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Alembic Club » Miscellaneous » Archive: 2006 » Archive through September 15, 2006 » Rogue & Europa; what's the diff? « Previous Next »

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richbass939
Senior Member
Username: richbass939

Post Number: 721
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 7:29 pm:   Edit Post

I can see very little difference between the two. Except for the neck sandwich what's the difference. The electronics seem to be the same. I'm sure someone who is more observant than I can clue me in.
Thanks,
Rich
tbrannon
Intermediate Member
Username: tbrannon

Post Number: 143
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 8:26 pm:   Edit Post

Rich,
From what I can tell, the Rogue typically has the cone peghead with a bar tailpeice, where the Europa has that Elan'ish Europa peghead and the bird tailpiece.

The body shapes are slightly different as well.

Electronics wise, I'm pretty sure they're twins.

I'm sure someone who actually knows what they're talking about will be along shortly and they'll correct me. =)

toby
bsee
Senior Member
Username: bsee

Post Number: 1312
Registered: 3-2004
Posted on Friday, September 08, 2006 - 10:07 pm:   Edit Post

in addition to what you mentioned:

Europa also includes purpleheart in the neck, MOP board inlays, and brass back plates.

Rogue has no board inlays, 35" scale, the maple neck with walnut pinstripes, and plastic back plates.
rami
Senior Member
Username: rami

Post Number: 582
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 8:02 am:   Edit Post

My Rogue 5 came with oval inlays (I'm not sure if they're MOP or plastic), and polished brass backplates.

I think the only significant differences between the two are the body and headstock shape and standard wood laminates in the body and neck. All features can be upgraded to whatever you want.
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 1600
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 9:37 am:   Edit Post

If you look at the products section for basses, it appears both the Rogue and the Europa come with Alembic oval inlays (actually, I believe ALL Alembics come with these unless you ask for something else). There are other differences in the wood recipe (i.e. Rogue neck = maple/walnut; Europa = maple/purpleheart). As for the bodies, to this guitar player's eyes, the upper horn on the Rogue is MUCH longer than that of the Europa.

Bill, tgo
crgaston
Advanced Member
Username: crgaston

Post Number: 268
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 10:16 am:   Edit Post

Bill, the specs on the Rogue have changed slightly in the past year; now they are standard with no inlays, as per the quote builder. Also, the Essence lacks these as well. Of course, they're not that much to add (200 for the MOP ovals). It appears Alembic isn't doing the plastic ones anymore. You're right about the upper horn. It tucks the bass in quite nicely, making 1st position a bit easier to reach for us short people.
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 1602
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 10:36 am:   Edit Post

Charles:

The web site still shows both the Rogue and the Europa as coming with MOP ovals at no charge

Mother of pearl oval inlays 0
Abalone oval inlays 200
Golden mother of pearl oval inlays 300
Black Tahitian mother of pearl ovals 300
2 initial oval, m.o.p. and silver 500

I'm just going on what I read. Also, I've rarely seen any instruments at the factory being built without the ovals, unless they are being replaced by custom inlays.

Bill, tgo
crgaston
Advanced Member
Username: crgaston

Post Number: 269
Registered: 11-2005
Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 11:12 am:   Edit Post

Looks like we're both right, Bill. I am basing my info on the Custom Quote builder, but the spec page still shows the ovals as standard. I think the quote builder has more recently been updated, but without asking Alembic directly, I don't know which page is currently accurate.

Charles
rami
Senior Member
Username: rami

Post Number: 583
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 8:02 pm:   Edit Post

One thing they both have in common for sure - they don't come cheap!
bsee
Senior Member
Username: bsee

Post Number: 1313
Registered: 3-2004
Posted on Saturday, September 09, 2006 - 10:01 pm:   Edit Post

The Rogue shape is a slight tweak of the Europa body style. When they first hit the market about ten years ago, it was when the craze for extra-long scale for a tight B was in full swing. There were quite a few 35" five string Rogues to be found on the walls of the Alembic dealers of the time. Whoever came up with the design must have realized that the longer neck would shift the balance a little and, that a longer upper horn would restore the equilibrium.

In functional terms, adding purpleheart to the neck of a Rogue should get you the same output signal as a Europa with the same body/top woods. All the rest of the differences between the two appear to be cosmetic.
richbass939
Senior Member
Username: richbass939

Post Number: 724
Registered: 11-2004
Posted on Sunday, September 10, 2006 - 7:39 am:   Edit Post

Thanks for the input, everybody. It appears that the electronics and pickups are the same in both basses. I was just wondering about the $900 difference. The headstock shape and body shape wouldn't account for any difference, I suppose. Purpleheart in the neck sandwich would be a little different but not all that much. I thought that there must be more to them that wasn't obvious to me. Again, thanks for the input.
Rich
xlrogue6
Intermediate Member
Username: xlrogue6

Post Number: 111
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Monday, September 11, 2006 - 9:07 am:   Edit Post

Back when the Rogue was born, Alembic was still using the polyurethane finish on Epics (where it was first used, I believe), then later the Rogue, the Orion and the Excel as well. The neck lams, finish, and body shape were the only differences between the Rogue and the Europa. When the polyurethane finish was discontinued, the Rogue and Europa got a little closer to each other.

(Message edited by xlrogue6 on September 11, 2006)

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