Epi 60's EB3 RI mini review.

[godofthunder]

 I bought this on a whim at the HOG. Epi 60's RI EB3 in Alpine White and nickle hardware. Overall finish and workmanship are quite good. The frets are dressed very nicely. One of the first things I noticed is it is heavy for a EB3, the body is thick like a 70's EB3 but with the sharper bevels found on a 60's. I wish that they had made it thinner not necessarily as thin as a 60's but if it were 1/8" thinner It would feel better imho. The neck has a fair amount of material on the back feels nice and comfy like a early 60's EB3/EB0 not like the thinner '67-'69s. One baffling feature is the 22 fret neck! I like it but it sure seems odd. The headstock inlay is lovely nice shimmering MOP. The rosewood (beautiful) finger board is perloid dot, MOP would have been a nice touch and I would have been fine paying a little more for it. One thing that really bugs me is they put a *ender style tug bar on the pg and put it in the wrong place it just looks weird and cheap so I took it off. Sound wise this is a great little thumper. While the faux mudbucker isn't anywhere near as powerful I found I could get what I consider a great EB3 sound out of it by putting the pup selector in the middle using both pickups and turning the tone all the way down on the Faux muddy. While playing fast runs on the upper register I was able to get the flutter heard on early Dennis Dunnaway and Jim Lea recordings. Two things keep this bass from being a 10 for me, the thick body and the fugly out of place tug bar. I'd give it a 7.5

[uwe]

Short scale, right?

[godofthunder]

 Yep shorty

[gearHed289]

Cool little bass. Set neck, or bolt-on? 22 frets is weird... The knobs are laid out a little different than an EB-3, correct?

[godofthunder]

 Yeah set neck, the knobs are a little off but it doesn't bother me like the tug bar.

[Pilgrim]

Yeah set neck, the knobs are a little off but it doesn't bother me like the tug bar.

There was a factory (?) tug bar on my '64 EB-0....

[Big_Stu]

There was a factory (?) tug bar on my '64 EB-0....

My 69 EB3 had one there too only the other way up, in rosewood - it also had another one in ebony just above and behind the mudbucker. I've only got two front-on pics of it somewhere, I'll see if I can dig them out.

V nice review & pics Scott, JayDee's doing replica Superflux pickups like Jimmy had in his one you know, then you'll only need a big w/b/w/b/w scratchplate for it  

[uwe]

I have some EBs with the tug bar too, always assumed that was original.

[godofthunder]

 The crescent shaped tug bar is original for Gibsons! It is delicate and a little work of art. The Epi came with a...............I guess I'll have to spell it out a FENDER style tug bar, fugly even on a Fender even less so on a Gibson Ho. Insult to injury it was in the wrong place, the devil is in the details you know!

[godofthunder]

 Oh that is interesting Stu! I had talked to John a few years ago about doing a White "JL" EB3. The pickups were the hang up. If I were to commission one I'd find a 60's EB0 carcass and ship it over to him. He liked the idea as I recall.

My 69 EB3 had one there too only the other way up, in rosewood - it also had another one in ebony just above and behind the mudbucker. I've only got two front-on pics of it somewhere, I'll see if I can dig them out.

V nice review & pics Scott, JayDee's doing replica Superflux pickups like Jimmy had in his one you know, then you'll only need a big w/b/w/b/w scratchplate for it  

[uwe]

The crescent shaped tug bar is original for Gibsons! It is delicate and a little work of art. The Epi came with a...............I guess I'll have to spell it out a FENDER style tug bar, fugly even on a Fender even less so on a Gibson Ho. Insult to injury it was in the wrong place, the devil is in the details you know!

Crescent-shaped, ah so! Gotta remember that one, might come in handy sometime before people jump to conclusions: "No, honey, it's not crooked, it's crescent-shaped, makes all the difference!"

[Dave W]

Crescent-shaped, ah so! Gotta remember that one, might come in handy sometime before people jump to conclusions: "No, honey, it's not crooked, it's crescent-shaped, makes all the difference!"

Will she understand what you mean when you call it your tug bar?

[Big_Stu]

Oh that is interesting Stu! I had talked to John a few years ago about doing a White "JL" EB3. The pickups were the hang up. If I were to commission one I'd find a 60's EB0 carcass and ship it over to him. He liked the idea as I recall.

Yeah, I spoke with him about the same thing, only doing it to an Epi long-scale EB3 in white. In his words "all things are possible now Stu". The hang up was the pickup casings. He's now had a machine press made that stamps them out; already made a few "Magnum" copies for Tony Iommi fans making "Old Boy" clones.
This was all at the time I was selling a JB Magnum I had - after seeing that one on Ebay go for £600!. Sold it to a US collector (Rock Stars Guitars) who is a massive expert on John Birch - even more than me!!!
After checking pics with him of Jimmy's bass - and speaking with JD too to confirm, the JB pickup on Jim's EB3 was set onto a piece of scratchplate cut to shape rather than a mount like your & my basses have, so it keeps the palm-rest/bridge cover sitting level. As you say - the devil is in the detail.

[uwe]

Will she understand what you mean when you call it your tug bar?

I'm afraid she would harbor thoughts.

[godofthunder]

The little tug that could?