Unusual 1969-1970 EB-0

Grog · February 09, 2020, 08:25:37 AM

A member of the Gibson Forum posted this bass. It doesn't look to be altered at all, at least to me. The pot code is 1376934. I wonder if it was an early attempt to reposition the Mudbucker to get more treble. EB-0's during this time were slotheads. I asked the guy to peak under the pick guard between the neck & the pickup to see if it was covering up the original pickup cavity, it was not. Has anybody else seen anything like this?

Basvarken · February 09, 2020, 09:01:31 AM

The owner sent me these pics too.
Looks legit as far as I can see from these pics.

The bridge and headstock plus tuners would have been correct for a Les Paul Bass for the period of 1969/ 1970.
But the dotted i in the logo puzzles me. And I haven't seen that extension to the pickguard plus location of the mudbucker before on an EB-0.

Grog · February 09, 2020, 09:36:35 AM

I pulled out my '69 EB-3 for comparison. It doesn't look like the pickup position is changed much (maybe a little). The body where the neck is mounted has been extended possibly to get access to all off the frets. Still a bit odd......

The heel on my 1970 SG Special looks closer to the one on his EB-0

ajkula66 · February 09, 2020, 10:54:59 AM

What an interesting bass, and it seems to be in great shape as well.

Having said that, I could see why Gibson would give up on this concept. A lot more stress on the neck joint - something that adversely affected Series I SG guitars - and likely a significant neck dive to boot.

Very cool looking, nevertheless. Thanks for sharing.

Basvarken · February 09, 2020, 11:48:43 AM

Quote from: ajkula66 on February 09, 2020, 10:54:59 AM

A lot more stress on the neck joint

There is plenty of the neck that goes into the body. I don't see any problem on that part of this bass

ajkula66 · February 09, 2020, 12:45:06 PM

Quote from: Basvarken on February 09, 2020, 11:48:43 AM
There is plenty of the neck that goes into the body. I don't see any problem on that part of this bass

Well, you're a luthier and I'm not so I'll bow to your experience on the subject matter.

Having said that, my personal experience with pre-67 SG guitars still leaves me with an uneasy feeling when I look at this bass.

Dave W · February 09, 2020, 11:52:29 PM

The 1970 Gibson bass catalog shows both the slothead and solid heaadstock types, so there must have been some overlap, maybe if only to fill existing orders.

The difference between this one and the catalog version is more than just the position, it also has the larger cavity, height adjustment mechanism, and black plastic pickup surround that hadn't appeared before. I've never seen these earlier than the slotheads. So I'm guessing that this is a legit transitional model.

godofthunder · February 10, 2020, 04:42:53 AM

That is interesting! I've never seen anything like that.

Rob · February 10, 2020, 05:44:42 AM

Quote from: Dave W on February 09, 2020, 11:52:29 PM
The 1970 Gibson bass catalog shows both the slothead and solid heaadstock types, so there must have been some overlap, maybe if only to fill existing orders.

The difference between this one and the catalog version is more than just the position, it also has the larger cavity, height adjustment mechanism, and black plastic pickup surround that hadn't appeared before. I've never seen these earlier than the slotheads. So I'm guessing that this is a legit transitional model.

Sure seems like it. I do like the pick guard design myself.

ilan · February 10, 2020, 05:57:29 AM

The neck joint looks like that of an old SG Jr - total fret access by "pulling" the neck away from the body, and the bridge is moved accordingly towards the center of the body.

ilan · February 10, 2020, 05:59:01 AM

Quote from: Grog on February 09, 2020, 09:36:35 AM
The heel on my 1970 SG Special looks closer to the one on his EB-0

The heel on my 1970 EB-0L looks the same, at least the body part of it. That experimental bass (I assume that's what it is?) looks like it has two neck heels.

Grog · February 10, 2020, 07:16:09 AM

Also, the pick guard material is thicker than an EB-3 pick guard of the same era. Usually an EB-0 had the thinner cheaper material.

FrankieTbird · February 10, 2020, 07:36:14 AM

Does it have a standard serial number? Or any kind of odd stamping?

Dave W · February 10, 2020, 07:45:15 AM

Quote from: ilan on February 10, 2020, 05:57:29 AM
The neck joint looks like that of an old SG Jr - total fret access by "pulling" the neck away from the body, and the bridge is moved accordingly towards the center of the body.

It also has a 20 fret neck instead of 19 like the slotheads.

ilan · February 10, 2020, 08:19:42 AM

Quote from: Dave W on February 10, 2020, 07:45:15 AM
It also has a 20 fret neck instead of 19 like the slotheads.

If the fretboard went as deep into the body as slothead boards, it would have had 21-22 frets.