Guild SF & Gibson EB2

[adorshki]

Those batwing pickguards and trim look much like John Cipollina's SG, don't they?

Was thinkin' the same thing. Both almost certainly inspired by Rick Griffin's now iconic font style seen on classic Fillmore posters like the Hendrix one featuring the flying eyeball (borrowed from his inspiration Von Dutch) and of course the cover of the first Quciksilver Messenger Service album. :wink:

 

[gilded]

I've also got a Gibson Melody Maker Bass - one of their budget models but the pickup is the same. Here's a track I did with it - it's going through a Z Vex Woolly Mammoth and Moog low-pass filter:

http://soundcloud.com/hieronymous-seven/terminous

Man, I just listened to all of your stuff. That was super-fun and super-cool!
You are definitely my hero, 'hiero'

I don't know what a Z Vex Woolly Mammoth is, or a Moog low-pass filter, but tell me more!!!

 

[hieronymous]

I don't know what a Z Vex Woolly Mammoth is, or a Moog low-pass filter, but tell me more!!!

Thanks! The Woolly Mammoth is a bass fuzz - one of its characteristics is a noise-gate at certain settings. On the surface, the Moog low-pass filter MoogerFooger is an envelope filter, but you can control it with control voltages (CV), so at the beginning I'm using another MoogerFooger (the CP-251 Control Processor) to randomly change the filter frequency with sample-and-hold, then since I'm playing the bass pedals with my foot I use a smoothed out sample-and-hold to change the frequency randomly.

I'm doing something similar on King Cat Jam, except instead of working the filter randomly it's just a low frequency oscillator (LFO) sweeping it up and down. Plus it's an Alembic bass on that track - another classic short-scale!

 

[idealassets]

NGD Yesterday: I settled on aquiring a 1968 Gibson EB2 locally yesterday, after discovering that it was priced right, and the seller brought it over to me to check out and play it. Its a near mint, all original cherry red finish. All the metal parts looked so nice that I thought they had been replaced, but no they are all original.

This bass will get me going until I find the right Starfire. Thanks to prior posts (Frono) I have Jack Casady & Rick Danko's bass tutorial CD's on the way. These certainly can't hurt.

I believe it will work well for the semi-acoustic playing that is often done in this area. This is my first bass, and immediately I like the percussive feel coming off it.

Oh, yes can I get anyone's advice on where to buy a replcement plush case for the EB2. (My Guild Starfire III case has too much depth).

-Craig

 

[gilded]

I don't know what a Z Vex Woolly Mammoth is, or a Moog low-pass filter, but tell me more!!!

Thanks! The Woolly Mammoth is a bass fuzz - one of its characteristics is a noise-gate at certain settings. On the surface, the Moog low-pass filter MoogerFooger is an envelope filter, but you can control it with control voltages (CV), so at the beginning I'm using another MoogerFooger (the CP-251 Control Processor) to randomly change the filter frequency with sample-and-hold, then since I'm playing the bass pedals with my foot I use a smoothed out sample-and-hold to change the frequency randomly.

I'm doing something similar on King Cat Jam, except instead of working the filter randomly it's just a low frequency oscillator (LFO) sweeping it up and down. Plus it's an Alembic bass on that track - another classic short-scale!

'hiero', why don't you do a little Youtube thang' with your mammoth and your foogers and maybe I could get a better grasp on your grand design. Thanks again for the cool music.

Craig, an Epi Jack Casady bass case will fit a starfire, but I can't remember if it will fit an EB2. You might try a Gibson 335-12 case, too. I'll throw my Starfire in a 335-12 case and let you know how it fits.

Now that I think about it, when you say plush-lined case are you talking super fancy or just a hardshell case with some kind of padded lining?

Harry

 

[idealassets]

You might try a Gibson 335-12 case

Harry,
Your 335-12 idea sounds like a good one! I figured out how to contact Gibson tech support moments ago to verify the serial number and inquire about cases for it. The case it came with is original, but its very beat up, while the guitar is in great condition. We'll see if Gibson has a lead on it...

Thus far I know that a Starfire 6 string guitar case is too deep for the EB2, after trying it out in my 97' Starfire case. I can see that the EB2 case is made more shallow than the Guild. The profile of the gibson bout is flatter compared to the nicely contoured, and deeper Guild.

After returning from vacation I will begin practicing bass in earnest. Its noteworthy that locally there are a lot of postings in music stores, etc for "bass player wanted". This looks good.

At our Michigan State Folk Music Fest held last week (my 1st time ever) there were a lot of guitar, mandolin, & dulcimer players present, but few bass and dobro... So I decided to go for bass, considering it is more universal of an instrument.

Craig

 

[gilded]

You might try a Gibson 335-12 case

Harry,
Your 335-12 idea sounds like a good one! I figured out how to contact Gibson tech support moments ago to verify the serial number and inquire about cases for it. The case it came with is original, but its very beat up, while the guitar is in great condition. We'll see if Gibson has a lead on it...

Thus far I know that a Starfire 6 string guitar case is too deep for the EB2, after trying it out in my 97' Starfire case. I can see that the EB2 case is made more shallow than the Guild. The profile of the gibson bout is flatter compared to the nicely contoured, and deeper Guild.

After returning from vacation I will begin practicing bass in earnest. Its noteworthy that locally there are a lot of postings in music stores, etc for "bass player wanted". This looks good.

At our Michigan State Folk Music Fest held last week (my 1st time ever) there were a lot of guitar, mandolin, & dulcimer players present, but few bass and dobro... So I decided to go for bass, considering it is more universal of an instrument.

Craig

Hey Craig, I rent some rehearsal space from a guy with a '60's 335-12. He usually keeps it at the building, but as of right now, it's at his house. He said he'll try and bring it next week. If he does, I'll try and measure it!!! Until then, keep plugging away on the bass.

On your Starfire case depth issue: you have a Starfire 3 and that isn't the same body as the SF I/II basses. The basses use the identical body to the SF 4 or 5 models (FWIW, your SF III case would also be too deep for a SF 4 or 5 guitar).

Anyhoo, I just grabbed my '60's 335-6 case and placed both of my SF basses ('66 SFI and '99 Dearmond) inside. While the bass bodies fit just fine, the necks were too long. The tuners (both sets) were too wide for the case, as well. Also, my 335 fit in my '90's Guild SF bass case (the only case I currently have that fits both of my SF basses) easily.

Finally, the 335-12 case owner just stopped by the building and looked at my SF bass case. He doesn't think his case will be long enough for a SF Bass, but for the sake of thoroughness, we will try to measure that case as well.

Later,
HH