1971 Gibson SB-400 bass

• Solid body • Set maple neck • Rosewood fretboard • Two single-coil pickups • 34 1/2 inch scale • Unspecified body wood. Alder?

The Gibson SB 300 and 400 were a pretty short-lived phenomenon. The vast majority of these Kalamazoo-made basses were produced in 1971, with a few more in '72 and '73, but by late '72 they were no longer listed in price lists, in favour of two new bass models, the SB350 and SB450 - see SB shipping totals.

They never made it into any American Gibson catalogue, although they did appear in this 1971 publicity sheet, also advertising the Gibson SG200 guitar.

The June 1971 price for either SB model was $289.50, compared to $350 for the EB0/EB0L and $410 for the EB3/EB3L.

Gibson SB bass hardware and components

The bass pictured is completely original except for the bridge saddles. They were particularly poor-wearing on this multiplex bridge, which is one of the reasons few of these basses still have them fitted. Other features are completely standard for this model: pickups are Gibson single-coils (no difference between neck and bridge, also used on the SG 200, SG250 and ES-320 guitars), and the tuning keys are Schaller M-4.

Despite being SG-shaped, and finished in walnut or cherry, these basses were very different to the EB basses available in 1971. In fact the body shape and colour about the only thing these basses have in common. SB: Alder body, a two-piece maple neck, small angle (7^o) headstock angle and single coil pickups EBs: mahogany body, three-piece mahogany neck, 13^o headstock angle and humbuckers. The difference can certainly be heard. Compare the soundclips below with soundclips of a 1971 EB3L

The mix of rounded rectangular metal parts with the translucent walnut finish makes the SB300/400 really stand out. It was Gibson's entry level bass, but certainly looked good. It had a simpler construction to other Gibson basses, and simpler parts; these particular single coil pickups, plate-mounted controls and simple lightweight bridge never appeared on other Gibson basses, but Gibson did reuse many of these ideas on it's entry-level instruments for much of the seventies.

The reverse of the guitar's body clearly shows the two-piece alder body with some very attractive grain patterning showing through the translucent walnut finish.

Both short and long scale SB bass guitars were fitted with SB single coil pickups, attached to the surround with two screws. These pickups had the old scripted Gibson logo in raised lettering on the black plastic covers.

The controls are very simple: an on/off switch for each pickup, and a master tone and volume control, with witch-hat knobs. These and the output jack are mounted onto a rounded rectangular metal plate.

The SB series bridge covers were smaller than the covers used on other Gibson basses of the time. Note also the scripted Gibson logo engraved into the cover itself.

The Gibson SB300 / SB400 bridge was a very lightweight affair, but it was shortlived; when the SB350 and SB450 where launched at the 1972 Summer NAMM show, they were fitted with the widely used two point tune-o-matic bridges of the EB bass guitars.

The SB400 has no control cavity cover - all electronics are accessible by removing the front control plates; body routes are on the front of this guitar, leaving a very clean looking reverse.

Two piece maple neck, with small volute, Schaller M4 machine heads. Rosewood fingerboard. The headstock/neck angle is particularly small for a Gibson instrument - just 7^o. Most guitars built by Gibson had their preferred headstock angle of 14^o or 17^o, but in this more competitively-priced bass it was one way to reduce production costs at a very difficult time for the American guitar business.

Headstock face with single-ply plastic truss-rod cover, and gold silk-screened Gibson logo. The two neck pieces are clearly visible, with the join vertically down the middle of this image.

Two piece maple neck with volute. The patterning in the maple can really be seen in the right hand piece of neck wood. Like all Gibson basses of this period, it has a six digit serial number and is stamped MADE IN USA. The tuning keys are Schaller M4 - note the GIBSON marking on each gear cover.

Gibson SB-400 wiring

The volume and tone control potentiometers (part CBA 811 3701) in this bass are both the same; 250k and dated from mid 1966. These pots were also used in 1960s Kalamazoo KG guitars. The manufacturer code is 'BD'. It is unusual to find Gibson instruments at the beginning of their production run with pot codes so much older than the instrument. But then, almost all Gibson-used pots of this period were made by CTS or Centralab. These pots are stock however, and many early SB-300 and SB-400 basses were fitted with these pots.

Gibson SB-400 soundclips

The following SB-400 soundclips were recorded directly into an M-Audio MobilePre USB external sound card - no amplifier or other effects. Roundwound strings.

The following soundclips were recorded as above but with flatwound strings.