SG & EB Bass Club

[ajkula66]

Mine is a '73, which is the 2nd year of the "mudbucker in the middle" design (love that coinage!), and hence not a slothead. Thanks!

So a transition piece - newer shape with the older bridge - very cool.

I've got no wisdom to offer since I've never owned an "L" out of that batch. If you need the original Tilt-O-Matic for it, let me know and I'll try to locate the one that I should still have *soimewhere*...

Good luck.

 

[dmt]

Mine is a '73, which is the 2nd year of the "mudbucker in the middle" design (love that coinage!), and hence not a slothead. Thanks!

Yeah, "mudbucker in the middle" — that's good. Easy to remember

 

[dmt]

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Bridge has been changed, but I have all the original parts.
Robot or human?

Looks great — I love that shade/version of the basic "heritage cherry" (I assume it is) color

 

[mcnach]

Outstanding! BRAVO ON THAT BEAUTY! I love my Epi EB-0, strung with D'Addario ETB92S as well.

Thank you

Those strings really suit the bass, eh?
I used it on Sunday to record a couple of tracks for a band demo, reggae style, and it was very sweet.

 

[squarepeg]

I've just scored a very nice '73 EB-3L. The original 2 point bridge buckled under string tension and was replaced by a Hipshot. Unfortunately, even with the bridge saddles screwed all the way down the action is way too high. With relief set at .010" at the 12th fret I can't get anywhere near to my goal of 2/32" at the 12th fret on the G string and 3/32" on the E. The action in nearly a 1/8" too high. I'm sure that the problem is the bridge, and so is my tech. Neck angle is fine, the nut height is correct.

Has anyone had a similar problem, and is there a solution?

I bought a '71 slothead EB3 last year, and, like yours, the original bridge had worn out, so I bought a Hipshot to replace it. The selector switch was also broken, so I took the bass and the new bridge to a local tech and asked him to fix anything else he found.

When I got it back there were some marks on the side of the bridge. He said when he replaced the old one, the strings were too high even with the truss rod cranked all the way, so he just ground down the bottom of the bridge.

The action is perfect now.

 

[west al]

Thank you

Those strings really suit the bass, eh?
I used it on Sunday to record a couple of tracks for a band demo, reggae style, and it was very sweet.

If you would like to become a member in the SG & EB Bass Club, please let me know, and a issue you a number. Once again, a fine looking Nylon strung EB-0.

 

[mcnach]

If you would like to become a member in the SG & EB Bass Club, please let me know, and a issue you a number. Once again, a fine looking Nylon strung EB-0.

Thank you, it's ok. I used to get numbers for all the 'clubs' and I always end up forgetting about it
But I'm subscribed to this thread

 

[ajkula66]

I'm going to go ahead and break the rules of this thread...

My SG/EB basses are accompanied by a 6-string cousin of theirs as of yesterday...

 

[ctmullins]

Nice!

That bridge says "Norlin", but what kind of vibrato is that?

 

[ajkula66]

Nice!

That bridge says "Norlin", but what kind of vibrato is that?

Good eye...

Norlin for sure since the serial puts her in the '70-72 range and this version belongs to the 1973 model year.

As for the vibrato it's a Bigsby from what I can gather, albeit a somewhat unusual one.

 

[bobyoung53]

I've just scored a very nice '73 EB-3L. The original 2 point bridge buckled under string tension and was replaced by a Hipshot. Unfortunately, even with the bridge saddles screwed all the way down the action is way too high. With relief set at .010" at the 12th fret I can't get anywhere near to my goal of 2/32" at the 12th fret on the G string and 3/32" on the E. The action in nearly a 1/8" too high. I'm sure that the problem is the bridge, and so is my tech. Neck angle is fine, the nut height is correct.

Has anyone had a similar problem, and is there a solution?

I put a hipshot on my '73 EB4-L which is most likely the same body you have and the action was also too high, I put the 2 point bridge back on and played with it and the bass, (truss rod) and the action is now nice. I took off the tilt-o-matic because it looked like too much of a pain to get right but I figured it out. I have regular 105 Rotos on it. I have a '70 EB3-L that got shipped to me with a broken headstock last year, it's in the US in my storage space.
What do you mean 'it buckled'?

 

[blacktocomm]

I put a hipshot on my '73 EB4-L which is most likely the same body you have and the action was also too high, I put the 2 point bridge back on and played with it and the bass, (truss rod) and the action is now nice. I took off the tilt-o-matic because it looked like too much of a pain to get right but I figured it out. I have regular 105 Rotos on it. I have a '70 EB3-L that got shipped to me with a broken headstock last year, it's in the US in my storage space.
What do you mean 'it buckled'?



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I had a walnut EB4L back in the 90's. It was a cool bass and I gigged exclusively with it for a few years. I just never quite bonded with it like I did with the short scales. Seeing that pic of yours makes me wish I still had it.

 

[bobyoung53]

I had a walnut EB4L back in the 90's. It was a cool bass and I gigged exclusively with it for a few years. I just never quite bonded with it like I did with the short scales. Seeing that pic of yours makes me wish I still had it.

I love mine, I'm more of a long scale player anyway but it's got a really punchy sound. I do like the short scales though too. I have a couple of SS EB-3's.

 

[ajkula66]

What do you mean 'it buckled'?

Literally "got bent out of shape", not uncommon for Tilt-O-Matics of both guitar and bass variety.

I love mine, I'm more of a long scale player anyway but it's got a really punchy sound. I do like the short scales though too. I have a couple of SS EB-3's.

Well, apart from my fiver I'm all short-scale now, and I don't see that state of affairs changing unless I find a really nice slothead EB-3L or an EB-4L like yours for a reasonable amount of money within the next month or so...

 

[dmt]

I'm going to go ahead and break the rules of this thread...

My SG/EB basses are accompanied by a 6-string cousin of theirs as of yesterday...

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Looks like mini-hums, so an SG Deluxe (with Bigsby vibrato), I guess. An interesting guitar; not your bog-standard SG, err, Standard

 

[johnk_10]

my '69 EB-1 that i've owned since 1979:

 

[blacktocomm]

my '69 EB-1 that i've owned since 1979:
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Beauty.

 

[ajkula66]

Looks like mini-hums, so an SG Deluxe (with Bigsby vibrato), I guess. An interesting guitar; not your bog-standard SG, err, Standard

Good eye and a sense of humour to match...

 

[s_wood]

What do you mean 'it buckled'?

Literally "got bent out of shape", not uncommon for Tilt-O-Matics of both guitar and bass variety.

Exactly right. according to my tech, who is truly world class and very experienced, this was a common problem with the old Gibson 2 point bridges because of the relative soft material that they were made off. The string tension would literally bend the bridge of shape over time. On mine, the bass side is at least 1/8" higher than the treble side. Not usable. Unfortunately, neither is the Hipshot.

 

[ajkula66]

On mine, the bass side is at least 1/8" higher than the treble side. Not usable.

In some cases this can be fixed by heating and re-shaping. I've only had it done on a guitar bridge, though, but would presume that the same principle applies.

Good luck.