From the country known more for tulips and windmills than 6 strings, Egmond deserves some recognition for the company’s significant contribution to the guitar universe. Their electrics from the 1960s provided myriad European guitar players with a solid and affordable gateway to rock ’n’ roll.
The story of Egmond follows an arc similar to many instrument manufacturers, in that the company first started out as a music store. Uilke Egmond seemed to have a good thing going selling imported instruments at Musica, in Valkenswaard, Netherlands. After WWII came to a close, however, his three sons joined the family business and began in-house instrument production. Soon manufacturing numbers grew, and after several factory upgrades and moves, Egmond became one of the largest guitar companies in all of Europe. George Harrison and Brian May both started on Egmond acoustics. And the company’s electrics found their way into the hands of plenty of well-known guitar and bass players. Even Sir Paul McCartney.
By the mid ’60s, Egmond’s electric guitars were flooding the European market, but just sort of trickling into the American scene. It’s a shame for those of us in the U.S., because the guitars featured some interesting flair and details, such as pearloid overlays, textured vinyl coverings, and heavily nickel-plated metal parts. They were built rather well and seem to survive the years better than most counterparts.
The Sorkin Music Company in New York City was importing the full line of Egmond guitars by 1965. Looking at the catalog from that year is a true blast from the past. Like other manufacturers of the era, Egmond guitars sported some cool model names, such as Typhoon, Tempest, and Thunder (Photo 1).
Photo 2
The triple-pickup EG 3 Thunder—our star this month—housed “Powertone” pickups (Photo 2), which were pretty much standard fare for the Egmond lineup. Powertone was an apt title because they are hot little numbers that measure in the 8k range. I have to tell you they are the most microphonic pickups I have ever experienced. And when I say microphonic, I mean you can literally talk into the pickups and hear your voice loud and clear through an amp. I’m always attracted to guitars and pickups that fight with me, but these were definitely tough ones to wrangle!
The guitar has a 7-way selector switch that has some interesting preset tone combinations, but for the most part, they pretty much suck the tone out of the guitar. Right below it is a trio of on/off slider switches for the pickups. The EG 3’s “Vibratone” tremolo is a great unit and works as well as a Jazzmaster’s, but the bridge on the model floats on the pickguard and is only held down with string tension. Kind of an odd combination, but, hey, you can make it fly.
Photo 3
Our featured Thunder—aka the “Airline 3” model, in some markets—has what was called a “shaded” finish, specifically “glossy golden shaded darkbrown.” I really like the finish on this model because it wears beautifully with steady play. And the bodies also breathe much better than their vinyl-covered counterparts. I often find myself wishing that today’s builders regularly used a simpler finish technique like this, rather than the candy-coat poly finishes we see so often.
As the ’60s wore on, the Egmond lineup remained relatively unchanged outside of some different finish options, although I did notice that their retail prices went down. For instance, a vinyl-covered Egmond 3V had been retailing for $135 in the ’60s, but by 1970, the very same model sold for $85.
Overall, these fun, mid-’60s electrics can still be had at a relatively affordable price and give players some interesting options when it comes to tone. Heck, you could buy one just to use the pickups as some sort of cool, lo-fi microphone!
See and listen to this 1968 Egmond EG 3 Thunder (aka Airstream 3) demoed by Mike Dugan. Be sure to hang in for the “Truckin’ ” play along.
Gibson originally launched the EB-6 model with the intention of serving consumers looking for a “tic-tac” bass sound.
The Gibson EB-6 was announced in 1959 and came into the world in 1960, not with a dual-horn body but with that of an elegant ES-335. They looked stately, with a thin, semi-hollow body, f-holes, and a sunburst finish. Our pick for this Vintage Vault column is one such first-year model, in about as original condition as you’re able to find today. “Why?” you may be asking. Well, read on....
When the EB-6 was introduced, the Bass VI was still a glimmer in Leo Fender’s eye. The real competition were the Danelectro 6-string basses that seemed to have popped up out of nowhere and were suddenly being used on lots of hit records by the likes of Elvis, Patsy Cline, and other household names. Danos like the UB-2 (introduced in ’56), the Longhorn 4623 (’58), and the Shorthorn 3612 (’58) were the earliest attempts any company made at a 6-string bass in this style: not quite a standard electric bass, not quite a guitar, nor, for that matter, quite like a baritone guitar.
The only change this vintage EB-6 features is a replacement set of Kluson tuners.
Photo by Ken Lapworth
Gibson, Fender, and others during this era would in fact call these basses “baritone guitars,” to add to our confusion today. But these vintage “baritones” were all tuned one octave below a standard guitar, with scale lengths around 30", while most modern baritones are tuned B-to-B or A-to-A and have scale lengths between 26" and 30".)
At the time, those Danelectros were instrumental to what was called the “tic-tac” bass sound of Nashville records produced by Chet Atkins, or the “click-bass” tones made out west by producer Lee Hazlewood. Gibson wanted something for this market, and the EB-6 was born.
“When the EB-6 was introduced, the Bass VI was still a glimmer in Leo Fender’s eye.”
The 30.5" scale 1960 EB-6 has a single humbucking pickup, a volume knob, a tone knob, and a small, push-button “Tone Selector Switch” that engages a treble circuit for an instant tic-tac sound. (Without engaging that switch, you get a bass-heavy tone so deep that cowboy chords will sound like a muddy mess.)
The EB-6, for better or for worse, did not unseat the Danelectros, and a November 1959 price list from Gibson hints at why: The EB-6 retailed for $340, compared to Dano price tags that ranged from $85 to $150. Only a few dozen EB-6 basses were shipped in 1960, and only 67 total are known to have been built before Gibson changed the shape to the SG style in 1962.
Most players who come across an EB-6 today think it was a response to the Fender Bass VI, but the former actually beat the latter to the market by a full year.
Photo by Ken Lapworth
It’s sad that so few were built. Sure, it was a high-end model made to achieve the novelty tic-tac sound of cheaper instruments, but in its full-voiced glory, the EB-6 has a huge potential of tones. It would sound great in our contemporary guitar era where more players are exploring baritone ranges, and where so many people got back into the Bass VI after seeing the Beatles play one in the 2021 documentary, Get Back.
It’s sadder, still, how many original-era EB-6s have been parted out in the decades since. Remember earlier when I wrote that our Vintage Vaultpick was about as original as you could find? That’s because the model’s single humbucker is a PAF, its Kluson tuners are double-line, and its knobs are identical to those on Les Paul ’Bursts. So as people repaired broken ’Bursts, converted other LPs to ’Bursts, or otherwise sought to give other Gibsons a “Golden Era” sound and look ... they often stripped these forgotten EB-6 basses for parts.
This original EB-6 is up for sale now from Reverb seller Emerald City Guitars for a $16,950 asking price at the time of writing. The only thing that isn’t original about it is a replacement set of Kluson tuners, not because its originals were stolen but just to help preserve them. (They will be included in the case.)
With so few surviving 335-style EB-6 basses, Reverb doesn’t have a ton of sales data to compare prices to. Ten years ago, a lucky buyer found a nearly original 1960 EB-6 for about $7,000. But Emerald City’s $16,950 asking price is closer to more recent examples and asking prices.
Sources: Prices on Gibson Instruments, November 1, 1959, Tony Bacon’s “Danelectro’s UB-2 and the Early Days of 6-String Basses” Reverb News article, Gruhn’s Guide to Vintage Guitars, Tom Wheeler’s American Guitars: An Illustrated History, Reverb listings and Price Guide sales data.
Originally released in the 1980s, the Victory has long been a cult favorite among guitarists for its distinctive double cutaway design and excellent upper-fret access. These new models feature flexible electronics, enhanced body contours, improved weight and balance, and an Explorer headstock shape.
A Cult Classic Made Modern
The new Victory features refined body contours, improved weight and balance, and an updated headstock shape based on the popular Gibson Explorer.
Effortless Playing
With a fast-playing SlimTaper neck profile and ebony fretboard with a compound radius, the Victory delivers low action without fret buzz everywhere on the fretboard.
Flexible Electronics
The two 80s Tribute humbucker pickups are wired to push/pull master volume and tone controls for coil splitting and inner/outer coil selection when the coils are split.
For more information, please visit gibson.com.
Gibson Victory Figured Top Electric Guitar - Iguana Burst
Released in 1983, the Roland SDE-3000 rackmount delay was a staple for pro players of the era and remains revered for its rich analog/digital hybrid sound and distinctive modulation. BOSS reimagined this retro classic in 2023 with the acclaimed SDE-3000D and SDE-3000EVH, two wide-format pedals with stereo sound, advanced features, and expanded connectivity. The SDE-3 brings the authentic SDE-3000 vibe to a streamlined BOSS compact, enhanced with innovative creative tools for every musical style. The SDE-3 delivers evocative delay sounds that drip with warmth and musicality. The efficient panel provides the primary controls of its vintage benchmark—including delay time, feedback, and independent rate and depth knobs for the modulation—plus additional knobs for expanded sonic potential.
A wide range of tones are available, from basic mono delays and ’80s-style mod/delay combos to moody textures for ambient, chill, and lo-fi music. Along with reproducing the SDE-3000's original mono sound, the SDE-3 includes a powerful Offset knob to create interesting tones with two simultaneous delays. With one simple control, the user can instantly add a second delay to the primary delay. This provides a wealth of mono and stereo colors not available with other delay pedals, including unique doubled sounds and timed dual delays with tap tempo control. The versatile SDE-3 provides output configurations to suit any stage or studio scenario.
Two stereo modes include discrete left/right delays and a panning option for ultra-wide sounds that move across the stereo field. Dry and effect-only signals can be sent to two amps for wet/dry setups, and the direct sound can be muted for studio mixing and parallel effect rigs. The SDE-3 offers numerous control options to enhance live and studio performances. Tap tempo mode is available with a press and hold of the pedal switch, while the TRS MIDI input can be used to sync the delay time with clock signals from DAWs, pedals, and drum machines. Optional external footswitches provide on-demand access to tap tempo and a hold function for on-the-fly looping. Alternately, an expression pedal can be used to control the Level, Feedback, and Time knobs for delay mix adjustment, wild pitch effects, and dramatic self-oscillation.
The new BOSS SDE-3 Dual Delay Pedal will be available for purchase at authorized U.S. BOSS retailers in October for $219.99. To learn more, visit www.boss.info.