SG & EB Bass Club

[Craig4003]

I've never heard of anyone named Marty Simon being in Free. The drummer in Free was Simon Kirke, who went on to Bad Company with Paul Rodgers.

 

[ajkula66]

Simon Kirke once said that "pound per pound, Andy had the most gift out of all of us" and while I'm a *huge* Kossoff fan, I'd tend to agree.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

Simon Kirke once said that "pound per pound, Andy had the most gift out of all of us" and while I'm a *huge* Kossoff fan, I'd tend to agree.

I play my 65 Epiphone Newport in a similar manner to Andy Fraser which is palm mute at the bridge (or around the bridge and play with thumb a lot) to get that 'tuba sound' Andy got.....one of the greatest to play an EB3!

 

[ajkula66]

I.one of the greatest to play an EB3!

And so much more than that...considering the fact that he wrote most of the Free stuff by age 18 and pretty much pushed himself out of the big picture and into obscurity at 19...very gifted man but a deeply troubled soul.

 

[sleepingEB0]

Well EB3 prices have gone up $1000 in the last year, and I didn't buy on last year. Life is unfair

 

[bobyoung53]

Just wanted to add another EB-3 player clip. The band is Sharks, from 1973, featuring Andy Fraser on bass, Marty Simon on drums (both of whom were from Free, I believe), Chris Spedding on guitar, and "Snips" on vocals. Judging from Spedding's sound on a couple of Jack Bruce's first solo albums, he's probably responsible for the band's very dry, back-to-basics sound.

Good stuff, thanks I'll check them out.

 

[bobyoung53]

Well EB3 prices have gone up $1000 in the last year, and I didn't buy on last year. Life is unfair

If you look around you can still find bargains, I bought a 1970 slothead EB-3 for 1450.00 last month on Reverb. Needs a little cleaning up but it's intact, has everything and no breaks.

 

[Son of Wobble]

Well EB3 prices have gone up $1000 in the last year, and I didn't buy on last year. Life is unfair

That'll teach you to procrastinate for roughly 50 years

 

[west al]

Just for kicks, if the SG body style was never created, what bass body design would you use? My choice would be an EB-1. I do love my Epi EB-0 I have now however.

 

[ajkula66]

Just for kicks, if the SG body style was never created, what bass body design would you use? My choice would be an EB-1.

An interesting question...

In my younger years, probably Jazz Bass.

As I am right now...EB-2 or Starfire, possibly the original Les Paul Bass.

BTW, I did own an EB-1 many moons ago and couldn't get along with it from an ergonomic standpoint whatsoever. Different strokes and all that jazz...

 

[Camaro69]

I do like the Jazz bass bodies. The LP is a good choice, as is the NR Bird

If I ever build one, it'll probably be a NR Bird blank, and move the bridge to the end of the body, draw the neck in further to shorten the reach some

 

[ctmullins]

I like several different bodies.

• Les Paul (double cut or single cut)
• Ripper/Grabber
• Rickenbacker 400x
• Rickenbacker 6x0
• Telecaster (guitar, not bass)
• Thunderbird/Explorer

I've discovered that I prefer a symmetrical lower bout, so the instrument doesn't fall to one side when leaned against the wall. The Thunderbird and Explorer obviously don't meet this criterion, but they still look badass.

 

[sleepingEB0]

So assume nobody has an EB they are interested in selling to a loving home?

 

[Son of Wobble]

 

[ajkula66]

So assume nobody has an EB they are interested in selling to a loving home?

If you're talking about an EB-3, my best guess is that there's more of us are interested in grabbing a couple of more of these before they hit $5K while our SS is still at $1K a month....

 

[sleepingEB0]

If you're talking about an EB-3, my best guess is that there's more of us are interested in grabbing a couple of more of these before they hit $5K while our SS is still at $1K a month....

Brothers share some love with the younger generation!

 

[ajkula66]

Brothers share some love with the younger generation!

Well, in all seriousness it comes down to two questions:

1) What *exactly* are you looking for ?

2) How much are you willing to spend ?

Depending on the answer(s), I might be able to offer you some general guidance.

 

[sleepingEB0]

Well, in all seriousness it comes down to two questions:

1) What *exactly* are you looking for ?

2) How much are you willing to spend ?

Depending on the answer(s), I might be able to offer you some general guidance.

I'd be interested in any Kalamazoo Gibson 1 pick up or two but I'd also prefer not to buy high if you know what I mean.

 

[Craig4003]

I'd be interested in any Kalamazoo Gibson 1 pick up or two but I'd also prefer not to buy high if you know what I mean.

I totally get that. It's never a good idea to spend significant amounts of money when stoned.

 

[ajkula66]

I'd be interested in any Kalamazoo Gibson 1 pick up or two but I'd also prefer not to buy high if you know what I mean.

Well, what was "high" a year ago is normal now, and I don't believe that the prices are coming down anytime soon.

My recommendation would be to put aside a specific sum and be ready to pull the trigger when one pops up in your price range.

With that being said, there are so many variables with these basses that it's not even funny. You would be wise to narrow your choices before going shopping. For instance:

1) Do you prefer a wide nut width and a big neck, or a smaller one ?

2) Is having only 19 frets a dealbreaker ?

3) Is the pickup position right at the bottom of the neck a must or not ?

I could go on, but these are likely the most important considerations, at least IMO.

Not trying to make your life difficult. I've been watching these basses like a hawk for the past 5 years and could likely point you in the correct general direction, but without the answers to at least these three questions I can't say much of anything.