Ernie Ball Earthwood Acoustic Bass Guitar?

[Bassmedic14]

Sorry about the PM that was me, I just thought you had all the knowledge on the Earthwoods. If you have time I would love to shoot you over the pics and maybe you can help me understand all there is to know about my new bass. I really got lucky finding it and I'm anal about knowing the whats and whys about it. Any way if you can help I would be thankful ......Steve

 

[Wannabass]

Earthwood Find

You do not find an Earthwood bass, they find you. I could not believe my eyes on craigslist last night and I am now the caretaker for a while. Original case, two sets of strings, tools and reciept. It appears it was built in 1982 as it was delivered to the owner early 1983. I believe it was a special order as the owner ran a music store.
Dont know if the pictures will take...

 

[bacoo]

Confessions of a former Earthwood fanatic

I had an Earthwood, purchased in 1989, I think, from House of Musical Traditions in Takoma Park, MD. Based on the serial number and a couple of emails to Sterling Ball, it was one of the last made in 1985. While it was great for an ABG, it is still an ABG with all of the problems inherent with trying to get an acceptable bass resonance from a body that small (yeah, I said small in the same paragraph describing an Earthwood). It certainly had a distinctive sound and was quite the head-turner. Compared to other ABG's I've played, it was better by leaps and bounds - still the best mass-produced ABG.

I kept the bass for over ten years but three things prompted me to eventually get rid of it:

-Size: really uncomfortable to play for long periods (and I'm a big guy), impossible to find a decent case, and tough to even get a stand.

-No cutaway: probably the real achilles' heel for this instrument. Virtually impossible to play above 12.

-Pickups: the hot dots were probably the bomb in the mid 80's, but sounded like crap to me.

While I know a couple of these problems could have been fixed via modification, I felt the instrument was much more valuable as a collector's item than a gig-worthy instrument. So, off to Gruhn it went. As it happens, I was just on the phone with a custom builder friend of mine (David Berkowitz) discussing the design for my next ABG...

bacoo

 

[brownman]

Hey!

What an informative thread. I learned a lot from reading this thread!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts guys

 

[TenorClef]

Hey!

What an informative thread. I learned a lot from reading this thread!
Thank you for sharing your thoughts guys

Amazing to see how this thread has developed. It seems the market is now flooded with acoustic bass guitars in all shapes/sizes & quality. Sadly I doubt we'll ever see the Ernie Ball Earthwood bass again on the market. Just one of those things I guess. It has to be regarded as the best bass ever made in terms of 'acoustic bass guitars'.

Finally gave up on ever seeing one or owing one and bought a nice acoustic 3/4 double bass instead. I'd imagine even the Ernie Ball company don't have an original Earthwood either which is incredibly sad but hey at least they have the blue prints so maybe one day a vintage line might be run.

 

[SteveDecker]

I just found this thread and was hoping for some input. I bought an earth wood bass 30 years ago not knowing what it really was until about 2 years ago. It is fret less with mother pearl inlay. The number inside is 698. Does any know what year it may have been built in? I'm thinking early 70's. also, what might be the value. Any feedback is much appreciated.

 

[tico]

I have a friend here in Costa Rica looking to sell one of these.

Can someone help me pin point what year this model was made in?

It says Earthwood Acoustical Bass Serial NO B518 inside. Is that from the year 1973 or is his an earlier model?

Tried to upload pics but they were too big it seems.

I will appreciate any assistance.

Sincerely,
Julio
"Tico"
Costa Rica

 

[steevo]

Would there be enough demand for them though? Even if they were produced as a limited run then the cost of tooling up and the materials would probably bump the price up too high for regular players to be able to afford.