'69 EB3 worth $850 ?

[godofthunder]

I think for $ 850 this is a good deal, they will accept it. What do you guys think ? I talked at lenght to the guy who did the repair and I got answers I liked. I think I am going to hit it but I'd really like your input. http://cgi.ebay.com/GIBSON-1969-EB-3-BASS-GUITAR-REPAIRED-NECK-EB3-/150544593785?pt=Guitar&hash=item230d283379

[dadagoboi]

Not worth it to me.  Neck repair, body dings, etc.  I'd rather have a mint '69 EBO, I bought one for a friend 3 years ago at that price.

[Dave W]

Not worth it to me personally either considering those issues, but at $850 I do think the price is right.

[chromium]

My '69 EB-0 was busted and repaird in almost the same way, and it was a great player (only sold it due to EB redundancy/overload - heresy, I know  ).  I had given ~625 for that one, and it didn't have the mute or cover, body was refinished, and prior to the refin someone had been heavy handed with the sanding - sharp edge definition was knocked down quite a bit.

I think that's a decent price for this one- repair looks solid in the pics, original electronics, has all the goodies (mute and cover on their own could probably fetch 200 bucks).... I'd hit it!  Love my 68/69 EB-3.

[drbassman]

I think $850 is reasonable for its condition.  Especially if you want one without paying a premium. I paid $400 for my basket case EB-3L.  It's all relative!

[uwe]

Master Scott, you have called your servant! Not compelling me thinks. Not a slothead (even though its from that era), not a rare fin and no long scale either, just a run of the mill shorty in cherry. Hideously executed neck joint repair job - yuck. Otherwise fin is nice and chips are perfectly normal for a well-kept bass this age.

The repair - a loveless affair - has held up for a few months, so what? That doesn't mean much. Due to the frontal neck pup that is an unstable area on these leading later versions to have the pup farther back so the tenon has some more wood to latch onto. Something with force happened to this bass for the joint to crack as bad as it did.

Not too long ago I bought my slothead binding EB-3 from the same era for 1.000 bucks from a G-Base shop, I'm not aware that prices have climbed for these in latter times to make this one now a steal. 850 without the neck joint defect, ok. With it 650. Unless you can play it and fall immediately in love with it.

Your wife is commanding me to write this, alas!, but don't you have a long scale and a short scale EB already? Wait for a better one or buy a real wreck and rebuild it.

You asked!

Uwe

[Chaser001]

I have to agree with Dadagoboi.  Although EB-3 basses are more desirable, I'd rather buy an EB-0 with no issues for the same price. 

[godofthunder]

Thanks everyone ! Uwe you are right of course. I will pass though I have no love for slot heads, '67-'69 are my favs for EB3s.  Unlike many I love the minibucker and will pay the premium to get it. I do have several 70's EBs, I will have to be content with them for now. Thanks again for you opinions and evaluations.

[drbassman]

Ah, cooler heads prevail.  Good for you Scott, you won't miss it!

[tore00]

Well, it is in the US, repaired one... I wait for next one, plucking my 1965 EB0 (I paid it 50'000 Italian lire in 1989)

[EvilLordJuju]

I think for $ 850 this is a good deal, they will accept it. What do you guys think ?

As long as the action is low, I agree $850 is a fair price. Not amazing, but I doubt you'd get it much cheaper. Whether the action is ok is the key question. With regard value, you could get close on $850 parting it out ($100 each for bridge, each pup, tuners, loom, $200 for stripped body - plus all the other bits).

And the repair doesn't look too bad to me. I'd rather see a crack than some dubious overspary that doesn't blend in properly

And no way would I prefer a better condition EB0 for the same price - from a musicians point of view of course. In fact I prefer a slightly battered player to a mint collector as I tend to be a little clumsy at times.

Finish is great, parts are original. If the neck can be adjusted for good action, then it's a good bass. I bet if this was up for $650 it would have been snapped up in a milli-second.

Just my opinion of course.

[godofthunder]

This dam thing is still calling me.....................late 60's EB3s are going for big bucks on gbase. I can make that repair look a whole lot prettier and if it does fail I can fix it good as new no problem. hmmmmmmmmmmm.

[chromium]

Unbroken 67-69 pre-slothead EB-3s seem to steadily fetch double that (and up) on Ebay...

http://cgi.ebay.com/1969-Gibson-EB3-EB-3-Bass-/330515977920?pt=Guitar&hash=item4cf44996c0

http://cgi.ebay.com/Vintage-1968-Gibson-EB-3-Bass-Guitar-Cherry-/140492972281?pt=Guitar&hash=item20b608a0f9

...and the dealers are asking in the 2K+ range.  Doesn't mean you still can't find that occasional deal, though.  I got mine for 1K clean and unbroken a couple years back (really bad auction pics, low feedback seller, risk on my part).

[Dave W]

Last time I saw a broken/repaired one for sale at a shop, it was listed at $900. This was 4 or 5 years ago in San Antonio. It wasn't a pretty repair. But the bass was all original.

This is why I said the price was just about right. If you want it, it looks like a fair deal. Not great, but reasonable, if you intend it as a player. OTOH don't let the prices on unbroken all-original ones sway you.

[uwe]

Do you have practical use for it? It's from the era when the mudbucker was woofiest, a more extreme signal than either the earlier OR the later ones. To make a late sixties mudbucker sound sensible you really need to tweak some knobs on any of today's rigs. On my modeling Roland cube amp, the Bassman setting (normally to bass anemic for all other basses) is the setting that sounds most natural with it. Which means you need a Fender Bassman, Scott, with 500 watts but hardly any bass!