Help IDing an Epiphone B4 upright

BigDaveOnBass · #1 05-25-2006, 10:24 PM

I got my Epiphone B4 from eBay, not in as good of shape as I was hoping, but it'll make a decent 1st upright for me. I found a four digit number stamped under the scroll. It reads 1566. Does anyone with Epiphone experience know where that puts the approximate year model of this particular B4? I'll post some pictures soon, like tomorrow morning. Thanks!

martinc · #2 05-26-2006, 07:37 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigDaveOnBass

I got my Epiphone B4 from eBay, not in as good of shape as I was hoping, but it'll make a decent 1st upright for me. I found a four digit number stamped under the scroll. It reads 1566. Does anyone with Epiphone experience know where that puts the approximate year model of this particular B4? I'll post some pictures soon, like tomorrow morning. Thanks!

Big Dave:

Maybe someone who has one and knows the year it was made could use that as a reference. Epiphone ser #s are hard to get.
According to George Gruhn and Walter Carter in their "Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars" .....Epiphone began making laminated basses in 1940. By around 1954 the B-4 and B-5 models were the only ones still being made and were continued by Gibson when they took over Epiphone.
Gibson continued to make the B-4 until 1965 when they stopped making double basses.
The B-4 under Epiphone had a fine grain spruce top, bound top and back, light golden brown or blond finish with a Brazilian Rosewood fingerboard and tailpiece.
After Gibson took over, the B-4 had a Van Epps adjustable bridge, brass parts and a natural or shaded finish. Gibson made approx 600 Epiphone basses.

Hope this helps a bit ...it might help establish whether you have a pre-Gibson Epiphone or a post Gibson one.

BigDaveOnBass · #3 05-26-2006, 10:04 AM

Thanks for the reply and info martinc. Here are some photos of my bass taken last night.

mchildree · #4 05-26-2006, 11:22 AM

Looks pretty dang nice to me! What about it makes you disappointed in the condition?

martinc · #5 05-26-2006, 11:30 AM

Dave:

Not bad....I see a few major battle scars but it should be OK. I have played a couple and found the sound to be quite good for a plywood....and quite a desirable instrument.
Some more info from the same book: Gibson used their own name when they took over Epiphone in 1957 so I guess that makes yours pre-1957.
It seems also that Epiphone's original serial numbers did not follow much of a sequence and had different types of numbers depending on the year.

anonymous0726 · #6 05-26-2006, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mchildree

Looks pretty dang nice to me! What about it makes you disappointed in the condition?

Looks great to me, too.

Marcus Johnson · #7 05-26-2006, 01:02 PM

Looks great. I had one, but let it get away...

BigDaveOnBass · #8 05-26-2006, 01:51 PM

It's nowhere near ready for the kindling pile!! But it's pretty rough around the edges. I have other pictures that show greater detail on the knicks and gouges, but at a distance it does look pretty decent. I even suspect the neck may have been removed, reinstalled.

I'm gonna make a go of it and get it nice and playable, then learn to play the damn thing! If after a reasonable amount of time I decide it's not for me, I'll turn it around. I stayed up til 3AM this morning cleaning the crust off of the tuners. Oh, by the way, they are Klusons. The logo faces inward, not outward. I suppose this is typical for these models?

martinc · #9 05-26-2006, 02:45 PM

[
I'm gonna make a go of it and get it nice and playable, then learn to play the damn thing! If after a reasonable amount of time I decide it's not for me, I'll turn it around. I stayed up til 3AM this morning cleaning the crust off of the tuners. Oh, by the way, they are Klusons. The logo faces inward, not outward. I suppose this is typical for these models?[/quote]

Big Dave:
I wouldn't worry too much about what it looks like...you should see my 1936 King

. But it still sounds great

. Once your Epiphone is set up with the right strings, soundpost and bridge you will probably be very happy with it. They can sound very good.
Good luck.

BigDaveOnBass · #10 05-26-2006, 02:47 PM

Thanks for all the responses. I'm off for a weekend of camping with my wife and daughters! (You know what that means, I get to do all the work.) Have fun!

BigDaveOnBass · #11 07-10-2006, 06:39 PM

I got an adjustable bridge from Mr. Gollihur and a new set of Eurosonic Lights. I think I did a decent job of installing the bridge for a first time experience. I'll have to snap a pic and post it later. Still wondering about the strings. They are so much bigger than the steel set that was on it. I'm not going to be playing arco, so I guess I'll get used to it. Anyway, I'm moving right along, but I haven't played with other people yet. Maybe later this week...Also, still haven't dated the darn thing yet.

reedj · #12 07-15-2006, 01:55 PM

I also have a shaded B4. I was in contact with George Gruhn who in turn was in contact with Walter Carter concerning my bass, serial number 2098. To the best of my knowledge, only Gibson-made Epiphones had the sunburst finish, making yours a Gibson-made bass. Although exact dating of my bass was difficult to attain due to incomplete records (the space beside my serial number in Gibson's records was blank), we think it is probably an early 1961. I'm not sure if that hepls you in dating your bass, but its at least a start. Also, there were only 166 Gibson-made, sunburst finished B4's in total, making them somewhat rare. Gibson utilized the Epiphone name after the buyout on the metal badge on the tailpiece, but since the label inside mine is gone, I'm not sure what information they hold. Anyway, the bass looks great, I wouldn't worry about the condition at all, just get a good set up job and play away. Messing with the originality of the instrument would detract from the value of the piece, so I would do as little as I could to get it up to snuff.

BigDaveOnBass · #13 08-01-2006, 09:26 AM

Reed, thanks for your post. That info gives me more to go on than what I had assumed for my bass.

wayne williams · #14 08-03-2006, 03:24 PM

HELLO DAVE, I AM THE FORMER OWNER OF THE B4 EPI SHOWN ON PAGE 89 OF WALTER CARTER'S BOOK OF EPI HISTORY. THAT BASS IS A SUNBURST FINISH WITH THE SERIAL NUM 2057. IT HAS BEEN DATED TO 1951.YOURS,WE CAN ASSUME, IS SOMEWHAT OLDER,MAKING IT A PURE EPI MADE IN NEW YORK. IT IS A FINE BASS. I AM NOW PLAYING A B5 EPI NUMBER 2052,ALSO FROM 1951. I KNOW OF A B4 OUT WEST THAT WAS BOUGHT NEW IN 1948 WITH SERIAL NUM 1682. I HOPE THIS INFO WILL HELP. BEST REGARDS,WAYNE..