Einstürzende Neubauten guitarist Jochen Arbeit joins us in dreaming up one question to ask one musician. Plus, musical obsessions!
Q: If you could ask one question to any musician, who would it be and what would you ask them?
Jochen Arbeit
A: As this is an imaginary question, I think it’s okay to ask a dead person, not expecting an answer. I once saw a documentary about Leonard Cohen. In this, they showed bits from a tour in the ’70s, probably in the U.S. He explained that the whole band or most of it were on LSD the whole tour. I found this quite astonishing because my one experience with the substance onstage was rather disturbing and not very satisfactory while playing. The coordination of my hands was very difficult for me then.
So, I would ask him: How did you do the playing in all the shows? How did you get your songs done? Why did you do it at all? And did you do it again later? I know these were different and crazy times but still I wonder about this.
Jochen Arbeit's Current Obsession:
My musical obsession since last winter is an instrument I built here at my home. In the pandemic I had to get rid of my then roommate because it just didn’t feel safe anymore at home with another person. I then had a spare metal-bed frame, and I came up with the idea of putting piano and cembalo strings on the frame to use it as an instrument. For this I got a device from the instrument maker Yuri Landman, with which I could then let the strings run over a pickup to put it straight into an amplifier.
The result was amazing, and on top of it, I could use the bed frame as a percussion instrument also, to be played by two players. So far, I have six different strings on it, different strength of wires and tunings, and I will soon add two more strings. This is an ongoing project which will keep me busy over the next winter and I’ll use the recordings for my next album. The instrument is called “Das Bett,” or, the bed.
Patrick Carroll — Reader of the Month
A: I’d ask Chris Martin if he ever thinks about pitch or technique. Or maybe how he learned to trust what he has.
Patrick Carroll's Current Obsession:
Music remains what makes me feel the most alive. I’ve gone through over 20 different jobs in the last 10 years, lost people I’ve loved, said goodbye to others who moved to different cities or started families. And despite all that, music is the one solace that never let me down. It always manages to put things in perspective and remind me that I’m breathing. We’re all breathing. The artists and bands that move me tend to be the ones that make something sturdy and true. Honest and vulnerable. And each time they write, record, or play something new, it’s a chance to be in the present with something exciting that reminds me I’m not alone. You could argue that music is just organized sound. I would say it’s the sound of emotion.
Low - Words (Official Video)
RIP Mimi Parker. If you haven’t already, please check out Low from Duluth, Minnesota, where I live. They stopped me in my tracks. I hope they do the same for you.
Ted Drozdowski — Editorial Director
A: I’d ask David Gilmour what inspired his chord sequence and soloing for “Comfortably Numb,” and why did he keep it off his debut solo album, since he demo’d it for 1978’s David Gilmour.
David Gilmour - Comfortably Numb (Live At Pompeii)
It’s hard to imagine sitting on that astonishing tune for more than a year.
Ted Drozdowski's Current Obsession:
Matt Rogers’ book Goodnight Boogie: A Tale of Guns, Wolves & the Blues of Hound Dog Taylor, ’cause I dig the Dog! Plus, prepping my mini-pedalboard for some small-room-but-awesome gigs on the docket.
Tessa Jeffers — Managing Editor
A: I would love to ask Patti Smith so many things. If I only got one moment with her, I guess it’d be: What is your idea of happiness?
Tessa Jeffers' Current Obsession:
I’m completely captivated by the Belgian musician Stromae. His music is new to me—he just returned to making albums after a nine-year break. I’m incredibly happy he did, because his art is deep, beyond songs.
Stromae - L’enfer (Official Music Video)
Current obsession: He’s a consummate storyteller who reminds me of Bowie in some ways, not in sound but in sharing emotions fearlessly. The genuine article.
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
