1956 Gibson EB-1 Bass

Superb mid-fifties Gibson Electric Bass or EB as it was initially known. Released in 1953 as a response to Fender releasing the Precision Bass in 1951the two instruments couldn’t have been farther apart with the now iconic Violin shape thanks in part to Les Paul. The Gibson EB bass shipped for just five year between 1953 and 1958, with 526 basses produced before being replaced with the new Thinlline EB-2 model. The EB-1 was briefly reissued between 1970 and 1973 with a further 473 shipped. Designed to appeal to the traditional bass player who may be hesitant to adopt the new form of playing bass. Gibson even included a telescopic stand that would fit into the bottom strap button, which would allow you to play the bass standing up. 

Featuring a solid mahogany body, carved from a single piece of Mahogany with a Mahogany set neck, Rosewood fingerboard and a natural Mahogany finish. The EB would also feature a short (30.5”) scale length. The original EB bass had a single coil pickup that was designed by Gibson engineers Walter Fuller and Seth Lover. The coil had 250000 turns, and was so large, it was rotated to fit in the route, explaining why the polepieces were along one edge, rather than in the center.  Appointments were on a par with Gibsons’s mid-level solid body guitars with dot-position markers, nickel plated hardware and single-ply plastics. The finely sculpted body is accented by a double black purfling stripe on both the top and bottom of the body alongside simulated f-holes - a subtle inclusion that adds a degree of Gibson class to an otherwise fairly plain instrument. The hardware comprises Kluson banjo style tuners and Gibsons new Bass specific stud bridge/tailpiece combination. The Brown plastics comprise the pickup cover, elevated pickguard and numbered barrel knobs. 

This guitar dates to 1956 and is of only 65 shipped that year and is in fantastically preserved condition internally and externally and with the exception of a replacement input jack plate is as it left the factory. The original single coil pickup is safely housed beneath its brown Royalite cover and measures a whopping 19.99K, pots are Centralab bearing a late 53 source code and Capacitors are Cornell-Dubilier. The neck has a rounded C profile with a 43.23mm nut width. The depth at the 1st and 12th fret are 23.49mm and 35.16mm. 

The guitar comes with its original contoured pink lined brown case