SG & EB Bass Club

[dmt]

I did USAs (four Hipshot Ultralite tuners [2 treble, 2 bass]; HB6 Short Y key, 1/2") and am happy, for what it's worth. A bit on the expensive side though, but then again, I did that tuners switch 11 years ago now (after already having had owned the bass a few years) and don't expect to be selling this bass anytime soon (it ain't going nowhere). Since the tuner switch helped save it for me, it was money well spent. That said, I'm sure the licensed version would be absolutely fine too; just saying that for me, the extra money involved has already been amortized

 

[Engle]

Hey all! I just discovered this thread here. Bob Daisley was mentioned.
Some time ago I bought a bass that belonged to Bob Daisley, a 1961 Epiphone Rivoli. Bob was not the original owner, he purchased the bass in the 1980s from The Bass Centre in Wapping, UK. So it's likely the bass was originally shipped to the UK new, but not certain.

Rivoli Basses (and blonde Rivolis in particular) were really popular with early to mid '60s British Bands. "Popular" being a relative term here, with only 14 Rivolis shipped in 1961 in total, both blondes and sunburst ones. I can't find numbers for blonde finish ones specifically, but let's just say it was half the production (I'd bet it was fewer), then there's a half dozen of these basses in existence, if that.

I think there's a chance I can find out where this particular bass came from by playing "History Detectives". Do you guys want to help me?

Here's my bass:

View attachment 7369773

Bob Lang of The Mindbenders played a blonde Rivoli that at first glance could be a match. Reflector knobs ('61 or later), Gibson style pickguard (some Rivolis, maybe most, had the Epiphone pickguard), blonde. But alas, I found one detailed enough picture that shows enough wood grain to rule that out:

Bob Lang Bass:

View attachment 7369774

Bob Daisley bass:

View attachment 7369775

Not a match.

Other notable players who played a blonde Rivoli are:

-Jackie Lomax / The Undertakers

-Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas, on bass either Ian Fraser or Ray Jones, not sure which. This was told to me by a friend who saw the Dakotas live in the early '60s, but I can't find any pictures. By '65 their bass player played a Precision bass.

-Johnny Gustafson / The Big Three

-Wes Hunter / Sounds Incorporated

-I heard that after Gene Vincent (of The Blue Flames fame) moved to England he formed a band there, with a bass player playing a blonde Rivoli, but I can't find much on that.

-the bass player in a band called The Tremors. Never heard of them, can't find a picture, but there's a Bruce Thomas interview where he says: "One night, during the days of the great British R&B boom, I sat in with a local band called The Tremors. I played a few tunes on harmonica, like "Got My Mojo Working" and some others, and they asked me to join as harmonica player. When the regular bass player failed to turn up for the gig one night, his bass (a blond Epiphone Rivoli) was handed to me and I had to wing it."


Maybe some of you guys know something I don't, or feel like wasting time helping me track this thing down. I love knowing the history of vintage guitars, it would be really cool to be able to close this gap.

This one does not have the right knobs:



This one might be a candidate?



Billy J. Kramer and The Dakotas bass had me excited for a minute, but now I'm not sure it's a match. What do you guys think?.

View attachment 7369776

View attachment 7369777

View attachment 7369778

Given the production numbers, I'm one or two basses away from hitting the jackpot. Any contributions are welcome!

Close, but nope. Good luck!

 

[bobyoung53]

Hey all, haven't been here or on Talkbass much, period, in a long time but if anyone here remembers the '65 EB-3 I have that was stripped I finally had it refinished, haven't picked it up yet but it looks great, the luther did an excellent mid 60's translucent cherry finish. I also got a Rothstein harness on the way with switchable diode. I'll post a picture in a few weeks when I pick it up.

Beautiful bass by the way Hoagy, always loved those blonde Epi basses.

 

[smatanovic]

Picked this girl up over the weekend. 954101 serial so 1970 ish..? Neck is straight, electronics working, and truss rod works. (Loosened then tightened 1/4 turn). Headstock was repaired about 25 years ago. Action a tad high but every string has silk extending over 2 point bridge saddles so hoping a slight trim to silk will be the fix. Fresh labella DTB 760fl-s arriving today. All original except the truss rod cover. Currently fighting the urge to buy Hipshot supertone, but will do some more reading to learn more about the stock bridge.

View attachment 7332677

View attachment 7332676

Man, I've never thought to put Songsterr on the tv screen, as opposed to on my monitor. Great idea.

 

[smatanovic]

I'm very happy to see continued interest in SG/EB shaped instruments. Keep it up, good people...

I've never played an SG bass, but I recently played my daughter's SG guitar and LOVED the ergonomics. There may be an sG bass in my future…

 

[GonePlaid]

The 2 point is often called a tilt-o-matic. There are set screws on each side that lock it to the posts, but they don't hold the bridge very well. It gets worse when it's worn. I solved it on my 68 by making a mahogany block to fit under the bridge and bolting it down.
I can't adjust the height, but then I never need to.
The Hipshot 2 point works, but looks ridiculous on a vintage bass IMO

IDK, I like it. (Thumbrest is the tugbar offa my 1967 NR TBird)

 

[GonePlaid]

So, question for the bass people more in the know than I am. Here's a picture of the bridge. I'm wondering if these short scale flatwounds are Fender of Hofner? Same color silk on both ends. Thanks...

View attachment 7361786

Measure carefully. Non-original bridge may require medium scale strings.

 

[reasespieces]

I had a big band gig yesterday and the outdoor venue was very cold so I had to bring my EB-3 because it's my only bass that's fit for the stage that can be out in the cold, unlike my upright. Problem was, the stage had no sound system. So I had to improvise. The loudest amp I had is this Ampeg rocket 100w combo. It **could have** done the job on it's own, but the boomy pavilion we were under and the thumpy nature of my bass wouldve made it too present in the bad ways. So I stacked a smaller 25w ampeg combo and ran a standard instrument cable from the line out into the input on the 100w and it worked great. I got upper end clarity with the 25w and presense with the 100w.
You should start stacking combos.

 

[bobyoung53]

1965 EB-3 refinished and refurbished with laquer, I took off the mute and hand rest to lower the action a little but it plays like a dream. Krishna Jain from the Guitar Garage did it, he does wonderful work. This bass had been stripped years ago and had a big stain from probably someone's thumb and generally looked like heck. I can't find the original pictures though but I did post them here years ago.

 

[ajkula66]

Welcome back, @bobyoung53 !

You were missed around here...

 

[bobyoung53]

Welcome back, @bobyoung53 !

You were missed around here...

Thanks, I haven't been posting very much since I went back to work a few years ago, one more year and I'm done again.

 

[914fan]

My humble submission
Here's my baby after putting on a hipshot bridge. It changed the whole feel of the bass. She just sings now.

Then a couple days later the neck pulled itself off. Nothing a drill, hide glue, and hard wood dowles couldn't fix. I set the neck at a more aggressive angle and got my strings much closer to the deck. I'll touch up a couple frets at the next string change to address a minor buzz and probably cut in a bridge pickup with a phase switch, maybe add a mid cut too. She wearing slinky flats.

Does anyone have a measurement for distance from the nut to centerline of the bridge pickup?

 

[ctmullins]

My humble submission
Here's my baby after putting on a hipshot bridge. It changed the whole feel of the bass. She just sings now.

Then a couple days later the neck pulled itself off. Nothing a drill, hide glue, and hard wood dowles couldn't fix. I set the neck at a more aggressive angle and got my strings much closer to the deck. I'll touch up a couple frets at the next string change to address a minor buzz and probably cut in a bridge pickup with a phase switch, maybe add a mid cut too. She wearing slinky flats.

Does anyone have a measurement for distance from the nut to centerline of the bridge pickup?

Good work on the repair!

I wouldn't worry too much about the "correct" placement of the bridge pickup. Just make sure there is at least 2 inches from the bridge saddles to the bridge pickup pole pieces/rail. Too close to the bridge and you lose too much low end.

 

[914fan]

Man, I've never thought to put Songsterr on the tv screen, as opposed to on my monitor. Great idea.

I cast songster on the tv and also YouTube then I practice to it. Sometimes my kids play along with me. Oakes for a fun time

 

[ih8law]

I just got the recordings we made at a recent rehearsal at which I was playing my SG, and I couldn't stop smiling because of how much I loved how it sounded. I get angry every time I read some random comment out there about how SGs supposedly sound muddy and terrible. They do not! Put on some stainless steel strings, drive a tube amp, and do some proper EQ. Sounds so good in the mix, IMO.

Obligatory action photo:

 

[Prodigus Filius]

I just got the recordings we made at a recent rehearsal at which I was playing my SG, and I couldn't stop smiling because of how much I loved how it sounded. I get angry every time I read some random comment out there about how SGs supposedly sound muddy and terrible. They do not! Put on some stainless steel strings, drive a tube amp, and do some proper EQ. Sounds so good in the mix, IMO.

Obligatory action photo:
View attachment 7394505

That is one hell of a cool pic

 

[Engle]

1965 EB-3 refinished and refurbished with laquer, I took off the mute and hand rest to lower the action a little but it plays like a dream. Krishna Jain from the Guitar Garage did it, he does wonderful work. This bass had been stripped years ago and had a big stain from probably someone's thumb and generally looked like heck. I can't find the original pictures though but I did post them here years ago.

Looks great!

 

[bobyoung53]

Looks great!

Thanks, and it plays and sounds as good as it looks. It's got D'Addario .95's on it and they really sing. I put the handrest and mute back on, just looks too cool and doesn't seriously impede my playing. Krishna Jain is a magician.

 

[DavidEdenAria]

I've never played a Traynor amp of any kind so I'm clueless here...and not just here...

Not a fan of SVTs, although I most certainly understand what people love about them.

That HiWatt clone sounds interesting. I'll be waiting for an update...

My only "clean" tube amp is a rather obscure oldie known as Carlsbro TC100. The loudest 100W head I've ever come across and stunningly clean until pushed *really* hard. Very basic schematics with 3xECC83 and 4xEL34 but there's something about it that I can't put my finger on which makes it stand out from the other British amps - and I've played/owned just about every single one - from that era...

60TC owner here....lots of sparkle more of a Hiwatt Vox thing...very cool amps!

 

[DavidEdenAria]

She has arrived! I feel like I got a really great price on this given the condition. It also came with a brand new Gibson case too. I'm shocked

The seller didn't know the year, but I knew it was a late 65 or 66 based on the chrome hardware, knobs, and felt bridge mute. The pot codes are 29th week of 1965, and the serial number suggests 1965 as well, so I'm going with second half of 1965 as the build date for this bass. It appears all original. The pickguard is the only thing I'm unsure of.

The neck is straight as a board and it plays wonderful. I do have the bridge low as it can go without locking up the felt mute. I could go a little lower to improve the action, but I would need to remove the mute. It came with Gibson flatwounds, but I just ordered some GHS pressure wounds to try.

My very first bass was a epiphone eb3. I've always loved the SG body shape, so this feels right at home to me.

View attachment 7335801View attachment 7335802View attachment 7335803View attachment 7335804View attachment 7335839

Very nice! 65 Epi Newport here and I run GHS Pressure Wounds I get all the top end I need ....I too have gravitated to single pickup basses .....curious your thoughts on Pressure Wounds....I may try some rounds next ....I had LaBella Flats but not my thing...nice EB!