harveypb Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 I picked up this Gibson Bass at a flea market and I'm not sure what model it is, if it actually is a genuine Gibson or if it has been modified. Looks like an EB3 with the slotted headstock (which is broken off)I looked in the electronics cavity and it looks pretty original except for the 4 way switch which looks like it was changed out for a Rhythm/Treble switch. All other solder connections look original. The pickup wires look like they are made with unshielded wires which makes me think that its not an original Gibson bass... Have a look at the pics and let me know what you think the model is, if its truly a Gibson product and what you think might have been done to it. Thanks in Advance, Harvey Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted December 6, 2015 Share Posted December 6, 2015 Hello Harvey, and welcome here. This bass obviously suffered at least one bad mishap. I'm not that experienced in Gibson history, so I can't contribute anything you already haven't found out. I think that hi-res close-up pics could be helpful for more experienced members to find out something more. It's best to use a cloud account at photobucket or the like and link the pics here. Good luck! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harveypb Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 I picked up this Gibson Bass at a flea market and I'm not sure what model it is, if it actually is a genuine Gibson or if it has been modified. Looks like an EB3 with the slotted headstock (which is broken off)I looked in the electronics cavity and it looks pretty original except for the 4 way switch which looks like it was changed out for a Rhythm/Treble switch. All other solder connections look original. The pickup wires look like they are made with unshielded wires which makes me think that its not an original Gibson bass... Have a look at the pics and let me know what you think the model is, if its truly a Gibson product and what you think might have been done to it. Thanks in Advance, Harvey Here's more pics HPB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 This EB-3 looks definitely legit to me. I can't judge pickup wires and circuit rewiring from here. Possibly looking at the pickup bottoms would help to clear that up. In my opinion a repair job should include the body crack running from the lower bout through the circuit cavity. I hope some of the bass experts will chime in. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 I have to admit, I'm having a hard time with this. On the one hand, what doesn't look right to me could also be due to having been refinished. Some of the contours and headstock shape seem off, but also, I see yellow in the control cavity. IF this was originally TV yellow or some sort, it is conceivable some contours wouldn't have survive so well in an effort to eliminate the color. Also, while the bass shows evidence of being left out in the rain or something, what I see the finish doing sure looks to me like a re-fin. I have never seen a slot-head Gibson bass, but I don't think I would know if there was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harveypb Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 I have to admit, I'm having a hard time with this. On the one hand, what doesn't look right to me could also be due to having been refinished. Some of the contours and headstock shape seem off, but also, I see yellow in the control cavity. IF this was originally TV yellow or some sort, it is conceivable some contours wouldn't have survive so well in an effort to eliminate the color. Also, while the bass shows evidence of being left out in the rain or something, what I see the finish doing sure looks to me like a re-fin. I have never seen a slot-head Gibson bass, but I don't think I would know if there was. it was definitely refinished. They even removed the serial numbers on the headstock. Looks like it was also lacquered. Perhaps this would help. I still don't know if the pickups are original Gibson because they don't have shielded wires coming into the electronics cavity as all of the Gibson pickups I've seen have shielded wires.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 ... I still don't know if the pickups are original Gibson because they don't have shielded wires coming into the electronics cavity as all of the Gibson pickups I've seen have shielded wires.... The pickups of my 1973 Gibson L6-S have unshielded wires. I don't have pics of their bottom side at hand. Even the neck pickup's housing wasn't shielded and a bad source of hum. I soldered a ground wire to one of the mounting brackets to solve the problem. Here are pics from the bay showing an L6-S bridge pickup's back with an orange ground wire and an L6-S neck pickup's top without ground wire: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 it was definitely refinished. They even removed the serial numbers on the headstock. Looks like it was also lacquered. Perhaps this would help. I still don't know if the pickups are original Gibson because they don't have shielded wires coming into the electronics cavity as all of the Gibson pickups I've seen have shielded wires.... The pickups of my 1973 Gibson L6-S have unshielded wires. I don't have pics of their bottom side at hand. The neck pickup's housing wasn't even shielded and a bad source of hum. I soldered a ground wire to one of the mounting brackets to solve the problem. Here are pics from the bay showing an L6-S bridge pickup's back with an orange ground wire and an L6-S neck pickup's top without ground wire: Indeed, Gibson has been using "phone wire" for a long time, don't know exactly when or on what, but it became more standard than the shielded wire you are referring to. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 This EB-3 looks definitely legit to me. I can't judge pickup wires and circuit rewiring from here. Possibly looking at the pickup bottoms would help to clear that up. I can't read the codes, but I have done at least one that was a '74 LPC that had the same CTS pots and ceramic caps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kelvinator Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 You have a '69 - '71 EB3 (the only years for the slotted headstock). They came in cherry and walnut. The bass originally had a 4-way rotary tone switch, a choke, braided pickup wires, and a solid bare wire for the bridge ground; so it's been re-wired. Because of the un-braided wires, the pickups may not be original - or someone could have spliced into the braided wires. The one piece mahogany necks with no volutes were known to break if dropped; in '72 Gibson went with a three piece maple neck, a volute and a solid headstock. It's definitely worth a trip to a good luthier to see about fixing the headstock, the crack through the control cavity, and evaluating the overall condition of the bass; it looks like there's enough there to work with. If you bought it cheap, it's a good find. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harveypb Posted December 7, 2015 Author Share Posted December 7, 2015 You have a '69 - '71 EB3 (the only years for the slotted headstock). They came in cherry and walnut. The bass originally had a 4-way rotary tone switch, a choke, braided pickup wires, and a solid bare wire for the bridge ground; so it's been re-wired. Because of the un-braided wires, the pickups may not be original - or someone could have spliced into the braided wires. The one piece mahogany necks with no volutes were known to break if dropped; in '72 Gibson went with a three piece maple neck, a volute and a solid headstock. It's definitely worth a trip to a good luthier to see about fixing the headstock, the crack through the control cavity, and evaluating the overall condition of the bass; it looks like there's enough there to work with. If you bought it cheap, it's a good find. At this point I decided to loosen up the pickups and have a look at the wires. The neck pickup, (larger one) had a green and black wire...not shielded... The bridge pickup (smaller one) had a shielded wire but was neatly spliced with heat shrink tubing to 2 wires which is why I didn't see any shield wires coming into the electronics cavity. Do you still think that the pickups are original?? Thanks to all who have already responded I just noticed something else....Have a look at the next pic. is there a piece missing from the bridge?? I think the strings should be going over some piece that might be missing.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted December 7, 2015 Share Posted December 7, 2015 ...Is there a piece missing from the bridge?? I think the strings should be going over some piece that might be missing... I'm no expert on Gibson basses by about 1,000,000 miles but I'd say yes; the actual bridge itself. AFAIK the bit yours still has is the tailpiece / string anchor. Here's what I think it should look like; Pip. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
harveypb Posted December 8, 2015 Author Share Posted December 8, 2015 I'm no expert on Gibson basses by about 1,000,000 miles but I'd say yes; the actual bridge itself. AFAIK the bit yours still has is the tailpiece / string anchor. Here's what I think it should look like; Pip. Hey Pip, Thanks for the reply... Looks like mine is missing a bar/bridge piece. Thanks Again To All that responded. I think I have the entire picture now on this bass...I probably will put it up on Ebay now that I can describe it accurately.....I have the case too which I think I'll put up separately...... I Personally like the Gibson SG guitar...Got a 1970 with the long Maestro Vibrato tailpiece....Great Guitar.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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