Peter Parcek, the dynamic blues guitarist whose latest album is Mississippi Suitcase.
Question: What music was shared with you as a child that shaped your original tastes?
Scott Moore and Elvis Presley onstage.
Guest Picker: Peter Parcek
A: My sister brought home early Elvis records on the Sun label with Scotty Moore on guitar. The concepts and guitar playing turned my head around. We were so excited we danced on the bed. In eighth grade, I listened to the radio out of Chicago and Memphis. The first LPs I purchased were The Best of Muddy Waters and Moanin’ in the Moonlight by Howlin’ Wolf. These albums made the hair on my body stand up. They provided the inspiration and impetus to play and changed my life (for the better).
Jazz giant George Benson’s third album, released in 1967.
Current Obsession: George Benson “The Cooker” on The George Benson Cookbook—it’s “bad” in the best sense, in phrasing, tone, and intensity. Then there’s Jimi Hendrix’s “Villanova Junction” on Live at Woodstock—he has a gorgeous tone and shows deep emotion. Other current obsessions include Django Reinhardt’s late-career electrified recordings from 1947 to 1953—gypsy jazz meets bebop.
Premier Guitar publisher Jon Levy, circa 1968.
Jon Levy, Premier Guitar publisher
A: The Beatles were the biggest influence, by far. My dad—a middle-aged Liverpool expatriate living in Chicago—took great pride in the band from his Merseyside hometown. He bought Revolver and Sgt. Pepper’s as soon as they were released, and those records enjoyed endless plays on our living room stereo.
Current Obsession: Acoustic gigs. They’re exhilarating and terrifying at the same time. I’ll grab my beloved Takamine and join friends onstage for impromptu sets with little provocation or preparation. It’s kind of addictive.
Managing editor Kate Koenig, during her Rick Wakeman years.
Kate Koenig, Premier Guitar managing editor
A: My greatest musical influence as a child was my dad. Memorable albums include Frank Zappa’s We’re Only in It for the Money, Jethro Tull’s Aqualung, the Beatles’ Help and A Hard Day’s Night, and the Who’s Live at Leeds. Rick Wakeman’s exceedingly hammy Journey to the Centre of the Earth was blasted on weekend mornings to get my brother and I out of bed.
Current Obsession: Most recently, I’ve been focused on the work of Julian Lage. I’ve been taking lessons with our associate editor Jason, who has so wisely and graciously introduced me to a wide range of methods and techniques, including Lage’s “Twelve Observations About the Guitar.” I’ve also been doing my darndest to learn his “Etude,” the opening track on Squint.
Emsy Robinson Jr.
Reader of the Month: Emsy Robinson
A: The earliest artist, from my collective memory, would be Linda Goss and her album, It’s Story Telling Time. This record is a beautiful, warm collection of stories and songs about African folklore. I also grew up listening to Tracy Chapman’s debut, the O’Jay’s Ship Ahoy album, and The Bodyguard soundtrack.
Current Obsession: Today, I am enamored with the U.K. guitarist Mansur Brown. His style is heavy in modern fusion, but mixed with elements of North African melodies, trap, and alternative rock. His playing absolutely floors me. I also love Mk. Gee, who plays guitar for Dijon. His sound is wild and experimental.
- Question and Obsession: Underrated 20th-Century Guitarists ›
- Question and Obsession: Upside-Down Frown ›
- Question of the Month: Onstage Bumbles ›
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
