Gibson Bass Guitars - A brief history and popular models
Gibson has never really enjoyed the same success in Bass guitars as Fender none the less Gibson basses have a loyal following. The EB1 first appeared in 1956. It looked more like a violin than a modern bass and appeared very similar to the classic hofner bass models popular in the 60's. The EB2, a semi-solid body bass was introduced in 1958 and featured rounded Les Paul like contours. This was probably due to influence of the ES335 which was introduced at the same timeframe. Gibson's introduced the EB0 in 1959. The EB3 appeared in 1961 and was a deluxe version of the EB0 with an extra bridge pickup which gave it a much brighter sound.
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The 1963 Gibson EB-0
The Gibson EB0 was the second Gibson bass and featured a solid body and single pickup. It first appeared in 1959 and with a Les PAul Junior like body but in the early 60's it took on a more SG like look. It was discontinued in the early 1970's.
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A 1963 Gibson EB0 Bass
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The EB-1
The Gibson EB1 was Gibson's first Electric Bass. It had a traditional violin shape, a single humbucking pickup and a solid mahogany body. It was made from 1953 to 1958. This particular guitar is a reissue made in 1969.
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1969 EB1 |
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The 1971 EB-0
Anther nice example of a Gibson EBO |
A 1970 EB0 |
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The 1966 EB-2
The EB-2 first appeared in 1958 and featured semi-solid construction with a solid block of wood in the body to cut feedback. It was initially a single pickup bass however it was back to the Gibson line in 1965 with one and two pickup versions. |
This is a 1966 EB2 |
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The 1964 EB-3
The EB3 first appeared in 1961. It was an SG style solid body and a top of the line model. Aa second bridge pickup was added to the EB0 design providing a brighter sound. It was available until the late 1970's. |
This is 1964 EB3 |
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The 1971 EB-3
Another EB3 example. |
1971 EB3 |
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