1969 Gibson EB-0 bass

• Mahogany one-piece body • One-piece mahogany neck • Brazilian rosewood 20-fret fretboard • Gibson EB humbucker pickup • 30 1/2 inch scale length

A superb example of a Gibson EB0 bass from the peak year of their production; one of 3018 shipped in 1969 (see EB-0 shipping stats). This one is in Gibson's famous translucent cherry finish, showing (especially on the reverse) plenty of mahogany grain patterning. The finish on this example has faded to some extent, and in more extreme examples can lead people to believe their guitar to be stained with a walnut rather than cherry finish. Walnut was another finish option first offered in the late 1960s, but was noticeably darker still - and a look under the scratchplate will usually reveal the original finish colour; it is primarily sunlight after all that causes the colour change. Have a look at a less faded 1960s EB-0 in cherry finish here.

This is a fantastic rumbly bass.. masses of low end and incredibly easy to play. This is a function of the heavily wound pickup, positioned right up against the neck, the choice of mahogany and rosewood, with set neck construction, and the short (30 1/2") scale. Naturally these basses require short scale strings - and although any type will work, they sound best with a decent set of flats.

Late 60s Gibson EB-0 features

Notice the thin neck (on the back of the headstock), inlaid Gibson logo and solid headstock with crown inlay. Two point tune-o-matic bridge with chrome bridge cover and EB humbucker without surround, positioned directly at the end of the neck. This bass has Japanese-made closed gear tuning keys usually seen on the Melody Maker, and Kalamazoo KB bass, but also found on some EB0s, and even a few EB3s in the late 60's.

Determining a shipping date

According to published Gibson serial number information, the number stamped onto the reverse headstock of this bass (802***) was potentially used in 1966, 1969, and maybe two or three more times in the early 1970s. A little knowledge of body styles, heel joints and components suggests a 1969 bass, as do the potentiometers which are dated the last week of December 1968. Finally the lack of 'MADE IN THE USA' stamped below the serial number rules out anything beyond very early 1970. 1969 was Gibson's most successful year with the EBO - 3018 basses were shipped; 1000 more than the previous best, 1965.

The 1969 zone 1 USA price for the Gibson EBO bass was $275, whilst the EB3 was $390.

The Cherry finish on early EB basses tends to turn a more orange with exposure to light, but late sixties EB's tend to turn a reddy brown, as can be seen here. This bass is fitted with typical 1969 body components: EB humbucker (with narrow, tall, chrome cover), two point bridge (that could be intonated!) with mute, bridge cover, witch hat control knobs. Gone is the old handrest, and bar bridge - compare this to a 1966 EB0.

The joint where the body meets the neck, or heel varied over the course of EB bass production - this style is quite specific to 1969. Have a look at some other heel joints here.

Humbucker pickup with tall, narrow chrome-plated cover - compare this to the wider, shallower cover of a mid-sixties EB bass.

The EBO has one volume and one tone control. It has witch-hat knobs with position pointers. The output jack is front-mounted, although a year later and they were positioned on the body side - see a 1970 EBO.

EB humbucker pickup. The cover is chrome-plated, as opposed to the nickel, and is taller yet narrower than the earlier mid-sixties basses. Compare this to a 1966 EB0 with an older 'wide' pickup. This is just the cover of course, the pickup itself is unchanged.

By the following year however, the pickup was given a black plastic surround, and was spring-mounted in order to raise or lower the pickup within it's housing. This obvious improvement stayed with the model for the rest of it's period of manufacture. See a 1970 EB0

This bass is fitted with a two-point tune-o-matic bridge with under-bridge string mute, and chrome bridge cover - this is quite in contrast to the old bar bridge seen on EB bass just a year or so earlier.

The saddles are made of a plastic called Delrin. The mute is operated by pulling the handle on the left away from the bridge, which pushes the felt upwards against the strings. One drawback of this bridge design is the proximity of string anchors to saddles; the string windings are actually going over the saddles on this bridge, which is obviously undesirable. Compare this bridge with the previous version fitted to a 1966 EB0.

This EBO bass has a one-piece mahogany body and one-piece mahogany neck. This bass is fitted with closed-gear tuning keys manufactured in Japan, as opposed to the more often seen tuners by Kluson or Schaller. These were used on some EB basses in the late 1960s - though more often seen on the Kalamazoo KB, and Gibson Melody Maker basses.

The serial number (read more about Gibson serial numbers here) was stamped on the back of the headstock, usually above the tuning keys. Serial numbers were often re-used, especial in the mid-late 1960s and early 1970s, so drawing conclusions about an instrument from this alone can be problematic. Just a year later all instruments were also stamped 'Made in USA', which tells us that this is a sixties bass. See a 1970 EBO for comparison.

Mid-late 1960s EBs had an inlaid Gibson logo with centered crown inlay. But in 1969 the logo had no dot on the letter i. Compare this headstock with an earlier EBO to see the difference; 1966 EB0.

The one-piece neck and solid headstock. Gibson EB necks were thinner at this stage than they had been in previous years; this one is just 1 1/2" at the nut, compared to 1 3/4" of the earliest EBOs.

The EB0 illustrated in the 1970 bass catalog is very similar to the model shown above, although the EB3 in the same catalogue is a slotted headstock model; and by the time the catalogue was released most if not all EB0s being shipped had the newer slotted headstock.

Below: In it's original case, with gold plush lining.

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