Gibson EB-3 Owned by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco Solid Body Electric Bass Guitar (1970)
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Item # 13115
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Gibson EB-3 Owned by Jeff Tweedy of Wilco Model Solid Body Electric Bass Guitar (1970), made in Kalamazoo, Michigan, serial # 958245, cherry lacquer finish, mahogany body and neck, rosewood fingerboard, brown hard shell case.
This is a well worn but good playing example of a 1970 Gibson EB-3 "slot head" bass. By this time a number of features had changed from earlier '60s examples, but the bass kept same basic layout. The two humbucking pickups are controlled by a 4-way selector, giving a much wider range of tone than the much more common EB-0. The large "Mudbucker" is still mounted near the neck, with the small unit mounted near the bridge for contrasting treble emphasis. The output jack was moved to the rim and the new fully adjustable one-piece chrome bridge rests under the old-style '60s chrome cover.
One of the more obvious differences from 1960s models was the new short-lived slotted headstock with side-mounted Gibson/Schaller tuners, a quixotic change that only lasted a few years. The neck is much slimmer than earlier examples as well, touted in the 1970 catalog as "The ultra thin, fast, low action neck". The list price at the time was $390.
While it would fall out of favor later in the 1970s, this easy-to-play and very distinctive-sounding bass was used by a number of (mostly English) rock bassists in the 1960s and '70s, including Jack Bruce, Andy Fraser, Pete Quaife with the Kinks, Chris White with the Zombies, Rolling Stone Bill Wyman in the early '70s, Tom Evans of Badfinger, Glenn Cornick of Jethro Tull, Trevor Bolder with the Spiders from Mars, Jim Lea of Slade, and many others. The EB-3's distinctive growl is one of the most recognizable of all electric bass tones on record.
The most notable player of this specific EB-3 was here in the USA, the venerable Chicago bassist and occasional Chicago guitarist, Jeff Tweedy.
Overall length is 41 1/2 in. (105.4 cm.), 13 in. (33 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 30 in. (762 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/2 in. (38 mm.).
This bass has been played and gigged quite a bit over 55 years and shows a good amount of wear all over the body. The somewhat faded and darkened cherry finish is checked all over with only a few more notable areas of finish loss where a thumb may have rested above the neck pickup and a bit of belt rash on the back. This EB-3 did experience a classic Gibson headstock break which was sturdily sealed long ago, touched up around the area but not broadly oversprayed. That is extremely common with these thin-neck, slotted headstock models.
The electronics are original; the pots not partially obscured by solder date to 1970 when this bass was made. All hardware and trimmings are original on this bass: the tuners, the witch hat knobs, the pickguard, and even the jack plate.
The original bridge was restored back from a later adjustable bridge that did not function well for playability; we have included it in the case for posterity, but recommend leaving the current bridge in place for best results. It resides in a somewhat beat-up non-original 1980s Gibson hardshell case with the trimmings of the Wilco Loft along the bottom edge. Inside the case is a certificate of authenticity from the Wilco Loft validating the provenance of this piece, along with a change of roundwound strings (it has flats on it for now, per our and Jeff's preference). Overall Very Good Condition.
This is a well worn but good playing example of a 1970 Gibson EB-3 "slot head" bass. By this time a number of features had changed from earlier '60s examples, but the bass kept same basic layout. The two humbucking pickups are controlled by a 4-way selector, giving a much wider range of tone than the much more common EB-0. The large "Mudbucker" is still mounted near the neck, with the small unit mounted near the bridge for contrasting treble emphasis. The output jack was moved to the rim and the new fully adjustable one-piece chrome bridge rests under the old-style '60s chrome cover.
One of the more obvious differences from 1960s models was the new short-lived slotted headstock with side-mounted Gibson/Schaller tuners, a quixotic change that only lasted a few years. The neck is much slimmer than earlier examples as well, touted in the 1970 catalog as "The ultra thin, fast, low action neck". The list price at the time was $390.
While it would fall out of favor later in the 1970s, this easy-to-play and very distinctive-sounding bass was used by a number of (mostly English) rock bassists in the 1960s and '70s, including Jack Bruce, Andy Fraser, Pete Quaife with the Kinks, Chris White with the Zombies, Rolling Stone Bill Wyman in the early '70s, Tom Evans of Badfinger, Glenn Cornick of Jethro Tull, Trevor Bolder with the Spiders from Mars, Jim Lea of Slade, and many others. The EB-3's distinctive growl is one of the most recognizable of all electric bass tones on record.
The most notable player of this specific EB-3 was here in the USA, the venerable Chicago bassist and occasional Chicago guitarist, Jeff Tweedy.
Overall length is 41 1/2 in. (105.4 cm.), 13 in. (33 cm.) wide at lower bout, and 1 1/4 in. (3.2 cm.) in depth, measured at side of rim. Scale length is 30 in. (762 mm.). Width of nut is 1 1/2 in. (38 mm.).
This bass has been played and gigged quite a bit over 55 years and shows a good amount of wear all over the body. The somewhat faded and darkened cherry finish is checked all over with only a few more notable areas of finish loss where a thumb may have rested above the neck pickup and a bit of belt rash on the back. This EB-3 did experience a classic Gibson headstock break which was sturdily sealed long ago, touched up around the area but not broadly oversprayed. That is extremely common with these thin-neck, slotted headstock models.
The electronics are original; the pots not partially obscured by solder date to 1970 when this bass was made. All hardware and trimmings are original on this bass: the tuners, the witch hat knobs, the pickguard, and even the jack plate.
The original bridge was restored back from a later adjustable bridge that did not function well for playability; we have included it in the case for posterity, but recommend leaving the current bridge in place for best results. It resides in a somewhat beat-up non-original 1980s Gibson hardshell case with the trimmings of the Wilco Loft along the bottom edge. Inside the case is a certificate of authenticity from the Wilco Loft validating the provenance of this piece, along with a change of roundwound strings (it has flats on it for now, per our and Jeff's preference). Overall Very Good Condition.