Epiphone, the leading accessible guitar brand For Every Stage, has announced the new Epiphone Slash Collection will officially debut worldwide July 20, 2021 on www.epiphone.com. Crossing three decades of collaborative partnership between Gibson and Epiphone luthiers and the iconic guitarist Slash, the all-new Epiphone Slash Collection features multiple acoustic and electric guitars and follows his history-making Gibson Slash Collection released last year. In a first for the brand, every guitar in the new Epiphone Slash Collection, as well as the Gibson Slash Collection is an evergreen artist collection with fourteen guitars in production.
"I'm really proud to present this great line up of excellent quality, signature Epiphone guitars," says Slash. "They sound & look fantastic. It's all I could ask for." A part of the Epiphone Inspired by Gibson Collection, the all-new Epiphone Slash Collection celebrates the influential guitars Slash has used throughout his storied music career which continues to inspire multiple generations of players around the world. Perfect for every stage, players of all levels, and accessible, the full collection includes the Epiphone Slash Les Paul™ Standard finished in Appetite Burst, November Burst, Anaconda Burst and Vermillion Burst, the Slash "Victoria" Les Paul Standard Goldtop in Gold, and on the acoustic front, the Epiphone Slash J-45 in Vermillion Burst and November Burst. Exclusive to every guitar in the entire Epiphone Slash Collection are Slash's "Skully" signature drawing on the back of the headstock, Slash's signature on the truss rod cover, and a custom hardshell case with Slash's "Skully" logo included.
Slash Epiphone Collection
Each Epiphone Slash Collection Les Paul Standard features a mahogany body, maple cap with AAA flame maple veneer, a Graph Tech nut, Epiphone LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and Stop Bar tailpiece, and Slash's personal touches including a C-shape neck profile, Epiphone Custom ProBucker pickups, color coordinated hardware appointments, CTS potentiometers with Orange Drop capacitors and Epiphone Strap Locks. The Slash Epiphone Les Paul Standard is finished in in Appetite Burst, November Burst, Anaconda Burst and Vermillion Burst.
Each Epiphone Slash Collection J-45 acoustic guitar features all solid wood construction with solid mahogany back and sides, a solid Sitka spruce top with vintage-style (or 50's style) pickguard, Grover Rotomatic tuners, Graph Tech TUSQ nut and saddle, and Slash's personal touches including a C-shape neck profile, a flatter, more modern 16" fretboard radius, and an LR Baggs VTC preamp and under-saddle pickup for a natural acoustic sound when plugged in. the Epiphone Slash J-45 is finished in Vermillion Burst and November Burst.
Each Slash Victoria Les Paul Standard Goldtop guitar features a mahogany body with a maple cap, a Graph Tech nut, Epiphone LockTone Tune-O-Matic bridge and Stop Bar tailpiece, and Slash's personal touches including a C-shape neck profile, Epiphone Custom ProBucker pickups, color-coordinated hardware appointments, CTS potentiometers with Orange Drop capacitors and Epiphone Strap Locks.
"We are in a very exciting journey with Slash and today we are announcing the amplification of our collaboration with the launch of the Epiphone Slash Collection," says Cesar Gueikian, Brand President, Gibson Brands. "Our new Epiphone Slash Collection brings our collaboration with Slash to the next level, expanding the offering of the iconic Slash models to Epiphone with an accessible price point. Slash was intimately involved in every aspect of the development of his new Epiphone Collection, and we are all excited to see his fans around the world rock out with them!"
For more information:
Epiphone
- Epiphone Releases Limited-Edition Slash Signature Models ... ›
- Limited Slash Signature Series from Gibson and Epiphone - Premier ... ›
- New Slash Signature Epiphone Les Paul - Premier Guitar ›
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
