spinynorman Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 [quote name='Shaggy' post='1081364' date='Jan 7 2011, 06:06 PM']I'm a confirmed vintage Gibson fetishist, but these and the Ripper / Grabbers have never really done it for me. Some iconic players have played them though - my favourite would have to the great Jim Lea of Slade (or was his a John Birch "copy"?)[/quote] He had both. Didn't the Gibson get nicked, then he had the Birch? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GRAHAM SG1 Posted January 7, 2011 Share Posted January 7, 2011 I love the bass in `let the good times roll`, great stuuf [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbnpAGFG27E"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbnpAGFG27E[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 [quote name='Shaggy' post='1081364' date='Jan 7 2011, 06:06 PM']I'm a confirmed vintage Gibson fetishist, but these and the Ripper / Grabbers have never really done it for me. Some iconic players have played them though - my favourite would have to the great Jim Lea of Slade (or was his a John Birch "copy"?)[/quote] I had this built entirely because I was awestruck by the sound of Jimmy's custom bass after going to quite a few of their gigs. Two days after it was built John Birch died, so this here is the last ever guitar that John worked on. Re his Gibson EB3:- Jim mentioned to John Birch in 74 that he was thinking of having a white bass built. This was just after John had built the Superyob for H (Dave Hill) & Nod & H had had a couple of guitars customised. Shortly after Jim's red EB3 from the early hits videos went in for a set-up to John Birch. When he got it back John had removed the neck pup, resprayed it white & put a new fuzztone into it. Jim was livid, but got used to it. It was stolen from JB's workshop during a break-in a few years later. Shortly after that Jim had his sunburst custom built; though it was tagged "John Birch" it was actually built by JayDee who worked for John Birch at the time. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shaggy Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 [quote name='Big_Stu' post='1081749' date='Jan 8 2011, 01:28 AM']I had this built entirely because I was awestruck by the sound of Jimmy's custom bass after going to quite a few of their gigs. Two days after it was built John Birch died, so this here is the last ever guitar that John worked on. Re his Gibson EB3:- Jim mentioned to John Birch in 74 that he was thinking of having a white bass built. This was just after John had built the Superyob for H (Dave Hill) & Nod & H had had a couple of guitars customised. Shortly after Jim's red EB3 from the early hits videos went in for a set-up to John Birch. When he got it back John had removed the neck pup, resprayed it white & put a new fuzztone into it. Jim was livid, but got used to it. It was stolen from JB's workshop during a break-in a few years later. Shortly after that Jim had his sunburst custom built; though it was tagged "John Birch" it was actually built by JayDee who worked for John Birch at the time.[/quote] Cheers for the info, and that's a really cool bass - I was tempted by a John Birch "Rickenbacker" a while ago (but I was at my default "skint" setting...... ). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 [quote name='Shaggy' post='1081883' date='Jan 8 2011, 10:49 AM']Cheers for the info, and that's a really cool bass - I was tempted by a John Birch "Rickenbacker" a while ago (but I was at my default "skint" setting...... ).[/quote] I know the feeling well; a few years ago a guy got in touch with me because he was selling his John Birch "collection" His pics looked like a John Birch showroom!!! Many of them in mint condition. I had to pass for £ reasons but a poster on here bought a JB Rick in green sunburst (apparently identical to one Geezer Butler had - who knows!) - it had more knobs than a room full of Man Utd fans! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
evilLordJuju Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 [quote name='lozbass' post='1079944' date='Jan 6 2011, 03:02 PM']I managed to pop into Dawsons in Manchester today and they have two of the shortscale Limited Edition 1960s EB3s (black and cherry) on display. There's also a blue (Pelham?) and a cherry EBO and a couple of long-scale EB3s[/quote] If only they had the shortscale Epiphone EB3 in Pelham Blue. I'd snap that up in a second. £209 is a great price. A good starting point to maybe play with the pickups/electronics. Does anyone know if these have mahogany body and neck? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SS73 Posted January 8, 2011 Share Posted January 8, 2011 Don't forget the 70-72 Slot Heads, no neck dive here at all, in fact it's just alround awesome.[attachment=68208:IMG00662...208_1423.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howdoesitgoagain Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 [url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=220719084934&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT"]CMI SG on fleabay[/url] I have just been given one as a possible swap for an old Biscayne that I don't play very much, first impressions are wtf I will possibly drop the action, you could fly a 747 under the strings and maybe even clean the strings,,, the jack socket needs cleaning as do the pots... I will report back later Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
umph Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 i'm happy with the sg shaped bass i've made! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
howdoesitgoagain Posted January 9, 2011 Share Posted January 9, 2011 [quote name='umph' post='1083673' date='Jan 9 2011, 10:09 PM']i'm happy with the sg shaped bass i've made![/quote] lets have a look then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madanglian Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 [quote name='Bassassin' post='1076979' date='Jan 4 2011, 02:24 AM']I presently have an Antoria EB3 copy waiting (very patiently!) for me to put it back together. More news when I've done that, then. Jon.[/quote] And did indeed put in on the 'bay, [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Antoria-EB3-copy-Japan-MIJ-vintage-lawsuit-70s-Ibanez-/120756143160?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item1c1da08438"]here[/url] Had a pop myself, being an old Antoria fan, but it went way out of my range I also saw a slot-headed Ibby on there yesterday, 10-day listing, got about 8 bids in the first 24 hours. What price a reputation, eh? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Delberthot Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Ah well, might as well jump in on this resurrected thread. I'm a lover of all things Epiphone but every single one of their basses neck dive to some extent. The EB-3 that I have up for trade here would have it if you used a cheap and nasty slippy strap coated in Mazola but even with a simple suede Levys strap it still sits with the headstock slightly higher than horizontal. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thodrik Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Pawn shop in Glasgow has what looks to be a heavily modified EBO or EB3 that has had a precision pick up inserted between the front and back pickup. It looks really really cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Davout Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 My brother, who plays bass in my band, has been playing Tokai EB3 style bass for the past few years. He says it's a medium scale bass, & he loves it. Unlike most of these styles of bass, it has a set of lighter weight tuners instead of the usual Elephant-ear ones found on Gibsons & Epis. This has the effect of lessening the headstock tipping effect. He likes the Tokai so much that he has grabbed another one, secondhand, from Ebay. It sounds pretty good to me too for the style of music we play, mainly '60s. It's not exactly a modern slap-style bass & he doesn't play that way anyway, but it has bottom end thump. Tony. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madanglian Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Delberthot' post='1348173' date='Aug 22 2011, 05:27 PM']The EB-3 that I have up for trade here would have it if you used a cheap and nasty slippy strap coated in Mazola but even with a simple suede Levys strap it still sits with the headstock slightly higher than horizontal.[/quote] LOL that was gonna be my next question. What do people do about neck dive? Just got a "Custom Shop" Epi EB-3 (30.5" scale) and she dives, boy, she dives ....... ! [attachment=87632:100_2078a.jpg] A quick comparison with my genuine 70s "Japcrap" Columbus shows why. - neck join at 17th fret (15th fret on Columbus) means the neck is about 2 inches longer - much bigger headstock - cloverleaf tuners also quite hefty (as well as being butt ugly) WHYEEEEEE ? (as they used to say on Kenan and Kel) Edited August 23, 2011 by madanglian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted August 22, 2011 Share Posted August 22, 2011 Does the ESP Viper count, too? Always fancied a black Eb3 with blocks - very cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madanglian Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 (edited) [quote name='Gust0o' post='1348281' date='Aug 22 2011, 07:22 PM']Does the ESP Viper count, too?[/quote] Only if you're standing on the side of a hill while you're playing it Edited September 2, 2011 by madanglian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madanglian Posted September 2, 2011 Share Posted September 2, 2011 (edited) [quote name='madanglian' post='1348256' date='Aug 22 2011, 07:05 PM']WHYEEEEEE ? (as they used to say on Kenan and Kel)[/quote] Well having had a bit of a look around, they're apparently trying to copy the look of the 1967 Gibson EB-3. See wikipedia article [url="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gibson_EB-3"]here[/url] . I expect that suffered with neck dive as well? I see from earlier in this thread that the Gibson SG basses are ok in this respect. Is that to do with the wood? Mahogany rather than maple? That surprises me as I thought mahogany was heavy compared to other woods. My Epi EB-3 weighs in at around 3.7 kg. How does that compare to the Gibson SG bass? Or other Epis for that matter? Edited September 2, 2011 by madanglian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
12stringbassist Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 (edited) My Gibson SG Supreme bass. Made in a very limited run for one month. Edited September 13, 2011 by 12stringbassist Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hillbilly deluxe Posted September 13, 2011 Share Posted September 13, 2011 Im really considering going back to an EB-3 short scale type,still miss the one i used to have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gust0o Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 I'm still confused as to which of these are shortscale - assuming you have options within the Gibson stable? The EB3 Epi is a long scale, which is more appropriate for my longer arms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 They are all short (30½") scale except Gibson EB0L (L stands for long scale) Gibson EB3L Gibson EB4L Gibson SB400 Gibson SB450 Gibson SGZ Epiphone EB3 (the Elite version is short-scale though) I think that covers them all... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike Vincent Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 [quote name='Shaggy' post='1081364' date='Jan 7 2011, 07:06 PM']Some iconic players have played them though - my favourite would have to the great Jim Lea of Slade (or was his a John Birch "copy"?)[/quote] Still the only bassist I've ever seen using a tremelo arm. My first bass was a Kay EB copy.It was (still is) vile. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stoker Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 [quote name='Schnozzalee' post='1076976' date='Jan 4 2011, 01:59 AM']I had a German Hoyer EB3, if you could find use of the two woofier settings it was flawless.[/quote] I have a Hoyer EB3 and it's brilliant! It's got a pair of Bill Lawrence p/up's fitted so sounds nice and warm without any mud and the bridge p/up has a nice amount of almost Ricky-esq punch! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Big_Stu Posted September 14, 2011 Share Posted September 14, 2011 [quote name='Spike Vincent' post='1373328' date='Sep 14 2011, 03:30 PM']Still the only bassist I've ever seen using a tremelo arm.[/quote] This one? ....... and this is what it sounds like. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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