 | | 1959 Gibson EB-2: pickup replaced with Dimarzio model-1 pickup. "baritone" push button switch bypassed after new control pots/cap added (switch left in though). Tuners replaced with modern Firebird guitar ones (holes drilled so strings fit) - both them and origials were "banjo" style |
Other Gibson Basses
GibsonBass You basses are usually quite heavily customised - do you do your own tech work on your basses?
Mike Watt I do a lot. Sometimes, I take them to World of Strings in Long Beach and Eric's guitar shop in Van Nuys (both in California).
GibsonBass What other Gibson basses do you have, and what modifications have they had?
Mike Watt 1959 Gibson EB-2: pickup replaced with Dimarzio model-1 pickup. "Baritone" push button switch bypassed after new control pots/cap added (had a little carve out under the wood, under the bridge, filled with wax called a tone dampener to get rid of the tone). It even has banjo tuners. It's a '59 I got it in Maryland for $200.
GibsonBass I understand you own a rare Les Paul Signature and a Les Paul Recording/Triumph /Professional bass. Can you tell me about them?
Mike Watt mine's a Les Paul Signature, in fact he (Les Paul) was playing near here and I went backstage to get him to sign it and he wrote, "keep picking Mike". I don't really use a pick (in kind of a depressed voice).
I got it for a couple of hundred bucks. I got the Professional in Georgia. I snapped the headstock off, of coarse, repaired it. I put in a Preamp, with the low impendence pickups - no output. Really neat neck, really thin from front to back. It's really heavy. One had a big pickguard on it, mine has a little one, I think it's a 1969. It's got chrome rings. I use an ESP preamp for Strats. It works good. It's weird on the pickup selector switch it has a big rubber grommet. A big giant rubber grommet in a big hole. I don't know what they are thinking. A great bass. Real close string spacing. I use it with my oldest band (20 years), Dos Sound, a band with two bassists.
Thanks to John (Redbird) Fertig and Mike Watt for making this interview possible, and to Peter Whitfield for use of some great Photos
Why not check out some of these other great links
Mike Watt's Hoot page
Mike Watt's myspace
Iggy Pop / Stooges homepage
Kelly Clarkson homepage
Peter Whitfields music photography
and don't forget the other GibsonBass interviews
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| 1969 Gibson Les Paul Bass: ESP Strat preamp with bypass mini-switch added. Badass bridge, headstock repaired. I moved the output jack from the side to the front and added a big ol' washer to reinforce it... you can see it in the picture. I removed the side jack | 1973 Gibson Les Paul Signature: no modifications except getting Les Paul to sign it! |
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