Life is filled with conundrums.
The other day a friend was talking about how he had an old bass that was painted and modified by someone and it lost its Vintage status.
That got me thinking about my 1974 Gibson EB3. It was bought new by me in high school and was stock for the first year. Being my only quality bass for about 18 years it did eventually receive the dabblings of my nature to try and adapt it to me and changing times.
The first mod was easy. The varitone switch was quirky and you had to jiggle it to get a good connection at times. So, I replaced it with a toggle. The only tone difference is that you lose one sound. It was a 4 way switch and three were for the pup combinations.
Then came The 80s. I wanted the New Sound and took it to a local guru that was also a bass player. He made several mods and he was successful as it did get a new bright sound. These changes were:
Replaced the suspended bridge with a BadAss. Had to cover the original holes with veneer did a pretty good job.
Took some coils out of the control cavity that gave the pups unlimited high end
Took off the bridge cover with the foam
Put on Diadario Reds that are a very bright copper string.
So, that is the way I played the bass for almost 17 years after that. It took turns with an Alembic I bought in 1984 that of course did naturally what I had to coax out of the Gibson. In the later 90s I started buying more stuff. Finally, the bass got displaced by new stuff and now sits at home and never gets to play. I take it to practice sometimes. The guitar players always flip over it.
So, I still have all the original parts.
Part of me says to restore it. I may want to have a tech do it so it is right. Part of me says to keep it as it is, as this was the way it grew with me and is more Me. Though the current me might like it better as a collector original. Though with the holes from the BadAss bridge visible I am sure its value is low. I would not sell it anyway.
So far I am leaving it as is. Not sure about the future. Am I the only nostalgic one? What would others do? Not that it will change my actions much but I am just curious what the Group Think is.
The other day a friend was talking about how he had an old bass that was painted and modified by someone and it lost its Vintage status.
That got me thinking about my 1974 Gibson EB3. It was bought new by me in high school and was stock for the first year. Being my only quality bass for about 18 years it did eventually receive the dabblings of my nature to try and adapt it to me and changing times.
The first mod was easy. The varitone switch was quirky and you had to jiggle it to get a good connection at times. So, I replaced it with a toggle. The only tone difference is that you lose one sound. It was a 4 way switch and three were for the pup combinations.
Then came The 80s. I wanted the New Sound and took it to a local guru that was also a bass player. He made several mods and he was successful as it did get a new bright sound. These changes were:
Replaced the suspended bridge with a BadAss. Had to cover the original holes with veneer did a pretty good job.
Took some coils out of the control cavity that gave the pups unlimited high end
Took off the bridge cover with the foam
Put on Diadario Reds that are a very bright copper string.
So, that is the way I played the bass for almost 17 years after that. It took turns with an Alembic I bought in 1984 that of course did naturally what I had to coax out of the Gibson. In the later 90s I started buying more stuff. Finally, the bass got displaced by new stuff and now sits at home and never gets to play. I take it to practice sometimes. The guitar players always flip over it.
So, I still have all the original parts.
Part of me says to restore it. I may want to have a tech do it so it is right. Part of me says to keep it as it is, as this was the way it grew with me and is more Me. Though the current me might like it better as a collector original. Though with the holes from the BadAss bridge visible I am sure its value is low. I would not sell it anyway.
So far I am leaving it as is. Not sure about the future. Am I the only nostalgic one? What would others do? Not that it will change my actions much but I am just curious what the Group Think is.
