Epiphone EB0 Wiring

[Lt Trigger]

I recently picked up a DiMarzio DP120 pup to replace the neck pup on my EB0. I would like to add a bridge pup to her next, and I've been looking at a ton of modded EB0s and each one seems to be wired differently. Gibson's SG Bass is V-V-T like a Jazz Bass. I've seen others wire this more like the SGs with a 3 way switch and 2 Vol 2 Tone. That's a lot of extra work, and I'm wondering... if Gibson doesn't go to the trouble with their SG Bass, should I just do what they do and use the Jazz Bass wiring.

Third option that I found when looking at wiring diagrams, which may meet in the middle:
A master volume, with independent tones and a 3 way to control which pickups

Thanks in advance!

 

[iiipopes]

The purpose of the switch on the original EB-3's was for a Vari-Tone. On the modern instruments, it is just a pickup selector switch. After playing bass for over thirty-eight years, with all sorts of instruments, I keep coming back to straightforward J-style V-V-T for ease of use on stage. What I have found most useful is to wire an EMG EXB after the pickups but before the output jack to get a variable vintage-to-modern, or straight-to-slap contour, so knob fiddling between songs is kept to a minimum.

 

[Lt Trigger]

Thanks, iipopes, I'll look at that active tone control. I really do just want a simple clean setup, but I wanted to make sure I wasn't missing something. I've been playing bass now for about a year, so I'm looking to everyone else's experience on this first bass wiring project!

 

[bassrich]

I vote V-V-T you can get a wide variety of tones or another would be V-V-T-T but that is not there. i would forget about the 3 way as that would be pointless

 

[LoveThatBass]

V-V-T is all you need

 

[coronado3]

Vol/tone/3 way toggle

 

[ShonenCello]

I did V-V-T-T on my EB-0 mod.
V-V-T would have been just as good I think, but 4 knobs look cool.

 

[Olde Axeman]

IMHO, it depends on what pickup you decide on for the bridge. I have an old '68 EBO on which someone had installed a single-coil Jazz bridge pup. It definitely needs two tone controls due to the huge tonal difference between the J-pup and the mudbucker.

I have rewired this thing 3 times trying to get the best tonal balance out of it. Right now it has the best sound I've gotten so far and I'm using V-V-T-T-Blend. It might change yet again though. I probably should have swapped the old single-coil J-pup from the git-go with a high output humbucker J-pup like an UltraJazz.

I do think if the OP's bridge pup choice is a humbucker then V-V-T is fine.

 

[Tracy Dae]

I am actually in the parts gathering/planning stages of modding my EB0. I bought the EB bridge pickup availale from Allparts. I was going to try to keep the OEM 1.2K mudbucker but my BF ordered an 30K Artec sidewinder for me that has AlNiCo V magnets. So I will be replacing the ceramic magnet in the bridge pickup I got from Allparts with an AlNiCo magnet. The plan is to re-wire the Artec sidewinder to be a four wire pickup so I can add a tri-sound switch as well as a phase switch for that pickup. The controls will be volume/tone for each pickup with the volumes wired to work independent form each other. The EB0 I found has a large control cavity so there is plenty of room for 2V, 2T and 2 mini-toggles. I have a friend and former band mate who has a mill. He is the fella who milled out the middle humbucker cavity for my Epi SG last spring. He did a great job. The EB0 should be easier for him to clamp up on the mill since it has a bolt on neck. He scheduled the mill work for the end of August so when that bass is done I will post pics.