The Very Rare Six-String Version Of The EB-2

1960 Gibson EB-6

One of only 34 guitars made in 1960, this amazingly rare six-string bass weighs just 8.50 lbs. Single-bound double-cutaway 16 inch wide, 1 /34 inch deep thinline body (a la ES-335). One-piece laminated lightly flamed 'birds-eye' maple top, back and sides. One-piece mahogany neck with a wonderful thick profile, a fat nut width of just over 1 11/16 inches and a  scale length of 30 1/2 inches. Brazilian rosewood fretboard with original 20 jumbo frets and inlaid pearl dot position markers. Headstock with inlaid pearl "Gibson" logo and pearl crown inlay. Two-layer (black on white) plastic truss-rod cover with two screws. Individual Kluson Deluxe 'Single-Line' Tuners with double ring Keystone plastic buttons with "D-169400 / Patent No." stamped on the underside. Orange oval label inside the bass f-hole with the style "EB-6" written in black ink and the serial number "A 33880" printed in black. FON (factory order number) "R4516 5" stamped in black inside the treble f-hole. Single "Double-Black" PAF humbucking pickup with "Patent Applied For" rectangular black label on underside and with black plastic surround. Five-layer black over white plastic pickguard. Two controls (one volume, one tone) plus 'toggle-style' baritone switch, all on lower treble bout. Gold plastic bell-shaped "Bell" knobs. Combined Bar-Bridge "Stud" tailpiece with two intonation adjustment screws and original Gibson mute assembly. All hardware nickel-plated. There is some fine checking on the body and two very small surface marks on the rear edge of the headstock, otherwise this exceptionally rare six-string bass is in near mint (9.25) condition. Complete with the original Gibson double-folding hang-tag. Housed in the original Gibson five-latch, shaped brown hardshell case with pink plush lining (9.25).

In 1960, Gibson proposed as a compliment to the EB-2, in the semi-solid series, a second bass model, this time with six strings, designated the EB-6. A six-string bass is tuned one octave below a normal guitar and employs the same tuning (EADGBE). In the late 50s a trend for six-string basses was beginning to develop among guitarists who also wanted to play bass, but differently from a regular bass player or with special effects. The EB-6 was widely inspired from the four-string EB-2 with the same scale length (that is 30 1/2 inches), a twenty fret unbound fingerboard and a neck-to-body junction at the 18th fret. The combination bridge/tailpiece was based on the same principal as the unit on the EB-2, with no adjustment string-by-string for intonation. The EB-6 only had one special Humbucking bass pick-up similar in appearance to a normal guitar Humbucker. Like the EB-2, it had a volume and a tone control with a bass/baritone switch in order to broaden the tonal possibilities. The EB-6 resembled more a guitar than a bass, but it was possible to differentiate the EB-6 by it's neck which was slightly longer. Otherwise the tuning machines and the overall appearance were similar to a one pick-up guitar. The semi-solid EB-6 was only offered from 1960 up to about 1962, when the name was applied to a new "solid body" SG-type model with two Humbucking pick-ups. The EB-6 was only available in "Sunburst" and in May 1960, it sold for $325, compared to $285 for an EB-2.

"The six string, EB6 Baritone Bass Guitar is one of the most rare of Gibsons creations. So rare that even the experts can't agree on the numbers produced, or upon the dates! In 1960 (according to A.R. Duchossor, author of "Gibson Electrics The Classic Years", or in 1961 if you believe Zach Fjestad, the author of the "Blue Book of Electric Guitars") Gibson responded to the success of Fender’s Bass VI with the  EB-6. The EB-6 was initially styled after the EB-2 bass (1958 release), with a body in the style of an ES-335 guitar. Like the Fender Bass VI, the EB-6 features a shorter-scale neck (30 1/2 inches), but the strings are tuned an octave below a standard guitar.

In 1962 Gibson switched the body design to an SG-style (similar to the EB-0 and EB-3). According to Zach Fjestad, Gibson only produced 135 of these EB-6 basses in total over a seven-year period (1961-67), of which 67 are the semi-hollow body similar to the EB2, and 68 are in the SG solid-body shape. The EB-6 also features in the book "Gibson Electrics The Classic Years" by A.R. Duchossoir. Of the first thinline semi-hollow body version (for which it specifies one pickup) it states that "only 67 EB-6's were shipped in 1960 (34 units) and 1961 (33 units)". Of the second solidbody SG-style version it states "Only 66 solidbody EB-6's were shipped between 1962 and 1965, including a very small number of single pickup versions (probably no more than a dozen." "Gruhn's Guide to Vintage Guitars" (second edition) offers shipping totals for both versions combined "Discontinued (135 total shipped): 1968" and the 2009 Vintage Guitar Price Guide refers to the 2 pickup version stating "1960-1966. Introduced as semi-hollow body 335-style 6-string with one humbucker, changes to SG-style with 2 pickups in 1962." http://www.mygibsonbass.com/id16.html