Alembic Guitars Club
Alembic products => Owning an Alembic => Troubleshooting => Topic started by: edwin on May 23, 2017, 02:44:20 PM
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I've got an old SG bass that I'm refurbishing and thought I'd add a tailpiece a la Phil Lesh's EB-3. What size screws are best to hold it down? Does it much matter? I know stainless steel is the preferred material for the screw.
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Edwin, assuming it's a brass(?) stop-tail like seen in pictures of that bass, I'd say just make sure whatever screw you use is long enough for the threads to 'bite'. Looks like it's secured with five screws too, so you'd need a wrecking bar to pry that thing off. ;)
*I guess you'd be the guy to ask too... where can I read more about that bass? Somewhere here, (maybe in the 'Long History'?) it's mentioned as being among the first instruments to be Alembicized.
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I've seen photos of that bass but I didn't know it had been Alembicized. Since I still have the 1973 EB-3 I started playing on as a teenager I would love to see what they did to it. They must have done something as these age Gibson basses typically produced a sound that was nothing like Phil's. Jack Bruce referred to it once as "amplified farting."
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"Amplified farting" is the perfect term for the sound of the stock EB basses. Never was a fan of them but Phil's modified EB-3 sounded really good.
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Excerpt from 'The Long Story': "During 1969 we developed the Alembic electronics and pickups. We first installed them in David Crosby's 12-string Guild guitar (which he still uses to this day) and then into Phil Lesh's SG bass that had been hand painted by Bob Thomas in his trademark renaissance/psychedelic style."
I just assumed it was referencing the EB-3... maybe this was a different bass altogether? I have an SG-shaped Gibson bass... let's just say it has moments of charm... but don't put much stock in my taste - I like flat ginger-ale too...) ;D
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Those Gibson Mudbucker pickups never sounded like much to me (I had a '67). And then they used a cap with them that made them even worse!
However, The bass player for Free & Bad Company seemed to get a good sound out of one back in the day.
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The term "SG" bass is confusing - as far as I know, there was never a Gibson SG bass until sometime in the 2000s - the ones from the '60s-'70s (actually from '59) are the EB-0 (single pickup at the neck) and EB-3 with two pickups. There's a great site called Fly Guitars that has excellent info on these:
EB-0: http://www.flyguitars.com/gibson/bass/EB0.php (http://www.flyguitars.com/gibson/bass/EB0.php)
EB-3: http://www.flyguitars.com/gibson/bass/EB3.php (http://www.flyguitars.com/gibson/bass/EB3.php)
There was even a long-scale one, the EB-4L in the '70s.
I didn't think Jack Bruce referred to his own sound as fart-like - that was Frank Zappa (Apostrophe) and/or Jeff Berlin. I personally like it, but not all the time. The bassist for Grand Funk Railroad, Mel Schacher, had a Gibson mudbucker in the neck position, as did Doug Rauch of Santana's band and Billy Sheehan. I've contemplated putting one in my AlFembic...
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To add, there were earlier models than EB-0 - Gibson EB 1 (Beatle Bass style) and EB 2 (semi hollow ES 335 style) also. As mentioned above, Gibson has labelled their modern basses SG which seems like blasphemy to us old guys.
EB is electric bass. Gibson resumed production of the Les Paul guitar shape and design AFTER the company made the SG shape and had been labeling them as Les Paul models despite the fact that these were completely contrary to Les Paul the man's concepts.
Currently, the SG guitar and the SG bass (yikes!) are in the Gibson fold.
Gibson was facing fierce competition from Fender Stratocaster, when the now legendary Les Paul (produced from 1956 to 1960) was turned into the SG. Theories abound. IMHO, S is for Stratocaster. SG is Stratocaster Gibson. Subliminally anyway. I could be wrong.
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I will have to change that reference. Definitely an EB!
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Lots of stuff flying around here!
Phil's EB-3 had some mods done to it, primarily the pickups were swapped out for BiSonics, the tailpiece was added, and the electronics were updated. Whether or not there were preamps added is a point of debate, as Dan Schwartz, who actually had the bass in his hands for a minute, and Rick Turner both say it was a passive bass. And, of course, the fantastic paint job!
The biggest reason Phil's EB-3 sounded nothing like the players or instruments referenced above is largely due to the pickups (I'm not a fan of the stock tone). I think he also probably had a stereo output on the bass, with each pickup getting its own amp/speaker chain, but that's speculation on my part.
As far as calling it an SG bass, well, that's what lots of people on the street called it!
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Screw size:
If the body is 1.5 inches thick, then use 1.25 inch number 8 stainless screws. Predrill any holes. Test on scrap for drill size. A drill press is recommended.
Other size screws (#6) will also work.
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Are you going to put bisonics in your EB-3 or another type of pickup?
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"Excerpt from 'The Long Story': "During 1969 we developed the Alembic electronics and pickups. We first installed them in David Crosby's 12-string Guild guitar (which he still uses to this day) and then into Phil Lesh's SG bass that had been hand painted by Bob Thomas in his trademark renaissance/psychedelic style.""
I believe Crosby's 12 is actually a rare Gibson Crest. I got to play it a number of years ago while it was back at the Mothership for a tune-up. It is crafted from some gorgeous Brazilian Rosewood.
Bill, tgo
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Screw size:
If the body is 1.5 inches thick, then use 1.25 inch number 8 stainless screws. Predrill any holes. Test on scrap for drill size. A drill press is recommended.
Other size screws (#6) will also work.
Thanks!
Right now, the bass is being set up with Dark Stars. If I had some BiSonics, I'd put them in there, but I think these will get me close. I had thought about putting my old caramel Series pickups in there, but their wiring has gotten wonky, so one of them no longer works at all.