1964 EB-0F Getting Refinished............. Finally!

[Grog]

I bought this bass in 1996, with the intention of getting it refinished back to it's original color. I was still in my collecting mode, so getting this done was low on my priority list. My wife & I were going to take a short trip to La Crosse Wisconsin, so I had to stop at Dave's Guitar Shop. I brought it along, showed it to him & he agreed to restore it. I'm sure he and his employees will do a great job. It should be done in 4 to 6 weeks.

[Pilgrim]

It doesn't look like it needs to be restored...looks good.

[Denis]

That thing is nice! What a pretty hunk of wood!

[Highlander]

It doesn't look like it needs to be restored...looks good.

+1

Save the money and use it for extras on the trip ...

[Grog]

The refin that it has now might look better in the photos, but it's kind of rough looking. I also wanted it cherry again. My other basses are from the later sixty's, stained in the darker cherry. I considered doing this one the same, but decided on keeping it original. If it hadn't already been refinished, I would have probably left it as it was.

[Dave W]

That one deserves a nice restoration.

[Grog]

It'll look like new for it's 50th birthday in 2014, but it'll still sound like an electric fart!

[amptech]

It'll look like new for it's 50th birthday in 2014, but it'll still sound like an electric fart!

One can only wonder what music would sound like today if the EB0F set the standard for bass electronics back then.
The eighties would be remembered for purple metallic eb basses with chorus modified fuzz tone circuits and EMG mudbuckers 

But I agree, brown ain´t right for this axe. My EBOF needs one to, it had a cherry refin in the 80´s and it is has a slight purple-ish hue.
The only problem is that the refin is so perfectly done...
The good thing ´bout it was that the original electronics was gone - and I couldn´t find decent working 2N270´s.
So I built a fuzzface kind of circuit, works great - if you cut the attack the volume is just a boost.
A boosted mudbucker, now that´s something

[godofthunder]

 many Early EB0s and EB3s I have seen have faded out a more brown tone. I first noticed this in the early-mid 70's. The fading   could take place rather quickly say over the course of ten years or so. If that is the original finish I would keep it just as it is.

[Grog]

The guitar had been refinished rather poorly. The clear coat, which I'm not sure what it even is, had a lot of drips & voids. This guitar showed up for a couple years at several local guitar shows. I bought the hand rest off of it for my 1967 EB-2. It was finally purchased by a local vintage guitar store. He had two of them in his store at the same time. The other one was more of a purple cherry, he claimed it was original. He passed away suddenly, I ended up buying the bass from his wife at his estate sale. If they did come in the more purple cherry, I would have refinished it to match my other cherry SG shaped basses. Even the EB-4L is the darker cherry. The sun seems to fade the cherry to almost a walnut color. The heat from your hand fades the back of the neck also. You get an oval mark under your STP sticker as it fades......

[godofthunder]

Ok didn't know it was a refin! Have at it!

[4stringer77]

Cherry will be nice but if your doing a refin it couldn't hurt to consider a custom color could it? I mean for a bass as funky as the EB-OF, an equally funky color almost seems appropriate. Heather or Inverness or Kerry Green perhaps?

[Dave W]

George, you bought it from Roger Benedict's estate?

I agree with doing it in cherry. A Gibson custom color wouldn't be wrong but IMHO would look out of place on an EB-0F.

[Granny Gremlin]

That would look awesome in Polaris White or TV Yellow.

Cherry is just so ... typical.  It's already refinned, so I'd say have some fun with it. ... and IMO correctness is over-rated.

[Grog]

George, you bought it from Roger Benedict's estate?

I agree with doing it in cherry. A Gibson custom color wouldn't be wrong but IMHO would look out of place on an EB-0F.

It did come from Roger Benedict's estate. The two he had & the one you bought from Willie's are the only three I've ever seen in this town. I bought a '67 ES-335 from Roger saw the two in his store at that time. As far as custom colors, I guess I'm kind of boring. A Les Paul Custom should be black, etc................. If it would have had a neck repair or other major damage, Polaris White would have made it look cool & hid the repair.