1964 Gibson EB-0

The Gibson EBO was available from 1958, but only with an SG-style body from 1961. This 1964 bass has typical features of the period, most notably the nickel-plated pickup cover; it had been bakelite on '61-'63 EB basses, with nickel starting to be replaced with chrome by the end of the year.

There are several ways of finding out when a Gibson bass was made. The serial numbers up until about 1965 give a fairly reliable indication (although on instruments produced between 1965 until 1975 they can be very confusing), and combined with potentiometer codes and a look at the hardware used it's not hard to pin down most basses of this era to a single year. Both the serial number and potentiometer codes confirm this instrument to have been produced in 1964. Gibson did keep records of guitar serial numbers, and dates that they were shipped, however much of this information has been lost/destroyed, and Gibson customer service don't always have time to search for details. However, they did have the records for this bass, and kindly confirmed it was shipped from Gibson's Kalamazoo plant on August 27th 1964.

1964 Gibson EB-0 specifications

Gibson actually shipped 1133 EBO basses in 1964 - the highest number of any bass model they had produced up until that point - although this record was quickly trumped the next year, with a peak annual figure of 3018 EB0 basses shipped in 1969. See the Gibson EB0 shipping stats. The US zone 1 list price in 1964 was $240, and it would stick at this level right into 1968.

The 1964 EB bass was musically identical to any EB-O produced in the 1960s, but the hardware and construction underwent subtle changes, which although not affecting the sound, did affect the look and feel of the guitar. The biggest change, visually at least, was the cover of the EB neck humbucker, previously plastic (compare with a 1962 EBO), now nickel-plated brass. Note, only the cover changed, not the pickup itself. It has been claimed that the early bakelite covered pickups have a better sound, but the thing to remember is that all EB humbuckers in the early 1960s were hand-wound to imprecise specifications; natural variation therefore occurs between every pickup in any batch, irrespective of the cover material.

The electronics cavity on early single pickup guitars and basses was a smaller size up until late 1965. At this time, the companion model, the EB3 had a larger, irregularly-shaped cavity (see the reverse side of a 1961 EB3). Towards the end of 1965, and in order to simplify production, both the EB0 and EB3 were unified in their control cavity routing, to a shape that remains today. See the reverse side of a 1966 EBO. Another thing to note on this bass is the heel joint. This changed over the years of production, with a summary of these changes here - Gibson EB bass heel variations.

Original EB-O basses were all fitted with the Gibson EB humbucker, however nickel plated pickup covers were only in use from the second half of 1963 until some point in 1965, although precisely when is hard to say. Compare this nickel-plated 1964 EB-O cover with the black plastic (Bakelite) cover of a 1962, or the chrome-plated cover from 1966. The humbucker under the cover did not change in this time of course. Later still, the cover would be re-sized, to be slightly taller and ever-so-slightly narrower (see the cover on a 1969 EB-O). A late sixties cover will not fit this mid-sixties bass.

The four corner screws hold the cover, and pickup in place. Removing these reveals the pickup itself; have a look under the cover.

The view with the cover removed. The polepieces can still be seen, one under each string, with the two coils under the black tape on either side. The pickup is not held down, the only thing keeping it in place was the cover. There is typically a small square of foam under the pickup keeping it pressed upwards, although in many examples this foam has deteriorated, and been replaced.

Another interesting detail visible in this picture is the colour difference of the finish that has been exposed to light (top right). The Gibson cherry finish has faded significantly, but protected areas retain their original strong red colouration.

Gibson always used a substantial, solid bridge, typically mounted on solid posts ("sustain sisters") - the nickel-plated bar bridge fitted to this bass is no exception, but whilst heavy duty, it had no moving parts to allow separate string intonation tweaks. There are two grub screws, one on each post, that could move one side of the bridge or the other, so there was some possibility of adjustment, and in many cases this was sufficient. This bridge design changed slightly in the next year (compare with a 1966 EB0, although this also has an underbridge mute fitted), but it was not until 1967/68 that bridges were developed that had separate saddles - see the tune-o-matic bass bridge.

The handrest, like the rest of the hardware, is nickel plated. It attaches to the body via two screws, the lower one also going through the guitar's scratchplate. In many cases people did not find this useful as a handrest, and they were very commonly removed. In 1965 Gibson started producing these with chrome-plating, however their use on some models, such as the EB-O may not have been immediate. Have a look at at 1966 EB0 with chrome-plated handrest.

Headstock with inlaid Gibson logo, crown motif and screwed-on truss rod cover. The Gibson logo is the standard dotted i/open-b/open-o style. The position of the crown was lowered in early 1964 - to be centralised in the headstock. Compare with that of a 1962 EB-O. The truss rod cover is two-ply with white revealed edge.

The tuning keys are Kluson 538 type. The six-digit serial number dates this guitar to 1964; Gibson records actually confirm that this guitar was shipped in August of that year.

Fitted with standard 1960s Gibson bell knobs, numbered 0-10 and labelled VOLUME and TONE. The EB-O had the simplest of circuitry: one volume and one tone control. Have a look at EB-O circuit information.

The translucent Cherry finish of Gibson EB basses (and SG guitars in general) has a tendency to fade over time, typically to a brownish colour, and most-likely as a reaction to sunlight; in fact it can be hard to tell whether certain late sixties EB basses were originally Cherry or Walnut. But early to mid sixties instruments changed colour somewhat differently, reacting to sweat or grease on the users hands. Many of these early EBs, like the one shown here, have paler, almost orange areas, particularly where handled most, primarily the far end of the neck.

1964 EB0 features and components

This bass has all the typical features of a mid-late '64 EB0, although is not quite the same as any shown in any Gibson catalog; the 1964 catalogue still shows the image from the previous (1962) catalogue, whilst the 1966 shows a bass with a newer bridge version with mute and Japanese-made closed-gear tuning keys.

Starting at the headstock: inlaid Gibson logo, with open o, b and dotted i. The crown inlay on the headstock is centered; older EBs had this positioned a little higher - see this 1962 EB0 for comparison. The headstock angle seems to be 17°; this was reduced to 14° sometime before 1966. The neck is still wide (width at nut 43mm) like earlier EB basses, but maybe 10% shallower than the very earliest (like this 1962 example). Like all '60s EB basses, the 30 1/2" scale calls for short scale strings - and although string choice is a matter of taste, these basses sound incredible with a set of flats.

The nickel bar bridge has no string mute - these were fitted as standard to the EB3 and later to the EB0, but at this stage they were not fitted as stock. Hardware is all nickel-plated. The most notable change from earlier versions being the pickup - although basically the same coil (EB neck humbucker), the previously bakelite cover had been upgraded to metal; nickel from late-63 into 1964 and chrome plated from then on. The hand rest shown here is nickel-plated, although this part is so often removed and replaced it is hard to say for sure when the change from nickel to chrome occurred. The machine heads are Kluson 538s - very widely used on Gibson (and many other brands) basses at this time.

'64 EB-0 wiring

The picture on the right shows the simple circuitry of this bass: just two potentiometers, one controlling volume, the other tone. the volume pot is made by CTS part number BA811-1053, dated week 20 of 1964 (May 1964). The tone pot is different; 250k part BA811-1831 and is dated week 2* of 1964 (the second digit is covered by solder). Click the image for a larger version, and a circuit wiring plan.

Gibson EB-0 soundclips

1960s EB0's are famous for their 'fat' neck humbucker tone, although they can really growl, especially when played with a pick near the bridge - for more clips check out the audio samples of a '66 EB0 through various vintage valve amps.

This clip of this bass was recorded directly into my computer sound card, with no pre-amp (bass set-up: round wound strings, treble and vol at 9/10).

This clip contrasts the tones of the EB0, but this time fitted with flatwounds and recorded at the same amp settings (1964 Ampeg B15, everything 5/10).
1) First played with a pick at the bridge - not especially hard, 2) then digging in for a real snarl. 3) Finally the bass played finger style at the neck.

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