I hope you can help me with this guitar I bought. I am more
interested in the history of the guitar than the value, but I
wouldn’t mind knowing how rare a guitar like this is. Here
is what I know: this is a Japanese Les Paul-style guitar that
has had some of the hardware replaced including the brass
nut, gold Schaller tuners, and brass bridge and tailpiece.
Also, I’m not sure what to make of all the brass hardware,
but I think I want to replace it.
Michael in Hilo, HI
Hi Michael,
It seems like every new day turns up a new copy of a Les Paul, and the Navigator brand is no different. How in the world did they get away with using “Les Paul” on the headstock? In today’s world, the lawyers would have been hounding the guitar copier before the nitrocellulose was dry on the headstock.
Navigator is a trademark that ESP (Electric Sound Products) owns and uses on a line of guitars. ESP started out as a parts company that sold guitar component and replacement parts. Although the ESP Guitar Company wasn’t formed to produce guitars until 1985, several guitars were built from parts that bear the ESP trademark. Navigator guitars first appeared in the early 1980s, and the earliest catalog I could find that included them was from 1981. It appears that ESP used Navigator for actual production instruments before ESP guitars were put into standard production. Currently, ESP still offers guitars under the Navigator trademark, but unlike ESP, LTD, or XTone, they are not offered in the U.S.
From the pictures, it is obvious that this is a rip-off of a 1958-1960 Gibson Les Paul Standard “Burst.” Unlike the Standard’s two-piece flamed maple top, the Navigator has a two-piece mahogany top that is much less figured. Part of what makes the original Les Paul Standard so valued is the highly flamed maple top. Other than the gold hardware that adorns the guitar, this instrument is very similar to an original Standard – especially the “Les Paul” logo on the headstock. These guitars were numbered LP-100, LP-150, LP-200, LP-250, LP-300, etc. and were named for how much they cost in Japanese Yen (LP-100 cost 100,000 yen originally, LP-250 cost 250,000 yen originally). From what I’ve read, many players are impressed by the quality of these guitars and how well they play.
You are right to be suspicious about the brass hardware. Although, I have no information about what the original hardware was, these pieces should probably be changed. Brass hardware was used in the 1970s and 1980s, when many manufacturers thought it sent sustain through the roof. However, it usually just added to the weight of the guitar and gave the poor guitarists that had to sling this beast more back problems.
The good news is that technology has come a long way since then, and there are several options on the market that will increase sustain and actually lessen the weight of the guitar. In fact, in the July 2007 issue of Premier Guitar, my fellow co-writer, Dean Farley, touched on this subject, recommending Graph Tech’s ivory saddles and nuts, but there are several options available as well. Find out what kind of sound you are looking for and go from there.
Every catalog and/or price list I’ve seen list prices in Yen, so I doubt that these guitars were ever distributed into the U.S. market. With Hawaii’s proximity to Japan, the Navigator probably made its way to the island straight from Japan. However, there seems to be a niche market for these guitars as some have actually sold for more than $2,000! I have a tough time valuing any copy guitar from this era (including Ibanez) for more than $1,000, but the value is always based on what the market will bear (several Tokai Les Paul copies have sold on eBay for around $2,000). Until the “copy era” is completely revealed, it’s tough to say where any of these guitars will go in value. However, as the original models from the 1970s keep getting more expensive, it is only a matter of time until these climb in value as well. If you are simply looking for a nice playing guitar, the Navigator seems to be a treasure!
Zachary R. Fjestad
Zachary R. Fjestad is the author of the Blue Book of Acoustic Guitars, Blue Book of Electric Guitars, and the Blue Book of Guitar Amplifiers.
Guitar Trash or Treasure Questions can be submitted to:
Blue Book Publications
Attn: Guitar Trash or Treasure
8009 34th Ave. S. Ste #175
Minneapolis, MN 55425
800-877-4867
www.bluebookinc.com
guitars@bluebookinc.com
Please include pictures of your guitars.
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.
Billy Gibbons is an undisputable guitar force whose feel, tone, and all-around vibe make him the highest level of hero. But that’s not to say he hasn’t made some odd choices in his career, like when ZZ Top re-recorded parts of their classic albums for CD release. And fans will argue which era of the band’s career is best. Some of us love drum machines and synths and others don’t, but we all love Billy.
This episode is sponsored by Magnatone
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
