The Gibson EB-1 is a bass guitar that Gibson introduced in 1953. It was their first bass guitar.[1]
History
Gibson first marketed the EB-1 (initially calling it simply the Electric Bass) in 1953[2] in response to the success of the Fender Precision Bass. Rather than styling the body after an electric guitar, they shaped the EB-1 to resemble a double bass, even painting false f-holes on the top of the body. EB-1 production ended in 1958, when Gibson replaced it with the EB-2 and the later EB-0. They renamed the Electric Bass to the EB-1 at that time.
Gibson reissued the EB-1 in 1968 with several changes—including no false f-holes, standard right-angled tuning machines, and a chrome bridge cover. They discontinued this reissue in 1972. Epiphone (a subsidiary of Gibson) began marketing a Korean-manufactured EB-1 in 1999. This version of the EB-1 uses a more cost-effective bolt-on neck construction, as well as replacing the original bridge with a more conventional three-point adjustable bass bridge.
Epiphone produces a violin-shaped bass known as the Viola Bass.[3][4] However, it is not modeled after the EB-1, but the Höfner 500/1. Eastwood Guitars produces and sells their own version of the EB-1, virtually identical to the original in design.[5]
Design and construction
The EB-1 had a solid mahogany body finished with a brown stain, and a raised pickguard, which was originally colored brown to more closely match the color of the body. It had a 30.5" scale[2] set neck—rather than the 34" scale of the Fender Precision Bass or the 41.5" scale of the 3/4-sized upright bass favored by many upright bassists of the time. To appeal to upright bass players, the EB-1 had a telescopic end pin so bassists could choose to play the EB-1 in an upright position,[2] as well as horizontally. False f-holes and purfling on the body imitated the appearance of an upright bass.
Gibson mounted the pickup directly against the base of the neck, rather than the mid-body position of the Precision Bass, which gave the EB-1 a deeper, but less defined tone. The EB-1 had planetary banjo tuners,[2] rather than the right-angled tuners of most other guitar and bass designs. More recent reissues have featured more conventional construction techniques, with standard issue tuning pegs and a standard bass bridge.
References
- ^ Giuseppe Guarino (25 May 2017). "EB-1: il primo basso prodotto da Gibson" (in Italian).
- ^ a b c d Roberts, Jim (2003). American basses : an illustrated history & player's guide. San Francisco, CA, USA: Backbeat Books. p. 73. ISBN 0879307218.
- ^ "Epiphone Viola Bass | Musician's Friend". Archived from the original on January 17, 2013.
- ^ "Viola Bass, Vintage Sunburst". Epiphone. Gibson Inc. Retrieved 12 May 2024.
- ^ "EB-1 Bass - Electric Bass – Eastwood Guitars".
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This page was last edited on 12 May 2024, at 18:43