The Gibson EB-1 is a
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
that
Gibson
Gibson may refer to:
People
* Gibson (surname)
Businesses
* Gibson Brands, Inc., an American manufacturer of guitars, other musical instruments, and audio equipment
* Gibson Technology, and English automotive and motorsport company based
* Gi ...
introduced in 1953. It was their first bass guitar.
History
Gibson first marketed the EB-1 (initially calling it simply, the ''Electric Bass'') in 1953 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
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar i ...
, even painting false
f-holes
A sound hole is an opening in the body of a stringed musical instrument, usually the upper sound board.
Sound holes have different shapes:
* round in flat-top guitars and traditional bowl-back mandolins;
* F-holes in instruments from the v ...
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
Epiphone is an American musical instrument brand that traces its roots to a musical instrument manufacturing business founded in 1873 by Anastasios Stathopoulos in Smyrna, Ottoman Empire, and moved to New York City in 1908. After taking over his f ...
(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.
Despite its relative unpopularity among players, the EB-1 is prized among collectors for its historical value. It is not uncommon for original EB-1s to sell for over $4000 US dollars.
Epiphone currently produces a violin-shaped bass known as the Viola Bass. However, it is not modeled after the EB-1, but the
Höfner 500/1
The Höfner 500/1 Violin Bass (sometimes nicknamed the "Beatle Bass" or "Cavern Bass") is a model of electric bass manufactured by Höfner under several varieties. It was introduced in 1955 and gained celebrity status during the 1960s as the pri ...
.
Eastwood Guitars
Eastwood Guitars is a Canadian manufacturer of guitars. The company specializes in making vintage-style instruments including electric guitars, basses, acoustic guitars, electric mandolins, resonator guitars, lap steels, and ukuleles.
Notable ...
produces and sells their own version of the EB-1, virtually identical to the original in design.
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 set neck—rather than the 34" scale of the Fender Precision Bass or the 41.5" scale of the 3/4-sized
upright bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar ...
favored by many upright bassists of the time. To appeal to upright bass players, the EB-1 had a telescopic
end pin
The endpin is the component of a cello or double bass that makes contact with the floor to support the instrument's weight. It is made of metal, carbon fiber, or, occasionally, wood, and is typically extensible from the bottom of the instrument, s ...
so bassists could choose to play the EB-1 in an upright position, as well as horizontally. False f-holes and
purfling
Purfling is a narrow decorative edge inlaid into the top plate and often the back plate of a stringed instrument. Inexpensive instruments may have no purfling and instead simulate the appearance with paint.
Purfling was originally made of laminat ...
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, 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
{{Gibson Guitar Corporation
EB-1