Epiphone Bass Guitar

Review by Rob W.:

For years, if you wanted to play the electric bass that Paul played in The Beatles, you had to fork over around ,000.00 for a Hofner bass. Yes, they are made a lot better today than when Paul bought his first one for about 5.00 in 1961. But most folks can't afford that. A cost effective alternative in the same style has always been the Epiphone Viola bass.

For about a quarter of the cost of a new Hofner 500-1, you can have the look and sound close to that of the original, with some differences and caveats. The Hofner is a hollow body bass, which means that there is an open space inside the body of the guitar. This is one of the main contributors to it's original sound, which is more subdued, and mellow than more modern solid body basses, which have no chamber.

The Viola is also of the hollow body design. Though the electronics on the Viola are radically different from a Hofner, with the two humbucking pickups, a set of tape wrapped Hofner style strings, and amp modeling, you are right there back in Liverpool's Cavern Club.

I bought my Viola several years ago and am delighted with it's vintage styling and classic British Invasion sound. For those who are interested in it's stats:

* Top: Laminated flame maple

* Neck: Maple, set

* Chrome hardware

* 30.5" short scale

* 2 pickups: NYR & NYT mini humbuckers

* Nut width: 1.65"

* Fingerboard: Rosewood

* Inlay: Dots

* Finish: Vintage sunburst

My Viola bass was manufactured in Korea and is flawless in construction, fit and finish. In 2003, Epiphone, opened a factory in China to keep up with world demand.

Recently, Hofner has released two new lines of their Hofner Beatle bass. The Hofner Icon bass is a close approximation of the original, even though many have compared it more to the Viola bass. It sells for around 0.00.

The Hofner Contemporary bass is a close ( though not exact) replica of their main line of Beatle bass. It is a beautiful bass guitar and sells for around 0.00.

That still may be a little high for those who want the look and sound but can't afford a Hofner. I can highly recommend the Epiphone Viola Bass as a good sounding and easy playing alternative to the original!

Review by Throckmorton Scribblemonger:

This guitar is a looker, beautiful quality finish and the sunburst body is gorgeous. Delivers pounding heavy bass, and good tone control. Be aware that the head stock is very heavy, and the guitar tends to nose dive to the floor is your don't support the neck, you might want to try wearing one at your local GC is possible. Also, this deal doesn't come with a case, and you'll need a special gig bag or case to house this special bass. I'd look for a deal that comes with at least a gig bag.

Review by Zelie Nic:

I acquired an Epiphone Thunderbird IV at a local guitar place. It came with a hardshell case and all for 9, which was a great price for what I got.

And what I got was a great bass, which had a good tonal range but always sounded warm and never... piercing. Sometimes, when a person is looking for a punchy bass sound they end up sounding piercing. I never had any fret buzz or problems with the hardware. This guitar looks very close to its Gibson counterpart, though they differ, mainly in the fact that the Epiphone has a bolt-on neck.

Despite having the widely considered inferior bolt-on, this bass has some great sustain. In fact, my only complaints about the insturment were that it was awkward to play while sitting down. It wasn't THAT bad, for those of you who've played a "V" sitting down, but it did take getting used to. My only "real" complaint then is, as another reviewer stated, the guitar is head-heavy and will tip down a bit if you let go of the neck momentarily. Once my neck swung down and smaked the floor! But its built tough, and there wasn't a ding or a nick.