Epiphone Embassy Special

Made in China with a black lacquer top. Maple neck, and a rosewood fingerboard.It has one passive split humbucker, with one volume knob, and one sound knob. It has a standard bridge design. 24 frets, I think. No pickguard, but then again, you shouldn't need one if you don't use a pick. Tuners are quite nice, actually.

I play mostly Grunge rock, and Classic rocks, along with Metallica. As for sound, this thing actually does pretty good, considering it has one split humbucker. Sounds kind of like a precision bass. My only concern is that the sound control knob only allows you to move it a little, before it starts sounding steely. I play through a 350 watt Ampeg, and a planet waves patch cord. You can get either a warm, welcoming tone, or you can have a harsh tone, with a ton of bite. However, the pickups do get sensitive in this region, so you have to be quiet, and I don't recommend sliding on the strings if you have it set this high. I have slinky Hybrids on this thing currently, and they make it sound great, with an awesome high end. Do not base the sound of this bass with the stock strings on. The stock strings are crap, and make it sound like crap too. I'd recommend not putting flatwounds on it, cause this bass is really good for popping and slapping, I find. All in all, I really depends on what amp you're using, what effects, what strings, and what patch cord are the things that really differentiate the sound. You can morph the sound to whatever you like by changing these things.

The action, I found was too low on the E string, so I set up all of the bridge a little higher. This made no difference to playability, though, all it really did was stop the buzzing. I couldn't really find any factory flaws with it, it was made almost perfectly. Nothing really I can complain about. The bridge does make it slightly harder to put new strings through, cause the springs block the strings from getting in, but all you have to do is stick your finger in. No flaws whatsoever that I could find.

This bass is the most reliable guitar I've ever put my hands on. The strap buttons are big enough the the strap WILL NOT COME OFF while playing, but you can get it on and off pretty easily off the stage. It is a very snug fit. Since the electronics are passive, you do not have to worry about running out of battery power in the middle of a show. The finish on this bass is so strong, I've dropped it in a parking lot, and there was no mark at all. The hardware is as strong as the finish. I would definitely use this without a backup, no questions asked. The only thing you would need to worry about is breaking a string, and find me a bass that can't break a string, and I'll pay you $10000

This bass is so rock solid, I will never have to use it.

I've been playing about 10 years, and own three basses. A Warwick Thumb, Music man Stingray, and this. This bass can easily hold it's own in terms of playability. If it were stolen, I would buy the upgraded version! I wish it had more option knobs. I love the reliability, the weight, the sound, the playability. Chose this bass cause I was lokking for a cheap, good looking bass that plays nice.