Mike Watt Introduction

Mike Watt with a heavily customised Gibson EB3 (2004) - Photo courtesy of Peter Whitfield

By John Fertig, March 2007 Mike Watt is a punk rock legend, carving new musical ground with his band Minutemen that was cut tragically short in a car accident with the death of the guitarist and childhood friend D. Boon. Watt went on to form the band fIREHOSE that built it's own following. Post fIREHOSE, Watt has played and/or recorded with a long list of musicians including: Porno for Pyros, J Mascis and the Fog, Banyan, Rickie Lee Jones, Dave Grohl, Frank Black, Eddy Vedder and Thurston Moore. More recently he has put out solo records aswell as playing and recording with Iggy Pop & The Stooges, Kelly Clarkson, and his own bands Secondmen, Missingmen, and his longest running band (formed in 1986); a two-bass-only band Dos.
Mike talks to FlyGuitars about his music, his Gibson bass guitars, and their many modifications...

FlyGuitars Tell me about your approach to bass playing and music in general?

Mike Watt a lot of it comes from playing with D. Boon. When we were boys (I'm 49), we were used to arena rock in the 70's, and we were too far away to see the tuners. You could see in pictures they had four tuners. We knew they had four strings, but we did not know they were bigger, so I played a guitar with four strings, 'til I saw a real bass when I was 16. I started when I was 13. I really could not hear the bass on records except for Jack Bruce, John Entwistle, Jamerson, R&B and Larry Graham - could hear the bass on that, just the way songs were written for the bass. You could hear Entwistle on the bass (laughs) and that Wheels Of Fire, that Cream, where they played Crossroads. In fact I saw pictures of Jack Bruce, I saw him playing with a Gibson EB-3. So at 16 I got a real bass. I did not know a Gibson/Fender. A lot of stuff was sold in record stores and it was hard to find Gibson & Fenders, there were no Guitar Centers back then. You had to go to Hollywood.

Punk came and that was a real mind blow for us. The club scene came back. You could stand right up there and see the bass and feel the bass. In those days the PA was used for singers, so they would have 8 SVTs with drummers, with no monitors. Punk comes and we find we should be writing songs.

Minutemen

Mike Watt in 1979 with his slotted headstock Gibson EB3 - playing with The Reactionaries (photo by Sedillo).

FlyGuitars Your first recorded band, Minutemen created their own type of music...

Mike Watt Hearing Punk Records from England like Wire, where they would have no song structure, making what they want. Music is what ever you want it to be. It was trippy too because there was a lot of women in those bands. Which the only female bass player I ever saw back then was Suzie Quatro.

With punk in the early 70's, everyone was on a level playing field, everyone was lame. The guitar was just textures with the bass driving it along. The bass was very prominent in those bands. With Minutemen we were putting our thoughts on how the band was going to be structured. He (D. Boon) would not play barre cords and played trebly. He would give me a lot of room, a three-way tie, kind of.

Building a whole from the parts, like a conversation, not just a support. Boon said we are going to have a conversation. Kinda like osmosis. We would not have to worry about trying to show each other up. Like John Coltrane, he kept practicing, so what I try to do is put myself in challenging situations.

Youtube Video Clips
Mike Watt playing with the Minutemen - click the images to view clips

Two videos by the Minutemen in which Mike uses an EB3L. Left - This Ain't No Picnic. Right - King of the Hill

Gibson bass guitars for sale

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Gibson EB-3 Cherry Mod 1969 Electric Bass Guitar Original Case Slotted Head Art

El Segundo, California, 902**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$3500

Beautiful stunning EB three Gibson guitar Bass original case, one lady owner, left as found 1970s i??ll let the Pictures do the talking or the playing ! Enjoy laurence & sally of StorageWars and baggage battles currently www roundthebend tv
... more

1969 Gibson EB3 Bass Guitar- 100% Original with Original Case

Glastonbury, Connecticut, 060**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$3700

One owner, bought new in 1969 from Quigly Music in Kansas City with original Gibson Case. One small strap rub on back with minor finish scratches on back as seen in photos.... more

1972 Gibson EB-3 Slotted Headstock Vintage Short Scale SG Bass Walnut w / Case

Seattle, Washington, 981**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$2900

Up for sale, a 1972 Gibson EB-3 in excellent condition and in perfect working order, complete with the original hardshell case. This is an uncommon version of the EB-3 platform, only produced from 1970 to early ?72, featuring a slotted headstock
Surprisingly versatile, the EB-3 delivers warm, midrange rich snarl from the mini humbucker in the bridge position, and powerful low end thump from the neck position "Mudbucker " The rotary pickup selector offers a bevy of tones at the flick of a ... more

Gibson EB-3 Bass Guitar

Santa Barbara, California, 931**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$1800

Vintage 1969 Gibson EB-3Cherry Electric Bass Guitar. Jack Bruce played an EB-3. So did Glenn Cornick ofJethro Tull. Bob Daisley played an EB-3 on Ozzy Osbourne's Blizzard of Ozz Also Andy Fraser of Free. Michael Davis - MC5. Norm Sundholm, bassist for TheKingsmen and co-founder of Sunn Amplifiers also played an EB-3. This is an original1969 Gibson EB-3 Bass in the classic Cherry Red finish, with serial number 603929 This EB-3 is in very good condition, showing player wear with buckle rash, ... more

"1973" Vintage Cherry "GIBSON EB-3" with OHSC Serial #056076 in Great Condition

Riverside, California, 925**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$3295

Here we a have a Pre-Owned Excellent Condition 1973 VINTAGE GIBSON EB-3 BASS. I Just put it through the Shop to make sure everything is up to snuff. I am very meticulous when it comes to my gear, I baby my stuff. Everything is in perfect working order. I just had it completely set up with brand New FENDER FLATOUND 45-100'S so it plays wonderful. Truss Rod is in good working condition Neck is Straight action is perfect. (I like the action low) so it set perfect and plays like a dream. All the ... more

1961 Gibson EB-3 the cleanest original extent w / hang tags 1 of a kind & Minty !

Fort Lauderdale, Florida, 333**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$11495

This is a beautiful 1st year produced example of the exactly ??Cream Era?? Gibson EB-3 bass, pretty much identical the primary one used extensively by Jack Bruce from 1966 into the mid-70s. These expensive double pickup EB basses were made in fairly small quantities from 1961 into the mid-1960s but most examples that surface now are the later ??60s and early ??70s models, when they were produced in much greater numbers ?? at least partially due to the popularity of Cream ! Those are fine ... more

original 1969 Gibson EB-3 Bass Cherry

Carbondale, Illinois, 629**, UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

$2390

Add Me to Your Favorite Sellers
Olivia's Vintage would like to present this 1969 Gibson EB-3 in its original Cherry finish. It has a great playing neck with good frets. It's all original and still has its original mute and bridge cover. It includes a later 1980's Gibson hardshell case with rusty latches. There is one decorative disc missing from one volume knob and there were slightly larger strap buttons at one time. The upper treble side corner / edge of the headstock had a small chunk... more

Gibson EB-3 Bass Guitar 1967

Horncastle, LN9***, UNITED KINGDOM

£2950

The Gibson EB-3 is a bass guitar introduced in 1961 and discontinued in 1979. It was produced at Gibson's plant in Kalamazoo, MI It features a slim SG-style body, a short 30 5" scale, and two pick up's (a large humbucking pickup in the neck position and a mini humbucker pickup in the bridge position). The electronics include a four-way rotary pickup selector switch (for Series 1 basses: neck pickup with midrange notch, bridge, bridge and neck with low end rolled off neck pickup, neck pickup with... more

GIBSON Mudbucker Pickup COVER ONLY (EB0-EB3 Bass models)

Perugia, 06***, ITALY

€70

GIBSON
Mudbucker Pickup Chrome Cover for EB0 / EB2 / EB3 Bass
(COVER ONLY - NO PICKUP)
In vendita la cover (solo il coperchio in metallo cromato, NON l'intero pickup) di un pickup al manico del basso Gibson EB0 / EB2 / EB3 ed altri modelli.
Si tratta di un pezzo originale, proveniente dal mio EB3 e identico a quelli usati per un lungo periodo negli anni precedenti e seguenti ed esteticamente compatibile anche con i pickup montati sui bassi Epiphone e sugli attuali Gibson SG (ma ... more

Gibson EB-0 - EB-3 Bass Slotted Headstock 1971 Immense Sound!

Salford, M6***, UNITED KINGDOM

£1842

So somewhere along the way a previous owner decided they wanted two pickups on their EB-0 and it??s all the better for it!
Not quite sure what the extra pickup is but it sounds monstrous and a really useful contrast with the factory pickup especially with a standard three way switch. The conversion has been done very nicely
Obviously been played but plays very nicely with recent set up, strings and electrics checked
I really like the slotted headstock which is comparatively rare?? ... more

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