Vintage Guitar and Bass forum

What year is my EBO .. and ... did they all have mutes?

JuniorJackBruce

What year is my EBO .. and ... did they all have mutes?
« on: January 11, 2005, 10:40:14 PM »
Hello:  In 1972 I purchased a used and abused EBO and am now undertaking the task of restoration.  I am not sure of the year, but it may be a 1970.  It has:  solid headstock with crown inlay, pickup abuts neck, 2-point bridge.  No visible serial number, and original electronics are long gone, as are the bridge saddles.

Was the mute attached to the bridge, or was it separate?   I don't see anywhere to mount one.  There are screw holes which I assume to be for the pickup cover (also long gone).

Also, I vaguely remember nylon saddles but it may be my imagination.  Did any of them have metal saddles, and were there tension springs on the adjusting screws?

Thanks!

jules

  • *****
  • 3068
    • View Profile
EB0s
« Reply #1 on: January 12, 2005, 05:11:01 AM »
Hi,

well that sounds like a sixties model. Sometime in late 1969, early 1970, they went over to the split headstock model.

These models, and earlier usually had mutes, though I have found a 1971 split headstock model without. I am not 100% sure why. Theories....

Maybe this was a custom order,
Maybe Gibson ran out of mutes and seeing as they were about to be phased out didn't get more in.
Maybe they just made some without.

Anyway, the mute sits under the bridge (not physically attached), and is held down by 3 screws - one behind the two bridge posts, and two in front (white arrows). The bridge cover screws also sit infront of the posts, but outside (yellow arrows). The pic below shows the mute without the bridge present



I would be very interested to know if you have a sixties model without a mute, as this rules out theory 2 above. Having said this, the lack of a serial number suggests a refinnish has occurred, and maybe the holes were filled. Can you see any sign of screw holes? Without a serial number and electronics it is more difficult to date, but maybe not impossible, at least to 2 years or so. Do you have any pictures?

metal saddles were used in the seventies and onward (72 or so), about the time mutes stopped.


Jules

JuniorJackBruce

Jules: I found some clues!
« Reply #2 on: January 12, 2005, 09:30:54 PM »
Thank you for your information, suggestions, and photo of mute.

Using a small magnifying glass, I discovered that (a) the hole for the single mute-mounting screw at the bottom of the bass (no pun intended) exists, so it must have originally had a mute.  The other two mounting holes were eradicated many moons ago by yours truly when gouging out wood with a screwdriver and hammer for some "decorative" psychedelic-plastic inlays!   In my defense, the finish had already been stripped by the previous owner (perhaps he wanted the 'bare-wood' look?) and he had used the same sans-router technique to gouge out some cavities for a P-Bass pickup.

(b) The ghostly traces of a serial number can be seen on the back of the headstock!  It appears to be:   970842.   This number is not centered - the "8" is closest - but maybe this is how they were stamped?

I can take some photos if you like, but what little hardware I have left has been removed and it's not a pretty sight!

regards,
Scott

p.s. I chose "JuniorJackBruce" as a pseudonym for this board not because I was in his league, but because many years ago I tried to emulate his style.   Unfortunately, I did so regardless of the type of music I was playing!   Somebody once said something like "stop trying to be a Junior Jack Bruce".   It was advice I should have followed early on!

 

Recent posts on vintage guitar and bass

1970 Rosetti Epiphone guitar catalogScan of 1970 Epiphone guitar catalogue produced by Rosetti for the UK market. Undated but most likely from mid-late 1970, this was the first UK catalogue to show the new range of Japanese (Matsumoku) Epiphone guitars. Interestingly, these pages show the Epiphone solid bodies with a single-sided Fender-style headstock layout - a feature quickly replaced with a typical two-sided Epiphone headstock almost immediately. Epiphone electric guitars: 9520, 9525; bass guitars: 9521, 9526; acoustic guitars: 6730, 6830, 6834
1971 A World of Guitars by Rosetti catalogueScan of 1971 Rosetti catalogue (UK) featuring guitars from from numerous manufacturers worldwide: guitars by Epiphone, Hagstrom, Levin, Hoyer, Egmond, Eros, Moridaira, Kiso-Suzuki, Schaller, and Tatra.
1971 Selmer guitar catalogueScan of 1971 Selmer guitar catalogue showing the range of electric and acoustic guitars distributed by the company: guitars by Gibson, Yamaha, Selmer, Hofner and Suzuki. 1960s Selmer had always placed Hofner at the front end of their catalogues, no doubt these were the better sellers - but into the 1970s Hofner were slipping somewhat and only appear at the tail end of this publication, pride of place going to Gibson, and to a lesser extent Yamaha. In fact this is the last Selmer catalogue to include the many Hofner hollow bodies (Committee, President, Senator etc) that had defined the companies output for so many years - to be replaced in the 1972 catalogue by generic solid body 'copies' of Gibson and Fender models. A number of new Gibson models are included for the first time: the SG-100 and SG-200 six string guitars and the SB-300 and SB-400 basses.
1968 Selmer guitar catalogueScan of 1968/1969 Selmer guitar catalogue (printed July 1968), showing the entire range of electric and acoustic guitars distributed by the company: guitars by Hofner, Gibson, Selmer and Giannini. Selmer were the exclusive United Kingdom distributors of Hofner and Gibson at the time, and this catalogue contains a total of 18 electric guitars, 7 bass guitars, 37 acoustics, and 2 Hawaiian guitars - all produced outside the UK and imported by Selmer, with UK prices included in guineas. This catalogue saw the (re-)introduction of the late sixties Gibson Les Paul Custom and Les Paul Standard (see page 69) and the short-lived Hofner Club 70. Other electric models include: HOFNER ELECTRICS: Committee, Verithin 66, Ambassador, President, Senator, Galaxie, HOFNER BASSES: Violin bass, Verithin bass, Senator bass, Professional bass GIBSON ELECTRICS: Barney Kessel, ES-330TD, ES-335TD, ES-345TD, ES-175D, ES-125CD, SG Standard, SG Junior, SG Special GIBSON BASSES: EB-0, EB-2, EB-3 - plus a LOT of acoustics branded Gibson, Hofner, Selmer and Giannini
1961 Hofner Colorama IHofner Colorama was the name UK distributor Selmer gave to a series of solid and semi-solid guitars built by Hofner for distribution in the UK. The construction and specifications of the guitars varied over the period of production, but by 1961 it was a totally solid, double cutaway instrument, with a set neck, translucent cherry finish, six-in-a-row headstock, and Hofner Diamond logo pickups. Available as a single or dual pickup guitar, this sngle pickup version would have been sold in mainland Europe as the Hofner 161.
1971 Commodore N25 (Matsumoku)Commodore was a brand applied to a series of guitars produced in Japan at the well-respected Matsumoku plant from the late 1960s to the mid 1970s - and sold primarily (perhaps exclusively?) in the United Kingdom. The models bearing the Commodore name were all guitars available from different distributors with different branding. Although there may have been some minor changes in appointments (specifically headstock branding) most had the same basic bodies, hardware and construction. Equivalent models to the Commodore N25 (and this is by no means an exhaustive list) include the Aria 5102T, Conrad 5102T(?), Electra 2221, Lyle 5102T, Ventura V-1001, Univox Coily - and most famously the Epiphone 5102T / Epiphone EA-250.
1960 Hofner Colorama IIThe Hofner Colorama was the name given by Selmer to a series of solid (and semi-solid) body Hofner guitars distributed in the United Kingdom between 1958 and 1965. The Colorama name actually applied to some quite different guitars over the period, but in 1960 it was a very light, semi-solid, set necked guitar with one (Colorama I) or two (Colorama II, as seen here) Toaster pickups. Although an entry-level guitar, it was very well-built, and a fine playing guitar; certainly a step up (at least in terms of craftsmanship) from many of the Colorama guitars that would follow, and a good deal of the guitars available in Britain circa 1960.
1971 Epiphone 1820 (ET-280) bassBy the end of the 1960s, a decision had been made to move Epiphone guitar production from the USA (at the Kalamazoo plant where Gibson guitars were made), to Matsumoto in Japan, creating a line of guitars and basses significantly less expensive than the USA-built models (actually less than half the price). The Matsumoku factory had been producing guitars for export for some time, but the 1820 bass (alongside a number of guitar models and the 5120 electric acoustic bass) were the first Epiphone models to be made there. These new Epiphones were based on existing Matsumoku guitars, sharing body shapes, and hardware, but the Epiphone line was somewhat upgraded, with inlaid logos and a 2x2 peghead configuration. Over the course of the 70s, the Japanese output improved dramatically, and in many ways these early 70s models are a low point for the brand. Having said this, there are a lot worse guitars out there, and as well as being historically important, the 1820 bass can certainly provide the goods when required.
1981 Gibson MarauderProduction of Bill Lawrence's Gibson Marauder began in 1974, with production peaking in 1978. But by 1980 the model was officially discontinued, though very small numbers slipped out as late as spring 1981. Over 7000 examples shipped between 1974 and 1979, and although no totals are available for 1980 and 1981, it is unlikely production reached three figures in either of these years. These final Marauders were all assembled at the Gibson Nashville plant, and had some nice features not available through the later years of production, such as a rosewood fretboard, and in this case, an opaque 'Devil Red' finish. It's a great looking and fine playing guitar!