Thanks to his love for Tom Verlaine and Television, Carlos Arévalo has been hunting for an early- to mid-’60s Jaguar for some time when he ran across an online listing from actor Scott Whyte (City Guys, That '70s Show, and Full House) advertising the above 1965 Fender Jaguar. They met in person, the price was right, and (to Carlos’ desires) the neck lacquer was gone. For Chicano Batman's new LP Invisible People, he used this Jag to lay it down on “I know It,” “Invisible People,” and “Pink Elephant”. All of his guitars take Ernie Ball Regular Slinkys (.010–.046).
Cruising Chicago Music Exchange’s website he caught a glimpse of this slab board 1962 Fender Jaguar. While the slab designation makes it a highly rare instrument (supposedly only two months of production in ’62 for Jags), it’s a refin so he made a call, asked how worn the neck was (real slick), and handed over his credit card information. Carlos says this Jag is a bit warmer, whereas the ’65 sunburst is brighter.
Carlos took notice of Ernie Ball Music Man’s guitar game after seeing his contemporaries Omar Rodríguez-López and Annie Clark (St. Vincent) secure signature deals. Further exploring his interest in the new guitars was the band’s aim to make a modern-sounding record with 2020’s Invisible People, so Carlos thought it’d make sense to play some modern instruments.
While it shares the same scale length, includes a vibrato, and has a remarkably smooth neck (with added gunstock oil and wax finish) like his vintage Jags, the StingRay has a different bite because of its buckers. Carlos does comment that they sound underwound and can easily mimic a single-coil’s skanky rhythms and crispy chords.
Looking for something a little visually striking, Carlos was drawn in by the hard-angle offset silhouette of the Ernie Ball Music Man Albert Lee HH. Before taking one home from the EBMM showroom, he had two requests—a gold sparkle finish and a vibrato. They delivered and he left one guitar richer. These EBMM humbuckers are the hottest set he’s ever played through so he often finds himself in the second or fourth position for a more dulcet domain.
The band was primed to tour behind Invisible People this spring and his onstage artillery was going to be some handwired AC30s. Considering he doesn’t want to drive his family insane, he’s been rocking and rolling through this AC10 for online performances (like their recent jam for NPR’s Tiny Desk) and Instagram live sessions.
Here’s a rare bird—a transition period 1964 Fender Princeton. The circuitry is late brownface-era (using 7025/12AX& dual triode preamp tubes and 6V6GT power tubes) with a chewy tremolo that’s cloaked in a black-panel cab and chassis.
This black-panel combo is an all-original, non-reverb 1965 Princeton. Carlos says this one is a bit cleaner and has a scooped Deluxe Reverb sound from the mid ’60s. He really enjoys recording with both these low-watt Princetons revealing their sweet spot is between 4 and 5 on the volume.
While visiting family in Virginia, he was jonesing to play so he ventured out to the nearby Guitar Center to pluck some strings. After finding a worthy 6-string, he plugged into this ’90s Tone King Imperial MKI. He couldn’t leave without it so he signed on the dotted line and crossed his fingers until it showed up in California. of its “great highs, full mids, overall warmth, and great lows.”
After opening for the Arcs (side band for Dan Auerbach of the Black Keys) in Austin and hearing Dan’s huge fuzz tone, Carlos approached his tech, Dan Johnson, and found out the culprit was an EarthQuaker Devices Terminal. He bought one the next day. Adding some more fuzz flavors, he put in an Electro-Harmonix Ram’s Head Big Muff. A MXR Sub Machine Fuzz provides growling sub octave (down one or two) and the octave-up fuzz (MXR’s La Machine Fuzz circuit) is yet another shade of scuzz. Next up are a dynamic duo of digital delights by Boss—DD-200 (Digital Delay) and a MD-200 (Modulation). Up top he has a Catalinbread Topanga, Stacks FX Lil Masher, Ibanez Analog Delay Mini, and an Analog Man King of Tone. A Boss TU-2 Chromatic Tuner keeps everything in check, while a Voodoo Lab Pedal Power MONDO brings the pedals to life.
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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.