With nearly 40 years of experience whacking it out on what is arguably America’s favorite instrument, I find that there aren’t too many surprises left, and not much impresses me about guitars anymore. But I do have to say that on this year’s Toby Keith tour I was presented with an interesting challenge, and I found a guitar that met the test and genuinely made an impression on me and my bandmates.
 Rich’s “guitarsenal” for a Toby Keith show, with the PRS Singlecut Hollowbody. |
There are many ways to tackle this predicament. I could have used an acoustic fastened to a Gracie stand and carried out the double duty with the electric still strapped over my shoulder. However, the switch between parts is almost instantaneous, so even the two seconds needed to take my arms from around the big-bodied acoustic and grab my first chord on electric would have been too long a pause. Another solution would have been to try and create an acoustic sounding patch with my electric and switch settings back and forth when needed. I certainly could have made the patch change quickly enough, but the acoustic sound would have suffered critically. My solution was to use an acoustic/electric hybrid, and switch manually between the acoustic sound and electric.
There are several hybrids to choose from these days: Taylor, Ovation, Ibanez and Michael Kelly all make astounding hybrid axes. Many of them are exceptional sounding, comfortable playing instruments, and any one of them may have done the trick in my situation. Because of the high craftsmanship produced by the folks at Paul Reed Smith, I knew that their Singlecut Hollowbody would be my guitar of choice. Their version of the hybrid comes complete with a pair of humbuckers as well as an LR Baggs/PRS Piezo patented pickup system under the bridge, with real acoustic guitar modeling onboard. The PRS hybrid gives me a thrashing electric tone and still manages a natural acoustic sound when I need it.
For the song in question, I will often blend both electric and acoustic to complete the illusion of two players. The song’s chord progression is not complicated; either part by itself would be a cake walk. Where the challenge lay for me was in doing them simultaneously. The Singlecut has a hit switch that throws each pickup configuration (acoustic or electric) on and off. The switch is placed right between both volume controls and it has to be flogged with dead on accuracy. Using dual output jacks, I run the humbucker side into my normal guitar rig and have it set to kill with the most intense overdriven tone that I’ve ever used on a country gig. The piezo output goes into a DigiTech Valve FX rack unit which has a patch that I built for my acoustic guitar that helps to bring out the acoustic value of the PRS perfectly.
One of the obstacles my tech and I had to overcome was figuring out the signal path. Using two separate lines meant we had to run two wireless signals from the one guitar to the rack backstage. I have a pocket sewn to my strap that houses my Shure UHF-R Wireless transmitter. When I do my guitar changes, I keep the strap with me and swap only the guitar from song to song. We had to make this change-over happen with two lines going out. We found an out-of-the-way spot on the back of this guitar where we could velcro a transmitter and keep it plugged into the piezo output jack. With that in place we’re able to do our normal guitar switch and have all bases covered and ready to rock or acoustify the audience!
It’s a slightly complicated setup that needed some tweaking to get right, but the end result was worth all the vital brain power put into pulling it off. Initially, my band mates didn’t grasp how I was going to be able to cop both parts so seamlessly, but I had a pretty good idea that using this guitar would be successful in this situation. This setup will be a part of our show for as long as “American Ride” stays in the set.
Keep Jammin’
Rich Eckhardt
Rich Eckhardt is one of the most sought after guitarists in Nashville. His ability to cover multiple styles has put him on stage with singers ranging from Steven Tyler of Aerosmith to Shania Twain. Rich is currently playing lead guitar with Toby Keith. His new album Cottage City Firehouse is available at his website and CDBaby.com.
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
