Superb Gibson EB-3 short-scale bass from 1962, in beautiful condition.
Introduced in the catalog in 1961, the EB-3 is in direct lineage with the EB-1, EB-2 and EB-0 models produced by Gibson since the early 1950s. It is the only Gibson 4-string bass to have been graced from the beginning with the body shape freshly reimagined by the manufacturer in the light of the new decade: built in the format denoted SG with an ultra-thin mahogany slab body and a double cutaway allowing the musician to access the entire fretboard; it is also the first to be equipped with two pickups allowing a greater sound palette – perhaps finally a Gibson able to compete with the Precision Bass from the Californian rival? Finally, it was mainly through the bassist of the group Cream Jack Bruce that the EB-3 took off, the latter playing a 1965 model identical in every way to the one presented here during the second half of the 60s, bringing in his wake many big names from the rhythm sections of the 60s and 70s including Peter Quaife of the Kinks, Glenn Cornick of Jethro Tull and many others, all with this particularly distinctive sound produced by the combination of the mudbucker in the neck position and the mini-humbucker in bridge position.
With the 4-position pickup selector the following options are available: in position 1 the neck pickup alone, in position 2 the bridge pickup alone, in position 3 the two pickups in parallel, and in position 4 the neck pickup with the low frequencies filtered out by an LC circuit – for this purpose, we find in the electronic cavity an inductor with a value of approximately 10 Henries (note that this filter is also in circuit on position 3). As mentioned previously, this EB-3 is equipped with its two original humbucker pickups: a large humbucker in the neck position commonly known as mudbucker because of its strong low frequency response, and a mini-humbucker in the bridge position built under the same shape as the pickups found on Epiphone guitars of the time, only with 4 poles instead of 6 – it also bears its original Patent No label, in the first year we find this element on Gibson instruments. The bass features the classic Cherry Red finish, well preserved on the back and nicely faded on the top – clearly we have an instrument that has seen a lot of playing time! As such, we note a few elements concerning the condition of the bass: it has an old crack at the base of the headstock, restored and stable to this day; the tuners were replaced by a Grover reproduction set; the bridge is also a non-original part. Besides these points, the instrument has admirably survived the decades and we find all the original elements which make its identity, namely its pickups and its electronics. We set out to adjust it completely, this work includes the levelling and polishing of the frets, the adjustment of the nut, the action and the intonation, in order to restore exquisite playability allowing all the qualities of this short-scale format to be appreciated.
Sold in a modern gig bag.
