One Christmas morning, when I was probably 9 or 10, Santa brought me a nice stereo turntable outfit. I'll never forget walking toward the thing and seeing that there were four Doc Watson records leaning up against it—Southbound, Doc and Merle Watson's Guitar Album, Riding the Midnight Train, and Red Rocking Chair. I was as excited about those records as I was about anything else under the tree. I had started playing guitar a couple of years earlier, and outside of my dad, Doc was my first guitar hero (Tony Rice, Dan Crary, and others would come later).
A young Sutton meets his hero.
I was blessed to grow up in western North Carolina, an extremely musical part of the world. I knew that Doc Watson was from near Boone, up around Deep Gap, which I knew was relatively near where I lived. I was already enamored with Doc by then, so I had a certain pride knowing that he and I were from the same part of the world.
I got to see Doc live for the first time around 1984. He, along with Merle and T. Michael Coleman performed at a show in Maggie Valley, North Carolina. I was sitting just off stage right, about 30 feet from Doc, and it was my first experience of being totally starstruck. The experience was too awesome for words. I got to see him a few more times at the wonderful Fiddler's Grove festival, in Union Grove, North Carolina, by that point Jack Lawrence had been added to the line-up, and I got to meet Doc at one of these festivals. I used to record the shows on a little handheld tape recorder then go back to my campsite and learn everything. I remember working out many of Doc's phrases after these shows. I was never more inspired to learn and play than after these magical sets.
I've always thought Doc had a great speaking voice—I absolutely love to hear him talk. Ernest Tubb used to remind his audience, “If you'll be a good neighbor, you'll have good neighbors.” Doc's shows were kind of like ET's. After all the great picking, singing, storytelling, and plain chatter, I just felt better about the world. Doc brought his living room and front porch to every stage he played. He was much bigger than just an innovative guitarist; he embodied a certain character that represented everything I wanted to be. He was a real person, but a kind of mythological character at the same time. You got life lessons listening to Doc Watson play and talk.
My career kind of "took off" around 1995 after joining Ricky Skaggs’ Kentucky Thunder band, and the release of the album, Bluegrass Rules. It was quite a time to say the least. I'm a sentimental guy and don't take a lot of things for granted. The first time we played MerleFest, I was tearing up most of the set. I was on this stage I had seen many times from out front, my parents were out there, and Doc and Rosa Lee were on the side of the stage. It was too much.
I got to sort of know Doc through the late ’90s and early 2000s. There were various festival jams where he and I were on the stage together. I would sometimes go say hello when he was hanging out in his dressing room back stage at MerleFest. I never spent a huge amount of time with him, but I felt there was a connection. One of my most precious memories was at Merlefest where Jim Rouse, Doc's guide around the festival, took me aside and said that Doc and Rosa Lee really enjoyed a certain Randy Travis record where I had played some clawhammer banjo. Of all things in the world, she said my playing reminded her of Merle's. Rosa Lee wanted to try to arrange some time over the weekend to hear me play. That was also too much! It turns out I had a Friday night cabin set (The "tweener" set just off the main stage where performances occur while the big stage is being set up). I thought I would try to make this happen for Rosa Lee during that set. I asked Doc to sing and play and I would play the banjo. He agreed and it was a lovely experience. We played the old gospel standard, “The Unclouded Day.” A funny thing was, the cabin stage sits at an odd angle to anyone sitting on the Rosa Lee's side of the main stage, so we had to literally hang off the front of the cabin porch for her to be able to see the music.
A difficult thing for me as a "pro picker" is getting over that starstruck feeling I've always had around my heroes. It's a surreal kind of blessing to be able to call the folks I admire so much “friends.” It's still hard to be around most of the people I perform with and not remember all the times I listened, watched, admired, and studied them as a kid. I cherish every moment I ever spent with Doc. He and I won a prize for the recording of “Whiskey Before Breakfast" we did for my duets album. The best memory I have of that process was getting Doc from his hotel room, walking to and riding the elevator, and then walking to the room I had turned into a recording studio. It was just he and I, gabbing about various things, telling jokes, talking gear, etc. It was a great moment being one on one with a masterful guy.
Doc is not with us anymore in the physical sense. But his music and my memories are as strong as they ever were—maybe even stronger. When things in this world are considered past and gone, that usually means they're replaceable. Doc Watson can't be replaced so he'll never really be gone. He will always maintain a presence and just as strong an influence for me as ever. His footprint is too big in the world of music. He's secured a place in the pantheon of music legends like Bach, Django, Hendrix, and Monroe. These men and their music are eternal.
I'll miss not having the opportunity to see Doc play anymore. As a flatpicker though, I am forever connected to him, and all I have to do is pick up a guitar and feel him.
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.