After playing this bass for a week or so, I think it is fair to say that it punches far above its weight for many reasons:
The look is unique to Epiphone, this isn't a copy it's a very distinctive bass.
The finish is immaculate without any blemishes and the bright chrome on metallic green is stunning and very retro.
It is very comfortable to play and balances well on the strap, despite the relatively small body.
The neck is well finished with well finished fret ends (no snags) and though quite a deep profile is very comfortable to play. Lovely rosewood fingerboard that benefited from a generous application of Jim Dunlop lemon oil.
Intonation was spot on when delivered, showing it had been set up with care. Even so I was able to drop the action considerably and tweak the truss rod a little to get an excellent setup. I did cut the nut slightly deeper for the E string. I did then have to slightly adjust the intonation.
The tone is something out of this world, the probuckers give the same earth-shaking tone as the Thunderbird Pro. It's also about twice as loud as a jazz bass for the same amp settings. Absolutely perfect for blues-rock. It's amazing that Gibson don't use these pups in their own basses!
The volume and tone controls are very responsive giving a wide range of sunds along with a balance control that works well but would be more intuitive (to me) if its action was reversed.
The tuning heads are good but not exceptional with a bit of backlash.
Detailing is restrained but nice - fijudicial pointers for the knobs, lovely rounded strap buttons, slightly inset jack socket, well executed logo, great looking 'vintage' bridge and stop piece and great headstock shape.
Negatives? The neck pickup doesn't sit level, it needs some sponge packing underneath. I would have like the neck set back very slightly so the bridge could be just a touch higher at low action settings, I've almost (but not quite) run out of adjustment.
General impression of this bass is that, despite its modest price it looks, sound and plays like one costing twice as much or more. I can't be the only person who thinks this, as the whole batch that recently arrived in Europe was sold out in advance. Grab one while you can.
