EB3 1970-1 ?

[John W]

I wonder if anyone can help me?

 

I have a Gibson EB3 bass which according to the serial number (622661) I think dates from 1970-1. Pictures attached.

 

I think it is walnut with a mahogany neck but the feature which I have not so far seen anywhere else is that it has different gold knobs and other gold hardware which all appear to be original. It is fretless but I think someone may have filed down the frets because there are still fret wires visible which protrude very slightly above the fingerboard.

 

I bought it in a Music shop in York (UK) in the mid-late 80s but have never used it for gigs. At the time I already had a Fender Jazz fretless and I didn't get on with the shorter scale of the EB3.

 

I am looking to sell it and need a bit of advice. I hope you can help!

 

regards

 

John

[Bassilisk]

The pg, knobs and plate under the bridge are not original.

 

Look here:

http://www.flyguitars.com/gibson/bass/EB3.php

[Kelvinator]

I wonder if anyone can help me?

 

I have a Gibson EB3 bass which according to the serial number (622661) I think dates from 1970-1. Pictures attached.

 

I think it is walnut with a mahogany neck but the feature which I have not so far seen anywhere else is that it has different gold knobs and other gold hardware which all appear to be original. It is fretless but I think someone may have filed down the frets because there are still fret wires visible which protrude very slightly above the fingerboard.

 

I bought it in a Music shop in York (UK) in the mid-late 80s but have never used it for gigs. At the time I already had a Fender Jazz fretless and I didn't get on with the shorter scale of the EB3.

 

I am looking to sell it and need a bit of advice. I hope you can help!

 

regards

 

John

 

I believe the '70 & '71 EB3 are the only years with the slotted headstock. They were all Mahogany, and came in cherry or walnut colors. Pull the cavity plate and look for date codes on the pots; that will tell you the week & year for the pots, and help you date the bass: http://www.vintagegu...g_pot_codes.php keep in mind that pot code dates can pre-date the bass (I have a '72 EB3L with late '71 pots).

 

As Bassilisk said, the pick-guard, truss-rod cover, and the plate under the bridge are not original, but look to be very well done. Are all of these brass??. I'm thinking the only reason for the plate under the bridge would be to hide the original bridge-cover screw holes, or to add a little bling to match the other covers. The gold "Speed Knobs" were probably put on to match the brass covers.

 

I've never seen any fretted bass converted to fretless where the frets were not completely removed and the slots filled (maybe that can't be done with a bound fingerboard). You say the frets "protrude very slightly above the fingerboard"; are there any playability issues with that? Any buzzing? If not, someone did some very nice custom work on this bass.

 

Very cool bass John! I like it... (almost wish I wanted a fretless!)

[John W]

Kelvinator and Bassilisk,

 

Thanks for your replies and links.

 

I have taken the plate off to look at the pot codes which are 70-027 and 1377142 which I now understand to mean 1971 week 42. Without the cover you can see the cherry colour which has been removed.

 

The replacement pick guard etc may be brass but I think with a lacquer finish which is why they are relatively shiny rather than dull brass in colour.

 

The small amount of fret left by the de-fretting does not cause any playability problems and there are no buzzes that I can notice.

 

I imagine that the fretlessness could be the major obstacle to selling. Do you think it might be worth seeing if I could get it re-fretted?

 

 

Thanks again for your input

 

John

[Kelvinator]

The small amount of fret left by the de-fretting does not cause any playability problems and there are no buzzes that I can notice.

 

I imagine that the fretlessness could be the major obstacle to selling. Do you think it might be worth seeing if I could get it re-fretted?

 

I have 2 thoughts on this: 1) the idea that the frets were milled level with the board is very unique, and had to be done by a real pro. Most people yank the frets out with pliers and fill the slots. I'll bet it's great as a frettless. I'm not sure, but removing the frets now could be difficult, and the neck binding could pose a problem as well. 2) there is a larger market for fretted basses, and it would probably sell faster and for more money if you had her re-fretted.

 

So... find a good luthier (not some guitar tech at a music store) and get his opinion on all the work that was done. See if a re-fret is possible and cost-effective (would you get enough out of it to cover the repair cost?). The bass looks to be in very good condition. The pick-guard, truss cover, and knobs could easily be replaced, and the plate under the bridge may be hiding nothing more than bridge-cover screw holes, so all of those things can probably be brought back to original (if one wanted to). I like the brass, but I'm not a "Purist". Also, I've seen cherry finishes that have simply faded to brown; I believe there's an example of one on "'fly guitars"; ask the luthier if it's been refinished.

 

I think it's a very neat bass, and you shouldn't have a problem selling it.

 

This is all just my opinion and I hope I've helped, but remember John - free advice is worth exactly what you paid for it!

 

Good luck... Keep us posted.

[Bassilisk]

+1 on Kelvinator's comments, particularly regarding the frets.

 

You'll definitely have a better chance of moving it with the frets restored. You can probably find period correct knobs and PG on ebay as well. The bridge plate is something else and if you can't make it go away without a major cosmetic impact it will detract from the value.

 

Here's one with a Hipshot bridge on it. That would be a comparable ballpark IMO.:

https://reverb.com/item/288485-vintage-usa-made-1970-gibson-eb-3-bass-guitar-cherry-red?_aid=pla&pla=1&gclid=CJahofzcxcECFUNp7AodSWsACg

 

BTW, the original case also helps the value, even if it's very beat up.

 

My very first POS bass had very high frets and I just took a big file that had rasps on the edge and filed them all down myself. What did I know back in my tender youth? It played fine afterwards and was much easier on my noobie fingers. Looking back I should have kept it - even the crap Teisco's are north of $250. But once I got my first real bass (Fender) it immediately became firewood.

[John W]

I have listed on eBay and it is currently at £400. Six days to go but has achieved my reserve.

 

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/281490470873

 

John