Gibson EB2 Chronology

1958

The Gibson EB-2 was launched in 1958, as a companion to the electric archtop the ES-335. It was initially available in two finishes, Natural and Sunburst, with Sunburst being by far the most common; in the period 1958-61 the numbers produced were Sunburst - 427, Natural - 90.

The initial specifications were as follows:
Construction:laminate maple top and back, maple sides and one-piece Honduras mahogany neck. Rosewood fretboard with pearl dot inlays
Hardware: single coil EB pickup, bar bridge, back facing banjo tuning keys

The Gibson EB2 bass on display at the 1958 NAMM show, Chicago - picture from the Sept/Oct 1958 issue of Gibson Gazette.

February the EB-2 is announced in Gibson trade publication Gibson Gazette. A shipment of sample guitars (including a Flying V, Cherry Les Paul, ES-335T and an EB2 bass) is shipped to CMI (Chicago Musical Instruments) for display on Feb 21st.

March first catalogue appearance - see the EB2 in the 1958 Gibson catalog

June first production models are registered at the Kalamazoo plant

July model displayed at the 1958 Chicago NAMM show

1960

1960 saw the development of the Gibson EB bass mute, with owners encouraged to retro-fit the unit to their instruments. These were also available as an optional extra - "installed at the factory on any new bass order". The headstock design changes, widening slightly in order to accommodate Kluson 538 tuning keys, replacing the original banjo-style keys.

April Gibson engineer Larry Allers files a patent for the Gibson EB bass mute; patent number 3,015,247 would be granted in January 1962.

May The 1960 catalogue includes the EB2 and it describes the new baritone button, and humbucking pickup, however the bass pictured is still the one from the previous catalogue in early 1958; i.e. single coil pickup without baritone circuitry.

July Gibson Gazette promotes the EB string mute "That muted or muffled tone so many bassists desire can now be obtained through the simple addition of a wonderful new gadget by Gibson"

1964

The EB2 was reintroduced in the first half of 1964, with a significant number shipped that year (340), though, for some reason, it did not appear in the September price list. The promotional sheet to the right is undated, and would appear to be from either late 1964 or early 1965. It mentions Cherry as a finish option, however shipping stats do not suggest Cherry EB-2s until 1965. This, however, does not confirm a printing date of 1965 as (i) shipping statistics often lump model variations together, especially when produced in small numbers - there may have been some Cherry EB2s produced in late 1964, and (ii) new variants were often listed in publicity material some months in advance of their actual availability.

1964 specifications were as follows:
Construction: largely unchanged from the earliest examples
Hardware: as before, except Gibson EB humbucker with nickel cover. Note that these early reissues had the raised crown headstock logo of the early 1960s basses and no handrest. Likewise, the understring mute, although available and fitted to some basses was not yet routinely fitted.

1966

The April 1966 price list is the first to include the two-pickup EB-2D, although in this first year, ten times as many one-pickup instruments were shipped as two-pickup. The 1966 catalog is the first to picture the EB-2 in colour, with mute, and with handrest, though these features had been as standard as of June 1965.

1968

 

The second best year sales-wise, and once again the EB-2 is Gibson's best-selling bass. Walnut was first listed as an available finish in June of this year for both one-pickup and two-pickup models.

Have a closer look at this 1968 Gibson EB-2D

1970

The 1970 Gibson bass catalog was the last to show the EB-2 and EB-2D. The one-pickup EB-2 was discontinued this year; the last listing in the March price list.

February 1970: Gibson sent 150 EB-2 basses to Long Binh military base, Vietnam. Perhaps the last EB-2s shipped?

1972

The October '72 price list is the last one to include the EB-2D, before being dropped in favour of the Les Paul Signature as Gibson's hollow-body bass. It was quite common when Gibson discontinued an instrument for incredibly small numbers of instruments to trickle out of the factory for several years. It is likely that odd EB-2Ds were shipping into the middle 1970s.