Meanwhile, other customers are walking in the door and asking where the EB-0 that had just gone up on their eBay site was. I'm really trying to avoid impulse buying, or bringing anything in that doesn't fill a hole in the collection. I just couldn't pass this one up, though, and I knew it would be gone in seconds if I put it back on the wall to mull it over. Anyway, here's the first Gibson I've ever owned:
Sorry for the lousy photos, but they're the best I could get under indoor lights.
This bass will be a project. On the bright side, the "mudbucker" pickup sounds just like it should, the neck has no dead spots, and nobody has ever taken a router to it. On the down side, the wood is very dry, there is a split in the body near the jack, and the tuners, pots and knobs are not original. My first order of business will be to purge it of its round wound strings, soak the fretboard with walnut oil, and set it up with flats. I need to give the body and neck some TLC and make up for years of drying, so I will probably try the oil/beeswax combo I use on the Warwick. Then the hunt for period-correct pots, tuners and knobs will begin. I'm inclined to leave the crack alone for now, and just watch it for any growth.
I've been GASsing for a short-scale bass for a while. I'm feeling no impulse-buyer's remorse, especially since I paid about what a used Chinese import would go for with the case. I just might end up loving this one.
Ken
