1962 EB-3

[D.M.N.]

Nice bass and welcome to the forum. The mini bucker shouldn't feed back and yeah the choke seriously takes a lot of juice from the neck pickup in position 4 and same with position 3. I took the choke out of the circuit in my bass for that reason but there are lots of people who like to leave everything stock. I have a hip shot 2 point on my bridge and like it but some folks think you can't get low enough action on those bridges. Jack used lighter gauge LaBella flats on his, I really like GHS short scale brite flats. Enjoy it and hope you get the feedback thing sorted out.

I'm actually pretty content with the stock bridge, it's intonated surprisingly well up the neck. I've seen the older schaller replacement bridges, if I ever see one of those for a decent price I might pick one up, but for now that's all well and good. It had LaBella strings on it when it arrived I believe, but I just couldn't get on with them. I put on some light gauge D'addario Nickel rounds, so they'll be a bit mellower than SS and don't really plan on changing them very often. I might try flats out again at some point, I'll give the GHS' a look if/when I do.

The bridge PUP should not be noisy, but it does have a low output. If you 'even out' the balace between neck/bridge and add gain/eq on the amp, well it will have some noise. Feedback can be avoided by re-potting, but then you might just have loose components within the pickup assembly. If the coil wiggles, etc..

It's fairly easy to bypass the coil, your bass will still be stock. It should not be necessary to remove the harness, just clean it.

Personally, I like a standard toggle or blend switch (I don't care much for the choke) and again - this can be done without drilling or messing up. Or you could get a CTS push/pull volume knob, and be able to put the choke in or out of cct.

And welcome:-) lovely bass!

Yeah, it's not a terrible squealing feedback all the time, as I said it's when the amp is really cranked and the pickup faces back towards the speakers, totally manageable at this point. I'm thinking I might go with a similar wiring set up eventually, as far as the toggle switch goes, and maybe a push/pull for the choke, and maybe one for a passive diode overdrive, just for sh!ts and gigs.

   Nice score! I'd pay a grand for it!

Thanks Scott. I think I actually briefly messaged you a while back on TB about it, it's the one with the funny grain on the neck that looks a bit like a skunk stripe. In hand, it turns out it really is just a funk stripe in the grain, it sort of spirals up and to the treble side as it goes up the neck. I'm quite happy with the price as well, given I've seen some in far worse overall cosmetic shape for more $$$.

[amptech]

and maybe one for a passive diode overdrive, just for sh!ts and gigs.

If you like a little fuzz, go fuzztone:-) Gibson had some cool fuzzes mid 60's, few parts and lots of fuzz!

[Granny Gremlin]

There are simpler fuzzes.  And I thought the consensus was around here that the EB0F wasn't so great as regards the F.



The above doesn't eve include the power section to drop the voltage from 9v (battery) to 3, but I suppose one could use a pair of AAs instead (1.5V each), not sure how the battery life would work out tho.

[Grog]

I had a slightly newer EB-3, (65?). It had an almost identical repair. It also came with a super heavy custom road case. I tried, but at the time I just couldn't get past the crack,  (sounds familiar!) I ended up trading both of these guitars to a store called "High Tec Consignments" in the early 90's for a dead mint 1968 EB-2DC. It sat in the store for over a year, parts were stolen off of it. Eventually, the store was bought out by "Play It Again Sports" and the "Music Go Round" franchise was started with that store. I bought that bass for $250.00 if I recall correctly. I'm starting to feel old...............

[Grog]

There are simpler fuzzes.  And I thought the consensus was around here that the EB0F wasn't so great as regards the F.



The above doesn't eve include the power section to drop the voltage from 9v (battery) to 3, but I suppose one could use a pair of AAs instead (1.5V each), not sure how the battery life would work out tho.

It's pretty much, an Electric Fart...........

[Granny Gremlin]

This is one that I am itching to try on the breadboard (but I have some other project on the go there right now).  The in/out filter caps would likely need to be increased in value to let more bass through, but it's so simple - uses the leakage of the germanium transistor ( must be a germ, almost any germ; silicon don't leak enough) as the bias current.



That 'optional' resistor could be a lot bigger too; can't be too big really.

[Pilgrim]

I have a '64 EB-0 and I've found the factory bar bridge to intonate very well.

[Dave W]

The fuzz on my '62 EB-0F wasn't really usable. It didn't work with only a mudbucker.

Whatever bass was used on Gibson's demo record for the Maestro FZ-1 couldn't have been an EB-0. Unless your tuba or sousaphone player calls in sick, the bass tones aren't that usable anyway. But if you have a "thin bodied guitar," you can play a nifty version of Mein Hut, der hat drei Ecken. 

[Grog]

I bought a copy of that demo record off eBay a while back. Mine plays like it was recorded through a Fuzz-Tone.

[amptech]

Don´t listen to them, D.M.N. We all know how unreliable them sousaphone players can be.

[D.M.N.]

The fuzz on my '62 EB-0F wasn't really usable. It didn't work with only a mudbucker.

Whatever bass was used on Gibson's demo record for the Maestro FZ-1 couldn't have been an EB-0. Unless your tuba or sousaphone player calls in sick, the bass tones aren't that usable anyway. But if you have a "thin bodied guitar," you can play a nifty version of Mein Hut, der hat drei Ecken. 

That demo is 100% incredible. Wow, what sounds, such sousaphone, very tuba.

[Dave W]

That demo is 100% incredible. Wow, what sounds, such sousaphone, very tuba.

Yep. There are FZ-1 clones out there too but some of them will cost you as much as a vintage FZ-1.

[amptech]

Yep. There are FZ-1 clones out there too but some of them will cost you as much as a vintage FZ-1.

I built the FZ1 when restoring my EB0F. Took me some time to locate 2N270's, but I think I ended up on about $10, including spare 2N270's. Prices on 'botique' stompboxes are sick, you ask me.

[Granny Gremlin]

Yep (sick).

Quite sure there are at least partial kits available too. 

[Alanko]

People are quite happy to pay for work they couldn't see themselves performing. I would say that it is a safe assumption that boutique pedal makers have soldering chops and lead dress skills that your average guitarist or bassist doesn't have.... but then I saw inside a Devi Ever pedal. 

The whole Devi Ever thing makes me chuckle, as she was going to be this one-woman assault on the patriarchal world of effects pedals. That quickly descended into a farce of bitching, drama and ripped-off Kickstarter backers.  Some boutique pedal makers seem like egotistical arseholes, but at least you never got their sob stories and they never obviously got into social media feuds with famous musicians.

Maybe next time eh?

I love that demo record posted up there.