Epiphone Guitars is known as being one of Gibson’s main subsidiary. This company produces Gibson quality guitars and basses at an affordable price. A lot of people do not know that Epiphone, in fact, has a lot of history behind it.
The company had its start all the way back in 1873 when a Greek instrument maker started a small shop repairing instruments in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, now in Turkey. At first, together with their instrument repair shop, they were making fiddles and lutes. In 1903, Anastasios Stathopoulos, who was the founder of Epiphone, moved to New York City and set up his operation there. Soon after, his son, Epaminondas joined the company. Fun fact, his nickname was “Epi” and that is where the company took its name from.
After Epi took over, they started to make banjos and later in 1928 made their first electric guitar. Following Epi’s death, his brothers took over and moved the company to Philadelphia.
After some years working independently, in 1957 Epiphone Guitars was sold to Gibson. Since then, Epiphone became a guitar manufacturer known for creating cheap and reliable instruments for both beginners and professionals alike. Today Epiphone Guitars is a globally known and respected brand.
For 2021, they updated some of their classic bass guitar models. Let’s look into it!
1. Jack Cassidy Bass
The Jack Casady Bass was designed by the legendary bass player Jack Casady. He is best known as the bass player for Jefferson Airplane and Hot Tuna. Jack Cassidy is a Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductee artist. He also played with the legendary Jimi Hendrix on his “Voodoo Chile” song. Combining his years of experience, together with Epiphone they came out with a bass that is visually pleasing and has great tones as well.
“Featuring the Casady-designed JCB low-impedance pickup and a three-position rotary impedance control for a wide range of tonal versatility.” Epiphone adds that this is “The World’s Most Popular Semi-Hollow Electric Bass”.
Specs
- Body – Layered Maple
- Finish – Gloss
- Neck – Mahogany
- Scale – 34″
- Fingerboard – Indian Laurel
- Fingerboard Radius – 12″
- Frets – 20
- Nut – Imitation Bone
- Nut Width – 1.66″ / 42.037mm
- Hardware Finish – Nickel
- Bridge – 3-Point Adjustable
- Tuning Machines – Die-Cast – Clover buttons
- Pickguard – Cream with raised E logo
- TrussRod – Dual Action
- Truss Rod Cover – Epiphone Bullet with E
- Electronics – Middle Pickup JCB-1 Low-Impedance Humbucker™
- Controls – Master Volume, Master Tone, 3-Position VariTone Tone
This bass retails at $799.00 and is available at all major music retail shops.
2. Viola Bass
With this bass, Epiphone wanted to recreate the classic British Invasion Viola bass look that was made famous by Paul McCartney of The Beatles in the ’60s.
This bass features a lightweight and balanced maple body and neck with mini-humbucker pickups to recreate that classic sound we all know and love.
Specs
- Body – Maple
- Neck – Maple
- Scale – 30.5″
- Fingerboard – Okoume
- Frets – 22
- Nut Width – 1.65″ / 41.91mm
- Hardware – Nickel
- Bridge – Compensated Saddle
- Tailpiece – Viola Scroll
- Tuning Machines – Premium Tuners
- TrussRod – Adjustable
- Control Knobs – Gold Top Hat
- Pickup Covers – Nickel
- Electronics – Neck Pickup NYR Mini Humbucker; Bridge Pickup NYT Mini humbucker
- Controls – Neck Volume, Bridge Volume, Master Tone
The Epiphone Viola Bass retails at $399.00 and is available at all of your favorite music shops.
3. Allen Woody Rumblekat Bass
This bass was designed by Allen Woody of Gov’t Mule. Allen, the legendary bass player for the Allman Brothers Band created this bass to perfect the tone he was looking for. Together they created this classic-looking bass that can be used for many different styles, not just rock. This bass also features a smaller scale length for bigger sound, a chambered mahogany body, and Epipgones NYT™ mini-humbuckers to achieve the desired tone.
Specs
- Body – Mahogany (chambered)
- Top – 5-Ply Maple Top
- Neck – Mahogany
- Scale – 30″
- Fingerboard Radius – 12″
- Frets – 20
- Nut Width – 1.68″ / 42.672mm
- Hardware – Gold
- Bridge – 3-Point Adjustable
- Tailpiece – 3-Point Adjustable
- Control Knobs – Gold “Top Hat” knobs
- Pickup Covers – Gold
- Electronics – NYT™ mini-humbuckers
- Controls – Neck Volume, Bridge Volume, Master Tone
This bass is also pretty affordable. It is available at the price of $499.00.
4. Embassy Bass
Since its introduction in 1963, the Embassy Bass has been a player’s favorite. With its unique design and great tones, we can see why. It features a full 34″ scale mahogany neck together with an Indian laurel fretboard and 20 medium jumbo frets. It has a pair of ProBucker 760 humbucking pickups for maximum tonal versatility.
Specs
- Body – Mahogany
- Finish – Gloss
- Neck – Mahogany
- Scale – 34″
- Fingerboard – Indian Laurel
- Frets – 20
- Nut Material – Imitation Bone
- Hardware – Nickel
- Bridge – Historic Bass Tune-O-Matic™
- Tuning Machines – Die-Cast – Clover buttons
- Pickguard – Black – White on Graphite Black model
- TrussRod – Dual Action
- Electronics – ProBucker™ Bass 760 Neck
- Controls – Volume, Blend, Tone
The Epiphone Embassy Bass is available at all the major music retail shops at the price of $399.00.
As you can see above, these basses are really affordable. The most expensive model, The Jack Cassidy Bass is still below $1000. No matter what style you play, you will be able to find an affordable Epiphone Guitars bass to satisfy your needs. To check out more go to their website – www.epiphone.com
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