Solid Alder body, set maple neck with rosewood fretboard. Two humbucking pickup. 34 1/2 inch scale.

Strings suitable for the SB450 Fender 9050L Stainless Flatwound Bass Strings (Fender - Stainless Bass Flatwound - Long Scale - 34 - Light ) D'Addario EXL160 Regular Gauge Nickel Wound Electric Bass Strings (D'Addario Bass Nickel Wound Long Scale - Regular) Rotosound RS77EL Jazz Bass Strings (Rotosound - Bass Strings - RS77EL - Jazz Bass) Rotosound RS88LD Trubass Bass Strings (Rotosound - Bass Strings - RS88LD - True Bass (Black Nylon)) D'Addario ECB81 XL Chromes Flatwound Bass Strings (D'addario Chromes Stainless Steel Flatwound - Soft) Rotosound RS66LD Bass Strings Long Scale Strings (RotoSound Swing Bass RS66LD - Stainless Steel) Fender 9050ML Stainless Flatwound Bass Strings (Fender - Stainless Bass Flatwound - Long Scale - 34 - Medium Light) Rotosound RS77LD Jazz Bass Strings (Rotosound - Bass Strings - RS77LD - Jazz Bass) Rotosound RS66LB Bass Strings (RotoSound RS66LB Swing Bass - Stainless Steel) D'Addario EXL220 XL Nickel Round Wound Super Light Bright Electric Bass Strings (D'Addario Bass Strings Nickel Wound Long Scale - Super Soft)

The SB450 first appeared in the 1972 catalogue, and sold in modest numbers until 1974. It was still available at from 1975-78, though only 14 instruments were shipped in this period.

under the control panel of a Gibson SB450 bass

The SB series was an attempt to create a cheaper bass, perhaps a bad marketing decision by the company renowned for its quality. Mounting the control panel on the plastic plate rather than onto the body itself saved costs in production, but clearly the public did not approve as is attested by sales figures.

Interestingly enough, the 1972 catalogue only lists the available finishes as walnut and cherry, which it descibes as maple necked with a rosewood fingerboard. The body wood is not specified. 21 natural SB450s were shipped in 1972, and like the example above they had a maple neck, alder body and rosewood fingerboard. This configuration of woods, combined with the longer scale (and perhaps new SB humbuckers) gives an instrument with real punch - far more so than its mahogany bodied cousins in the EB series.