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Epi EB-3 - Varitones and other mods


EliasMooseblaster
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I do love my faithful old EB-3, but I'm aware of its limitations, and I catch myself eyeing it up with a soldering iron in one hand with increasing frequency. Are there any mods people would recommend (besides the obvious one about the bridge)? I had a couple in mind...

Firstly has anyone else tried this? (And any idea where I could acquire a similar Varitone without spending a fortune importing from the US)
http://drchucksgearrants.com/3-easy-mods-make-epiphone-eb3-great-part-1/

Also pickup upgrades - I do often feel like the bridge and neck pickup don't complement each other all that well. Anyone tried swapping them out for alternatives?

Edited by EliasMooseblaster
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When I did my EB-3ish build here http://basschat.co.uk/topic/289254-jack-bruce-ish-eb3-sg-bass/page__fromsearch__1 I looked at that circuit and was very, very tempted. In the end, as you can see if you read the tortuous thread, I built my own (with enormous help from the folks here on the forum :) ) because I couldn't really justify the cost. I'm pleased how it came out but if I did another build, I might be tempted just to stump up the cash!

Pickup wise, the DiMarzio Model One in the neck is just simply mind blowing....

To the point it doesn't matter what the hell you put in the bridge....

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Cheers, Andy - I won't lie, it was your gorgeous SG build that got me thinking about modding my EB-3 in the first place! I did a quick search on Fleabay after posting, and found a couple of cheap kits for a six-position switch (5 filters plus a bypass), so I'm starting to think I could just take a punt on one of those and hope for the best. Once I've worked out how to connect it to the output from both pickups, at least...!

Might have to give that DiMarzio a try. For years I was quite happy with the mudbucker as the huge signal sounded pretty consistent regardless of what cheap amp or toilet-circuit PA I plugged into. Now that I have nice amps, I feel like I need something with a little more definition - the neck's "mud" and bridge's "honk" are proving difficult to blend to a satisfactory conclusion!

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[quote name='geoffbyrne' timestamp='1506678455' post='3380329']
Build your own - if you can solder its not a great problem. If I can do it........

[url="http://alexplorer.net/guitar/mods/varitone.html"]http://alexplorer.ne...s/varitone.html[/url]

G
[/quote]

AFAICS none of those circuits include the choke which IMO is an essential part of the Gibson Varitone sound. That's the hard bit to do as it seems for the best results you still need to wind your own.

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[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1506680683' post='3380356']
AFAICS none of those circuits include the choke which IMO is an essential part of the Gibson Varitone sound. That's the hard bit to do as it seems for the best results you still need to wind your own.
[/quote]

True, but then I have the dilemma of whether to try and pursue a closer replica of the original Gibson sound, or whether to just take a punt on something different and see what sort of tones it opens up for me! I feel like the bits for a 6-position varitone are probably cheap enough that I won't have poured too much down the drain if I don't like the results.

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[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1506685643' post='3380406']
True, but then I have the dilemma of whether to try and pursue a closer replica of the original Gibson sound, or whether to just take a punt on something different and see what sort of tones it opens up for me! I feel like the bits for a 6-position varitone are probably cheap enough that I won't have poured too much down the drain if I don't like the results.
[/quote]
I think the choke is quite important. You can buy a suitable coil quite cheaply and easily. The challenge I had, after, sorting the basic circuit out (with huge help from BigRedX, Samhay and many others) was choosing the right values of resistors, etc.. This is where variable trim-pot resistors are a godsend. I used the 'spare' switch positions to use to route through the choke to give me different inductance values so Pete had options for his favourite sound...

...which turns out to be the Model One with no bridge blend and no choke engaged :rolleyes: Bass players, hey...what are they like ? :lol:

There is quite a lot of detail in the thread of the circuit and the induction coil I used for the choke.

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I realised that Photocrapit had trashed my photo of the final electrics on the EB-3ish so I've sorted that in the original thread (the specific induction choke I used is mentioned in that thread - ebay job). Inside the finished chamber is like this:


Looking at this, looks like I used the other two posn's for alternative capacitances for the choke circuit rather than alternative induction values from the coil... Seem to remember that now.

Edited by Andyjr1515
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Nice one, thanks for posting that! Building the capacitors onto a little PCB looks like a much tidier solution than some of the pictures I've seen of ready-made varitone circuits - I'll might have to take a closer look at the control cavity and see whether I've got space to do something similar.

Also, it's funny you mention that Pete has settled on soloing the DiMarzio as his preferred tone. Soloing the stock mudbucker tended to be my go-to when this was my main bass, so perhaps I should try popping a Model One in there first and then seeing what I think of the overall tone.

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[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1506690009' post='3380452']
Nice one, thanks for posting that! Building the capacitors onto a little PCB looks like a much tidier solution than some of the pictures I've seen of ready-made varitone circuits - I'll might have to take a closer look at the control cavity and see whether I've got space to do something similar.

Also, it's funny you mention that Pete has settled on soloing the DiMarzio as his preferred tone. Soloing the stock mudbucker tended to be my go-to when this was my main bass, so perhaps I should try popping a Model One in there first and then seeing what I think of the overall tone.
[/quote]
Yup - I would...

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[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1506680683' post='3380356']
AFAICS none of those circuits include the choke which IMO is an essential part of the Gibson Varitone sound. That's the hard bit to do as it seems for the best results you still need to wind your own.
[/quote]

The link I included has a bit about including an inductor as a choke, further down the page. I ordered a group of inductors off ebay & used the one which seemed to me to work best.

G.

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  • 1 month later...

Thought I might reheat this thread as I have an update and a question!

Update: I've bought the DiMarzio. Hoping to get that wired up tonight in the most basic manner to test it out.

Question: there are approximately ten million different ways I can wire it, for series/parallel, coil tap, and permutations of those. Unfortunately all the wiring diagrams in the manual assume I'm wiring to a three-way toggle switch.

My options for switching are: swapping out the volume pot for a push-pull to enable a coil tap; or fiddling around with the rotary pickup switch to see if I can get more settings out of it. It currently clicks through three different positions, but I see it has a lot more terminals - is it possible to 'unlock' more positions and make use of these?

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[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1510047989' post='3403418']
My options for switching are: swapping out the volume pot for a push-pull to enable a coil tap; or fiddling around with the rotary pickup switch to see if I can get more settings out of it. It currently clicks through three different positions, but I see it has a lot more terminals - is it possible to 'unlock' more positions and make use of these?
[/quote]

Depends on the type of rotary switch. Some (especially the plastic-bodied type that you would get from electronics hobby shops) have a collar the sets how many positions the it will click through (up to 12 IIRC). If there is one it will be accessible when you unbolt the switch. You will need a multimeter to determine what all the currently un-used contacts do.

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[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1510047989' post='3403418']
Thought I might reheat this thread as I have an update and a question!

Update: I've bought the DiMarzio. Hoping to get that wired up tonight in the most basic manner to test it out.

Question: there are approximately ten million different ways I can wire it, for series/parallel, coil tap, and permutations of those. Unfortunately all the wiring diagrams in the manual assume I'm wiring to a three-way toggle switch.

My options for switching are: swapping out the volume pot for a push-pull to enable a coil tap; or fiddling around with the rotary pickup switch to see if I can get more settings out of it. It currently clicks through three different positions, but I see it has a lot more terminals - is it possible to 'unlock' more positions and make use of these?
[/quote]
Having once built a guitar that had 125 sound options, I'm one to talk :rolleyes: - BUT, if you are still going to rig up a varitone circuit, I would personally just go for standard series humbucking mode for the DiMarzio. You can always change it later if it really isn't giving you what you want.

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[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1510049330' post='3403441'] Depends on the type of rotary switch. Some (especially the plastic-bodied type that you would get from electronics hobby shops) have a collar the sets how many positions the it will click through (up to 12 IIRC). If there is one it will be accessible when you unbolt the switch. You will need a multimeter to determine what all the currently un-used contacts do. [/quote]

That's good to know - I'm just contemplating the balance of sound options vs my wiring skills, as if nothing else it seems a shame not to make the coil tap available. Then of course I've got series/parallel options plus the stock bridge pickup to think about, though at least that's fewer options still than...

[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1510050307' post='3403458'] Having once built a guitar that had 125 sound options, I'm one to talk :rolleyes: - BUT, if you are still going to rig up a varitone circuit, I would personally just go for standard series humbucking mode for the DiMarzio. You can always change it later if it really isn't giving you what you want. [/quote]

...this! (125? I presume this must have required a few microchips somewhere along the way?) I'm actually moving away from the varitone idea, having looked at the DiMarzio manual and seen how many different things I can do with just four wires.

I have a push/pull pot of the right impedance going spare, and obviously I might be able to free up positions on the rotary switch, so I'm mostly thinking about what I might be able to switch in or out without cutting any extra holes in the guitar!

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Yes - if you're not going varitone, then there's nothing to be lost to putting as many 4-conductor options as your switching allows. If you are limited, I agree with BigRedX, the series parallel is probably more useful than single coil options, although those can sometimes be useful to balance the tone when the switch is in the mid position

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  • 3 months later...

Time to dust this thread off, as I think I might be developing a mod addiction.

I installed the DiMarzio. It sounds wonderful (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OJSTRSG-ILU for a demo)

The other night, I replaced its volume pot with a push-pull, and after a couple of hours of faffing and head-scratching, I have it switchable between series and parallel.)

 

Now, I'm looking at the rotary switch again...and wondering if there's a way to wire in a fourth setting which puts the bridge pickup out of phase with the neck. Who's feeling brave?

Edited by EliasMooseblaster
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