evilLordJuju

This is how you get a bargain on ebay. Especially when you don't post it on a forum. Any bass with so few pictures and such vague description could have almost anything wrong with it - which may scare off enough people to give someone a real bargain the seller claims it is a Fender and it works - not a lot else... parts could be non-original, neck might be unplayable, there could be routes under the scracthplate. The back might be far worse than the front etc... Add this to the fact that it is a short auction and he won't post..... Well worth someone badgering the seller into taking it apart and taking the extra photos...

one thing to add - also make sure they don't [u]increase[/u] the value on the customs slip - i've had crazy people round up by a few hundred dollars for no reason - theoretically you can claim back the extra tax, but it isn't easy Make sure they put exactly what you pay, excluding postage and no more

I've got a red 2020 too, but I admit I never really play it - not that it doesn't sound good, just too '80s looking for my tastes They didn't do a 5 string version - I dont think they did very many 4 strings for that matter

I don't mind the three point - but yes the supertone is a lot more user-friendly. I am surprised Gibson hasn't changed this design in 40 years - it's no secret that people don't like them.

Shame this didn't stick around. Would certainly have bid on it....

I was bidding on that ebay one. Thought I was going to get it too until the last second Definately get the neck fixed. Any replacement neck would be a travesty. I love the Hagstrom Coronado - was using mine (4 string) in the studio at the weekend and it sounded superb. The switches are a little unreliable and noisy sometimes - the only downside for me

thanks for the comments guys Well, to be honest I wouldn't 'look out' for a neck break - as in I wouldn't avoid one. If you are purely a collector/investor you might prefer to find an unbroken one, but as a player, a well repaired break means nothing at all, it will just save you money. WRT years - The earliest will be stupidly expensive and have a fat neck - which you may or may not like and don't intonate The late sixties/early seventies ones are the most abundant - they made quite a few in 69/70 - the 69s are quite like the older ones but with a thinner neck The 1970/71 have the slotted headstock. Tonally everything from 61-71 is in the same ballpark. Pickups vary - they were handwound so the differences are from bass to bass rather than year to year. Construction was all mahogany. In 1972 they massively changed things - the body got thicker, the neck pickup moved and the neck was made of maple. It was a LOT chunkier Tonally a little different, but a 60s EB3 and a 72 EB3 are still closer to each other than an EB3 is to anything else. The post 72 basses are more defined tonally, and probably work better in many modern day bands. They are more robust and safer for taking out. If you are in a dub reggae band you might really need a 60s one, but otherwise you'll probably find you rarely use the really bassy setting - especially if you are going for a Jack Bruce / Andy Fraser sound. I suggest you try before you buy - but bear in mind Bruce and Fraser played theirs through overdriven marshall stacks, and that did impact the sound significantly.

Great bass. Its a real shame that the value of these means they are now collectors only instruments and not players. Vintage and rare are just getting one in now - similar price to this one once you include postage and tax.

I gig all my vintage basses - or all that have a case anyway. I have a couple that won't fit anything. But yeah, you have to look out for them.

[quote name='Austin7' timestamp='1330638459' post='1560962'] I know of no famous bassist on earth who plays an EB-1 except Jack Bruce[/quote] You know, the Hofner violin bass was (sort of) a copy of the first Gibson bass, the EB. John Lennon wanted Paul McCartney to buy the Gibson. But Paul bought the Hofner. How this thread would have been different had macca bought a Gibson.