- Laminate Maple body
- NYT Bass Mini-Humbucker pickups
- Rosewood fretboard
- 30.5 scale
Product Description
This veteran from the British Invasion is back, but without the vintage price tag! Mod looks and warm, bass tone come together as a result of its hollow laminated Maple body with a short-scale 30.5″ neck, rosewood finge… Read More >>
Epiphone Viola Electric Bass Guitar, Vintage Sunburst
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For years, if you wanted to play the electric bass that Paul played in The Beatles, you had to fork over around $2,000.00 for a Hofner bass. Yes, they are made a lot better today than when Paul bought his first one for about $175.00 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 $400.00.
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 $800.00.
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!
Rating: 5 / 5
The Epiphone Viola Bass is a well made bass….finished nicely with decent action…..but while this instrument resembles the fabled 500/1 Hofner Beatle Bass in appearance, it does not remotely resemble the Hofner sonically…..the Epiphone generates a decent enough generic bass sound, but the Hofner posesses the punchiest and cleanest bass tone on the planet, with a very unique timbre…..in fact, the Hofners i have owned were buzz free in the studio, and their tone was like a punch in the gut….
however, all of that said, i would recommend this Epiphone over the new Hofner lower priced basses….and while many Epiphones these days are cheaply built and finished, this instrument is very servicable and a great value for the money…..but, if you ever muster up the dough to buy the real deal, do yourself a favor and get a new (don’t buy a vintage one, the necks warp and they are not easily repaired) top of the line Hofner…there is nothing like it….
Rating: 3 / 5