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 | Download Example 1 Fingerstyle - Pickup then Mic'ed |
| Download Example 2 Fingerpickin - Pickup then Mic'ed |
| Pickups recorded with the bass into an AxePort Pro into Garage Band, flat EQ. Mic'ed clips were recorded with the bass into a Studio Projects B-1 Condenser mic six inches from bass at the end of the fingerboard, pointed toward soundhole, into Blue Icicle into GarageBand. | |
The Breedlove BJ350/CR4 is a classy interpretation of the ABG, with a full 34" neck and a body that’s nearly 17" wide at the lower bout—that’s about an inch wider than my old dreadnought acoustic guitar, and about the same depth.
First Impressions
Latches! That’s the first thing I noticed when the BJ350/CR4 was delivered. It came in a really sturdy case with—count ‘em—six latches. The case bears a thick, sturdy leather handle and contrasting red stitching for an extra touch of class. Waiting inside this plush case was a real beauty of an ABG. What quickly caught my eye was the abalone soundhole rosette, purfling and position markers on the rosewood fretboard, bearing a special, bird-like design. In all, the abalone looked quite classy against the AAA Western red cedar solid top and complemented the ivoroid binding around the body and neck edges.
Pulling the bass out of its case yielded more visual treats. The formidable rosewood bridge was subtly stylish with some small carved points off its rear. The back and sides were made out of a brown-toned rosewood laminate with an even, straight grain. The speckled grain pattern on the back of the mahogany neck was gorgeous, too. The upper bout had a stylish, rounded cutaway on the G-string side.
Throughout, the fit and finish of this ABG was carefully done, with not single a glitch, even in critical spots like the inlays, the binding joints or the body side finish. It’s remarkable that they do it at the $1K street price. At least part of the Breedlove secret is to take design ideas from their custom shop basses, selling in the $3500 to $5000 range, and have the Atlas series instruments crafted in Korea to their specs. Once built, the final setup and quality checks are done back home in the company’s Bend, OR, shop. The setup of this bass was good, but I needed to tweak the two-way truss rod to add some relief and cut down on string rattle. That was easy to do through the sound hole with the included Allen wrench. Thoughtfully, the Allen wrench bag also contained a couple of thin shims and a second bridge saddle to allow some adjustment to string height without having to cut a new saddle from scratch.
The Electrifying Truth
Breedlove matches its quality instrument build with quality electronics by L.R. Baggs. The onboard preamp on this bass handily provides the essentials for stage survival. Because of its lively top, the BJ350/CR4 can easily feed back if it gets too close to the amp. With treble, midrange and bass EQ sliders right on the bass, though, you can avoid going back to the amp for tone tweaks.
For serious feedback control the first line of defense is phase reverse. Essentially, as the bass is played at different distances from the amp, its top “hears” a different part of the sound wave. At a certain distance, the top of the bass and the amp’s soundwave are in sync and the vibration of the top is reinforced by what it hears from the amp. A tell-tale sign of what’s going on is that the instrument sounds bassier as it gets in sync. Enter the Phase Reverse button. When you push this button, it flips the soundwave that’s sent to the amp by 180 degrees. Voila! The feedback settles down and you can get back to playing, although the instrument loses some of its bottom end at the same time.
Phase reversal is not foolproof, so there’s a notch filter as well. The notch filter sweeps through the instrument’s midrange frequencies as you turn the knob. Essentially, this is a midrange cut control that affects a very narrow piece of the sound spectrum. If the bass starts feeding back, you can turn the knob until you hit the offending frequency. Both the phase reverse and notch filter are especially helpful for an ABG, because most of the instrument’s sound is in the midrange region. Ideally, though, you’d prefer to use neither control for a bass, because either of them will take away a little beef from the sound.
The onboard preamp had one more handy feature: a built-in tuner activated by another pushbutton. More mature (older) players may find that the tuner’s readout is a bit small and ends up close to your face when playing on a strap. You’d better have those progressive lenses on, or it’ll be a little difficult to see the note name and the higher/lower arrows. If you have the eyes for it, it is a great addition.
Taking a Test Drive
My first efforts at playing the BJ350/CR4 were a bit difficult. I plugged the bass into my little GK combo, the one with the metal box that’s favored by so many upright bass players. WOOOOO! Instant feedback. Okay, I guess the lively top really does respond to amplification. I turned down the amp a little, turned down the onboard preamp a bunch, and gave it another try. Better; no feedback this time. I tested out the tone controls, which provided what I was looking for. Boost the mids and treble a little and it has that guitar-but-lower tone. Take the mids and trebles back down, bump up the bass slider, and you get more of a foundation to the sound.
Next, I pushed the volume up and tried the feedback killers. The phase reverse button worked just as expected—sometimes it cut feedback, sometimes it didn’t help too much. And it took off a bit of the bottom end, also as expected. But in the right setting, a phase reverse button can be very useful. The notch filter also worked its magic to ward off feedback. With this preamp, it’s a simple and easy control. Turn up the volume until feedback begins and then sweep the notch filter knob from one end to the other. I found that the notch setting generally kicked in at the middle of its sweep.
Once I was comfortable with the sound-shaping possibilities of the BJ350/CR4, it was time to head off to a band rehearsal. We were playing blues in a low-volume format, with harmonica run through a little Kalamazoo amp and electric guitar plugged into an old Champ. The BJ350/ CR4 was again plugged into the little metal GK combo (I didn’t think it could compete volume wise au naturel). We sang without a mic, so the volume level overall was pretty manageable. This group mostly plays restaurant gigs, a good use for the BJ350/CR4.
In this setting, I had no feedback problems, although a few notes resonated the top and got some extra sustain if I let it happen. I was asked to provide a foundation, so I eased back the treble and mid sliders and pushed the bass slider up. That gave a thump to the sound, with the attack enhanced by the top to produce something beyond just a bass boom. After playing awhile, though, I felt that the string response wasn’t quite even. The two outside strings (the E and G) were a little quieter than the inside strings and had less treble clarity than I’d like. Sometimes this results from greater pressure on the pickup element, because the saddle is higher for the middle strings. A poor saddle fit can also cause sound unevenness.
While I didn’t slide out the pickup to check the groove underneath for evenness, I did find that the saddle itself was fit quite tightly, which can impede string vibration pressure from reaching the pickup consistently. The Baggs installation manual recommends that the saddle be snug, but removable with the fingers. For this instrument, I actually needed padded pliers to remove the saddle. A small quibble related to this is that the pinless bridge design nearly prevented the coated bronze D’Addario strings from lifting up enough to remove the saddle without bending the strings back.
The Final Mojo
In all, this is a quality axe, although one that won’t fit the variety of recording and gig styles of a conventional electric bass. But it’s a beautiful instrument that’s finely crafted from topnotch materials and reflecting excellent design choices in the bracing, the inclusion of the JLD bridge truss (helps avoid top bow at the bridge), and the excellent Baggs electronics that provide the essentials in an easy-to-use layout.
If you’re looking for a big, aggressive bass sound, this BJ350/CR4 probably isn’t it. But that wasn’t what it was designed for. On the other hand, if you want to expand the sonic palette of your gear toward a more acoustic, string-on-fret kind of sound, the BJ350/CR4 might be just the ticket.
Buy if...
you're oriented toward an organic bass sound, play at low-to-moderate volumes, and like to occasionally jam on the back porch with a guitar-player friend or two.
Skip if...
you like your music loud and aggressive, played through a big amp and stack of speakers, or if your bass needs are for a conventional electric sound.
Rating...
MSRP $999 - Breedlove Guitar Company - breedloveguitars.com |
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
