never had a headstock break, so that makes it more worrying that I'll do it.