I've had some bad experiences and some good experiences with Epiphone. The last two I got were covered in a casing of poly, looked like a cake slathered with too much oily frosting. I bought an Epi EB-3 for my girlfriend, and this bass is phenomenal. I would play one at any gig. It sounds great, even compared to my Fenders. If they made one in a lefty, I'd get one today.