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The EB1
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The violin shaped "Electric Bass", as Gibsons first electric bass guitar was known, was first produced
in 1953 as a response to the Fender Precision Bass. Only an average of 91 EBs were produced each year untill 1958 when, with
the launch of the hollow-body EB2 the EB was renamed the EB1, a name which has now been attributed to the whole production
run of this model.
The violin shaped body was carved out of solid mahogony and fitted with a large, brown, pickup at the base of the neck,
with the poles situated along the lower, bridge, end. The head was fitted with banjo-style tuners, as were all basses
in the 1950's, and the end of the body was fitted with a socket to take a screw-in telescopic end-pin which allowed
the bass to be played as an upright.
Production ceased at the end of 1958, with a total 546 produced, making this an extremely rare model.
Click on a photo to see a larger picture
A 1953 EB1- the first year of production
Said to have been acquired by Chas Chandler only a few days before he died in 1996
NOTE: The bridge pick-up is a Gibson factory fitted addition.
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1970s Re-Issue
There was a nostalgia-driven resurgence of this model in the late 1960's, leading Gibson to re-issue the
model in 1970-72 when they produced 473 re-issues with a metal covered Humbucker, the then prevalent intonable bridge and
conventional right-angle tuners.
The most famous player of an EB1 was Felix Pappalardi, the Producer of the Cream and later the Bassist for
Mountain, who played a 1970's re-issue. Jack Bruce also played an EB1 in memory of Felix, during the Cream reunion at the
Albert Hall in 2005.
Felix Pappalardi in Mountain
Shipping Figure for the 1950s EB1
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1953 |
1954 |
1955 |
1956 |
1957 |
1958 |
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105 |
125 |
127 |
65 |
79 |
45 |
Shipping figures for the 1970's EB1 Re-Issue
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1970 |
1971 |
1972 |
1973 |
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404 |
65 |
2 |
2 |
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See more Gibson Basses, available for sale, at www.gibsonbassstore.com
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