[FWEMP]

Greetings! I am in possession of what appears to be a 1972 EBO. However, a couple of anomalies are making me wonder. The finish is walnut, but I removed the pick guard and found cherry red underneath! What's peculiar is that there are wear marks all the way down to the bare wood in a couple places on the body, with no sign of cherry at all. Also, the cherry under the pick guard is a perfect outline of the pick guard, and the pick guard is in near mint condition (if the pick guard was left on during a refinish, wouldn't it show signs of scuffing from sandpaper?). Could the paint have faded from cherry to a walnut appearance over the years? The other thing is that there is an after market P bass pickup in it. I purchased an original Sidewinder Humbucker to install in it, only to find that the pickup cavity is routed in the shape of the staggered P bass pickup (??!!). Any hints or theories as to what I have here are greatly appreciated! Thank you - Roland

[Dave W]

If it's new-looking cherry under the pickguard, then it's just a heavily faded cherry. In some cases cherry, at least from that era, fades to the point that it almost looks like walnut. When I first got my '71 EB-0L in the early 90s, several friends thought it was walnut, especially under fluorescent lighting.

The original pickup routing was not staggered, wouldn't the staggered routing be explained by the aftermarket P pickup? I'm not sure what you're getting at. Are you saying the mudbucker won't fit in? Photos would be helpful.

[eb2]

The pickup thing is very confusing. It has a p pup, and you bought a mudbucker for it. Yet there is no routing for a mudbucker at all? This needs a photo.

If it was originally routed for a P pickup, it is not a Gibson.