Epiphone EBM-4 Bass

Here are the details from Epiphone:
Pickups Split Humbucker/Single
Hardware Gold
Scale 34.0"
Nut Width 1.73"
Neck Joint Bolt
Neck Material Maple
Fingerboard Rosewood/Dot
Binding None
Body Material Alder

I really liked the sound when I got it, but my personal preference has evolved to more of a classic Fender Jazz sound. This has a thinner, more 'modern' sound.

Never any problems. It's always been a beautifully made bass.

No problems in 12 years. The gold-painted pickups are a little chintzy, but whatever.

I bought this new in 1992 for $277. I had only played fretless up til then and I wanted an inexpensive fretted bass. This one had a great feel and pretty good sound. And I Love the looks. It's been very nice all this time. My main complaint was that the bass is active only, so when the battery dies, you got nothing. There are a lot of great basses for less money nowadays, but I've been happy with it. Since I got a Fender Jazz, this hasn't gotten much use.

I have no idea when it was made, other than it was made within the last 2 years of the Production run. I guess I should contact Epiphone some day and Ask them. Made in Korea.

It's a 24 Fret 34" scale Bass. 4 String, I've got Medium Gauge on it and the neck Handles those just fine. When I build up the courage and get a back up bass, I'll try to slap some Medium Heavy's on it to Get a really chunky sound. Has a Transparent Red Finish, Gold Hardware.

Controls are as Follows:
Master Volume, Blend, and What seems to be two Volume Controls (One for the Split Bar, one for the Single Coil) I don't know being I bought this from a Pawnshop and documentation is at best, Sparse.

Stock pickups, Active Electronics.

Stock Bridge, only had to fix intonation once because a Cousin of mine decided it'd be funny to use a screwdriver on the screws. Stupid Cousin.

Has a Wide, thin neck. Awesome Feel.

Came with a Case, but I'm lucky I suppose.

It's awesome for slow clean stuff, fast clean stuff, or Fast Raunchy Stuff. I've got all the Volumes Cranked and the blend on a 50/50 Blend most of the time. The Rest of the time, I have it 60/40 with the SplitBar on 60. When I don't adjust the pots, it pops and cracks when I first move them, but after that, it's smooth. It's a very versatile Bass.

I've been messing with the action since I got it. I lowered it to learn how to play bass, raised it to get rid of some weird "slap sound" I get when I don't watch how I'm playing (It's all my doing)and I've raised it again for recording.

I've somehow screwed the G String Tuner up, so it's a little wobbly. I'm going to replace them all and put a Detuner on the E string. If you happen to find one of these basses, be careful with it. The entire thing is Freakin awesome.

I've played 6 gigs with it, and it's been my Only bass for about a year that I've actually learned how to play it. I haven't wore any of the finish off other than some of the shine on the back of the neck. Still smooth, just not as shiny as the day I bought it. Nothing a bit of Buffing could Cure I'm sure. Everything on this bass is Rock Solid other than that tuner I screwed up.

I've never dealt with them. I suppose I should so I could find out the year this bass was made and all that good stuff.

If you can find this bass cheap, it'd be a good bass to get and to learn. It'd be a good bass to grow with too. If this bass is ever stolen from me, I'd beat someone down if I ever figured out who took it. AWESOME AWESOME AWESOME.

Early 90's Korean
24 fret neck maple/rosewood, 34" scale, thin-profile. Gloss black body, Epi's site says alder, others say basswood. Who do you trust? Body is a swept double cut with faceted edges, looks pretty cool.
One split humbucking (neck), one non-humbucking single coil. Both are blade type, so it's not really P-J. My ohmmeter put coil resistance in the mid-high 4-5 kOhm range. Active preamp, master volume, blend, bass and treble.

Depending on your amp and eq settings, you may find this a very hissy bass with the treble all the way up. Backing the volume down below 8 helps a lot. I keep the action low, and that 24th fret seems to bring out the 2nd octave when slapping the open E and A strings.
That being said, it's otherwise pretty good. It's rather dark for something with relatively low-impedance pickups and an active preamp. The bass control really beefs up the bottom end. The bridge pickup hums, but it isn't too bad. The bridge pickup is too thin for my taste by itself, but blends nicely with the neck pickup from about 25% to 100% neck. 100% bridge I'd say is useful only for Ned's style strummed bass chords. 100% neck doesn't really sound like a P-bass, also fine by me. Typically I'm in the 25-75% range, depending on mood. Sweeping gives a fairly broad range of tones, but it won't ever sounds like a Musicman Stingray if that's what you want in an active bass. Unfortunately, sweeping also cuts output as more bridge is brought in. They could've matched those better.

Playability is good, it will tolerate a low action without buzzing badly. Nut was slotted properly. Neck pocket's a little rough, but hasn't shifted and sustain is fine. Hmm. I've picked up two unrelated EBM-series Epi's. One was new on the rack at a music store and the pots already crackled. So did this one's. I don't know if that's a problem with the model, but it's an easy fix. I initially noticed a buzz when I touched the strings, indicating a short from ground to signal. It turned out that to be a misplaced washer at the circuit board. That might have been a botched repair, or it might have come from the factory that way.

It's pretty solid. There's a chip in the enamel, beats me how it got there because it's a thick, tough finish. I bought it several years used, and the only hardware problem is a stripped screw holding a strap button. The gold plating's off the bridge, but so what? Even the tuners, which are a common caveat w/ Epi's, are still fine after several years. The neck will need some attention, but I think anything with a thin profile does. Keep a 5 mm hex key in the case.

It's a good bass for the money. I'm not sure if I'd buy a second EBM for fret-removal or replace this if stolen. It isn't quite as bright as I would like, and the noisy preamp bugs me. Why they didn't splurge a bit and install a stacked humbucking J-style bridge I don't know. The body has faceted edges like an SG, not radiused. Since I play mostly seated, all those extra edges dig in to my leg and ribs. When I started shopping my wish list was 2PU active bass, preferably soapbar PU's, preferably fretless. Looked at some Deans and Ibanez, and seriously at Hohner Phoenix deluxe and deArmond Pilot Pro models. I couldn't afford the Hohner (don't laugh), this one came cheap.

it was made in 1997
made in korea and has 24 frets
solid body 2split humbuker pickups one jazz pick up
active electronics with alder body and maple neck
finish is called tobacco sunburst(golden brown and out lined in black)

great for my music style whichis jass to grunge to hardrock i use a crate B20XL AMP AND SOMETIMES A BASS CRYBABY PEDAL
it can be noisy (kool)allows for either rich/full sound or
dark/bright sound great for stage or studio
i love my bass it has great sustain

set up well from factory and pickups were adjusted well
it has no flaws at all

it will withstand live playing and all hardware is in great shape
I feel i can totally depend on my bass for all types of music

has a year warrenty
no need for customer support yet(knock on wood,ha-ha)

I have been playing a little over 2 years
Iam completely satisfied with my bass
if it was stolen i would buy it agian
it was a great deal i had an accu-bass first but it didnt compare
to this bass

The bass was made in March 1998 Where was it made, well, where all epiphones come from, korea. It has 24 frets, a solid alder body, bolt on Maple neck with rosewood fingerboard, a transparent finish (very glossy), active electronics, 2 tone controls for each pickup, 1 overall tone control and a volume knob. The pickups are two split humbucking pickups in the front, a single P-Bass pickup in the rear. The bass came with a hardshell case and cable. (the cables cheap, better used for tying stuff up with)

The bass sounds overall very nice. It has good sustain with a nice warm tone, though with the strings I have on now, it is a bit more harsh than factory. The facorty strings suck, so you may as well plan on putting on a pair when you get the bass. It fits my music style very well, which is mainly blues, funk, rock, ect. The guitar has a great variety of sounds. The pickups on this bass are korean, so lets say they're not he best, but they suit well enough. The only real dislike I have is the lack of real, guess you can say, full bass sound down form the lowest G to the lowest E. But that is probably caused by the strings I have on the bass now.

The factory set up wasn't all that good, another thing you should plan on gettign done once you recieve it is gettign it set up. The pickups were adjusted well, but the action was way too low. The finich was great, with only one really minor flaw I could see, a small hairline scratch. Overall, slap a pair of new strings on, adjust the string height and neck and your ready for bussiness.

So far this bass has been really reliable. I've been playing it almost everyday for the last 4 months at least an hour at a time and its still as good as the day I first got it, actualyl, probably, better.

I haven't dealt with customer support yey, so I can't say anything.

I've been playing bass for 3 years now, I also own a 5 string Yamaha TRB 5 II. Overall this has been a great bass. If someone stole this bass from me, I kick the guys butt, then steal it back, becasue I do like this bass. For the price I paid, I don't think I could've gotten anythign better.