Status of the Eminence Electric Upright Bass
What's Happening with the Eminence Bass?
Gollihur Music purchased full and exclusive ownership of the trademark and manufacturing/distribution rights for the Eminence Electric Upright Bass in 2022.
Prior to our acquisition of the Eminence Bass product, no new basses had been imported into the USA for over 18 months. Supply chain issues, shipping holdups, and other delays that were related to the global COVID-19 pandemic all conspired to make importing such a unique instrument very difficult.
We are currently working with both the existing manufacturer as well as investigating new manufacturing options for moving forward. Below are some common questions, and I've done my best to answer them.
Current Availability Status (updated December 2024)
We know, there has been almost no updates on availability in a while. In this case, no news is NOT good news. It’s just no news.
The factory is still unable to resume construction and shipping. Unfortunately, COVID closures in China devastated our pipeline of Eminence construction; factories were closed (forcibly, by the Chinese government) for 3-6 months, and the people who worked there were forced to move to other towns and cities to find work. The Eminence is still a casualty of this circumstance. The original factory who made the Eminence is still in a state of flux, and right now, I cannot get the re-starting of production of the Eminence prioritized. I've also looked into alternative manufacturers, in China as well as in Europe, but none are willing or able to take it on at this time.
Add to that, the looming possibility of large tariffs on Chinese-made goods that is under consideration by the incoming presidential administration; these tariffs (which are paid by the importer, not the exporting country) will likely just scuttle the whole thing permanently. Imagine a bass that used to cost $3200 now costing $5200; that's the sort of thing that we could be looking at for ALL of our Chinese-manufactured goods.
TL;DR: I want desperately to get the Eminence made again, but I’m hitting a wall for now. So, I don’t have good news on that front.
What will pricing be?
A difficult question to answer. But my intent is to actually make them a bit cheaper than they used to be. Whether I can achieve this, I don't know for sure. For what it's worth, previously the 4-string fixed model was around $2800, with the removable neck model somewhere around $3250. 5-strings generally ran a couple hundred dollars more.
Will all models still be made?
It's my intention to eventually discontinue the fixed neck model. There's no downside to having the RN bass even if you never take it apart, other than the price premium. And if I'm able to bring the price of the bass down, it'll be a non-issue (one of the ways the price could come down is by streamlining the model count.) So while I might have some pre-existing fixed neck models initially, they will probably be going away, long-term.
Will Eminence basses be available at my local retailer?
Probably not. The intention is to self-distribute through the Gollihur Music store only; this is also one of the ways that we can hopefully reduce the price - by eliminating an entire profit tier.
Can I be notified with any news/updates, or when Eminence basses become available?
Yes! Please use the form below - include your name, email, and a quick note indicating which model(s) you are interested in, and we'll add you to our free, no-strings-attached, obligation-free update list.
right now they are unavailable – COVID factory closures severely impacted manufacturing, and those factories have not yet resumed production due to employee loss and other financial factors. So as of right now, the Eminence is not an option.