Diagnosis PRS Serial Number: 2 64682; “Custom Built For Neil Schon, Paul Reed Smith” written in gold ink on the back of the headstock.
With the headstock snapped clean off, I knew immediately that we weren’t going to be doing one of our standard headstock reglue procedures. It had a Floyd Rose locking nut with two holes drilled through the neck for the reinforcing chassis bolts to pass through. One would think that two holes going through the mahogany neck would make it vulnerable there, but this break was after the holes on the headstock side. In addition, a part of the restoration was going to be installing much lighter tuning machines. These nice, A-grade Schallers were very heavy for the size of the headstock—perhaps a contributing factor in the break.It was very important to maintain the integrity of this PRS guitar. We needed to complete these repairs without removing Mr. Smith’s gold-colored writing on the back, and we needed to keep the mahogany neck looking natural, with the least amount of scarring. Grafting in reinforcement cheeks (removing a small amount of material from either side of the headstock joint and replacing it with small sections of mahogany carved to fit perfectly) was going to be too intrusive, and I certainly didn’t want to spray a blotch of solid color “cover up” to hide what was underneath. It was critical to keep the details of this area looking original, which would require “feathering in” the much-needed repair for this instrument to resonate with its glorious sweet tone once again.
Procedure The first and most important challenge was going to be attaching the headstock back to the neck and securing its original strength. I considered some form of dowel pinning. The material size and substance was going to be key in pulling off this restoration. After testing density, strength, and tonal characteristics of different materials, I decided to use 1/4”-diameter carbon fiber rod.
For this procedure I cut two 1” sections, making carbon fiber pins with all ends slightly beveled for easy installation. They were inserted into the predrilled 1/4” holes on the neck side. The body was mounted vertically to the drill press and jigged up using Stewart MacDonalds Cam Clamps (item numbers 3721 and 3723). Everything needed to be measured and center-punched before using brad point drill bits to drill the holes for the reinforcement pins around the truss rod and the Floyd Rose nut mounting holes.
I used a lower grade vise for clamping in the headstock and drilling out the two 1/4” pinholes. This was very important, as I needed to address the ten-degree pitched headstock. For you repairers and luthiers looking for a new and improved shop vise, StewMac’s Angle Vise (item number 1820) offers a nice solution for this kind of work, with 4”x1-1/2” jaws opening to 4” and tilting from -10 to 120 degrees.Ready, Set, Go! Once everything was dry assembled, making sure everything fit well together and according to plan, we were ready to mix our medium cure two-part epoxy glue. (Please don’t try this at home with an expensive collectable guitar!) The medium cure epoxy was chosen not only for adhesion, but for gap filler. Once the epoxy was mixed, I lightly applied the glue to both sections of wood and around the carbon fiber pins. One of my concerns was the glue oozing into the truss rod and not positioning itself as a gap filler once clamped up, so I monitored the glue by the touch of my hands, feeling for the increased warmth on the underside of the glue cup and by stirring and feeling for the increase in viscosity. The difference in temperature and moisture can really increase or decrease the time that the epoxy starts to kick, so I needed to be ready to put the sections together at exactly the right time or the repercussions would be disastrous.
The glue was beginning to kick, warming up with a slight thickening. The headstock was inserted into the neck and neck pins with a vertically adjusted 50” grip clamp holding everything tightly into place. The picture of the glued-on headstock shows you the appearance of the crack before drop filling with finish touchup. It’s looking great at this point, so the finish touchup is only going to make the repair less visible. Sean at PRS confirmed that the finish was an undercoat of polyester followed with an acrylic urethane topcoat. We’ll apply the same formulation to address the finish separation.
John Brown
John Brown, of Brown's Guitar Factory, is the inventor of the Fretted/Less bass. He owns and operates a full guitar manufacturing and repair/restoration facility, which is staffed by a team of talented luthiers. He is also the designer of guitar making/repair tools and accessories that are used today by instrument builders throughout the world. brownsguitarfactory.com info@brownsguitarfactory.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
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.