Reviewed by:
Smartass, on december 01, 2008 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 300
Purchased from: Guitar Center
Features: Made in 2005 (Reissue of the 1958), and made in Korea. It's on a 34" scale, and has 22 frets. Black paint is absolutely beautiful and goes with the white pick guard and gold hardware quite nicely. Although, the gold tarnishes very quickly, and makes me a bit irritated when I look at it. Neck is thru the body, and gives a nice sound. The wood looks cheap, and probably is, but that's alright I guess. The fret inlay is cheap plastic, and they didn't even bother to make it look remotely like pearl, like a lot of guitars do. Electronics sound very nice, and there is no fret buzz at all. No gig bag was included though, and it was a pain to find one that fits this bass. Plus the custom made hard shell cases cost about $80 each, sadly... // 7
Sound: Sound is good for metal, and some rock, but that's about it. Doesn't have a bluesy tone at all, or funk, or anything like that. This bass was made for ripping metal. Bass does have a bit of punch though, and even on a crappy Peavey 20 watt practice amp, it sounds good. The pickup selector is nice too, and gives a nice range of sounds, going from higher toned, to deeper toned, and the sweetspot in between. // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: The bass is interesting. Action could be better, what with the sticky paint on the neck, even if it does Shine like the surface of the sun. Also, the pickup selector and volume knobs wobble in their respective places, and any gold metal on the bass itself is tarnished deeply. Also, the wood quality could be better. It looks cheap. // 3
Reliability & Durability: Bass is easily scratched, and finger prints show like night and day. The bass has a tendency to not want to hold onto it's strap, resulting in the bass falling to the floor if I'm not careful. I can't say I would use it live without a backup as well, as I just don't trust it by itself yet, and probably wont ever. // 4
Impression: I play a lot of fast metal and such, but I also like funk and blues, so this bass works for metal. I've been playing for 3 years, but the only good thing about this bass is it's looks, and even those are starting to wear away. I really wish I had seen past the looks and gone with something else with better action and playability. If this was stolen my only gripe would be paying for a better bass, as this is worth quite a bit and will help when I upgrade soon. // 3
Reviewed by:
unregistered, on august 08, 2005 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Purchased from: Andertons Music
Features: 2004 Model Epiphone Explorer bass, 22 frets, Korina body in ebony (black), standard sized Explorer body, 3 controls, 2 indipendent controls for either soapbar pickup and a tone control on a 3-way switch. Contents were, Explorer Bass, Alan Keys, and a short lead. // 8
Sound: // 10
Action, Fit & Finish: The action from the factory is set very low, the pickups seem fine, the bridge is set perfectly, the only letdown is one little flaw in the finish on the back, but that is unseen on stage, and the top of the pickguard is a little tatty. // 6
Reliability & Durability: I have bashed her about, and dropped here here, there and everywhere. There is hardly any damage to it, it appears to be a very solid guitar, except from the finish, it is quite thin, and seems to wear off easily. I would gladly use this baby (as I have done before) as my only guitar at a live gig. // 8
Impression: This guitar is perfect for my style (punk/heavy metal) it has got the tone there to kick serious ass! I have been playing now for 2 years, and this is only the second guitar I like, the other being my Fender Jazz Bass. If this guitar got lost of stolen, I would probably gou out and buy a diffefernt guitar, as I am like that. The thing I love about this guitar is the low action, what I hate about it is the way the headstock is set out, it takes a bit of practice to get used to the new position for the tuners, but heck, they work! My favourite feature would definately have to be the ability to control what pickups you want to use. The only thing I wish this guitar had was a beer holder, as when I am on stage, it is hard to pick your beer up off the floor. // 8
Reviewed by:
alaska_bass_kid, on august 05, 2004 0 of 0 people found this review helpful
Price paid: $ 480
Purchased from: mammoth music
Features: - 22 frets
- Mahogany neck
- 2 pickups
- Gold hardware
- 34" scale
It has a standard Explorer body. So imagine James Hetfields guitars in S&M (besides the LP) and thats what the body looks like. Active electronics which didn't work when I tried to record our bands demo so I had to borrow a bass (it was a Stingray so I was a happy camper.) It has 2 volume knobs and 1 tone. It's got a 3 way selector. // 8
Sound: // 8
Action, Fit & Finish: The guitar was set ok. The pickups are too close to the strings so slapping is hard cuz it always hits them and makes a clicking noise. Thats pretty much the only complaint about. // 8
Reliability & Durability: I have used this bass live and it withstands just fine. It is a tank. I've dropped it so many damn times and not a mark on it. But it seems like after a while of having it it wears down a little. I can't explain it. // 8
Impression: It fits the hard rock style pretty well. There basses that would suit it better maybe. I've been playing for around 8 or 9 months. This is my only bass. If it were stolen or lost I would probably look into getting a differnt bass though. // 8
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