1958 EB-1?????

[westen44]

Yes, owning a bass before it was manufactured might seem like an accomplishment.  But sometimes people do clever things.  Once someone told Noel Redding that he saw the Jimi Hendrix Experience in a concert in 1972.  Noel said that must have been quite clever since Hendrix had died in 1970. 

[Basvarken]

I think we're confusing terms here. AFAIK once the Evertilt was introduced, the handrest was discontinued, and a bridge cover was introduced. The holes you can see on either side of the bridge are from a bridge cover, but what he refers to as a "bridge guard" is almost certainly a handrest from a pre-'68 EB-0/EB-3. He didn't move it from over the bridge b/c it's not a bridge cover, it didn't come with the bass, and it's not wide enough to cover the Evertilt and fit those screw holes.

But he's owned the bass since before it was manufactured, so he must be an expert. 

Ah yes, the chrome thingy that covers the bridge and where you can rest your hand on.

[Grog]

I think we're confusing terms here. AFAIK once the Evertilt was introduced, the handrest was discontinued, and a bridge cover was introduced. The holes you can see on either side of the bridge are from a bridge cover, but what he refers to as a "bridge guard" is almost certainly a handrest from a pre-'68 EB-0/EB-3. He didn't move it from over the bridge b/c it's not a bridge cover, it didn't come with the bass, and it's not wide enough to cover the Evertilt and fit those screw holes.

But he's owned the bass since before it was manufactured, so he must be an expert. 

That bass most defiantly didn't come with that handrest as Dave said............ I have seen a few odd combinations of handrests, bridge covers & bridges. My '68 EB-0 must have been a transition model, it has a "Tilt-O-Matic" & the older handrest. My'67 EB-2, (that I've had since 1955....LOL) came with a cut-a-way in the pickguard for the bridge cover. Mine never had a handrest installed but I've seen several with the newer bridge cover in the handrest location.

[amptech]

I heard (or read, can't remember) that sometime in the 60's they shipped the handrest unmounted, so that shops could install them if the customer wanted? Maybe just before they started making the new bridge cover... Anyone that can verify this information?

[Dave W]

I've never heard that.

[Grog]

I think that my '67 EB-2, was special ordered without a hand rest. It never had an orange label until I put a NOS label in it. My '67 ES-335 was special ordered with a Bigsby instead of the Lyre Vibrola that normally came with it at the time. It has a CUSTOM TRC & also never had an orange label until I put one on. Here is an early photo, back when I purchased my first Hobbit for $300.00. After nearly 20 years of owning the other two, this increased my guitar population from two to three. Things went downhill from there................... I eventually traded my EB-2 pickguard for one without a cutaway for the hand rest.

[Dave W]

You could custom order, and I'm sure some did. AFAIK it wasn't normal for the hand rest to be shipped uninstalled. Back in the day, I never saw one in a store that way.

In any case, the EB-1 reissue came with a bridge cover, not a hand rest.

[Dave W]

Against my better judgment, I contacted him two or three days ago and politely explained all the features of a '58 that his doesn't have and that his is definitely a reissue. No response at all from him, and now he's relisted it with no change. Since two minutes of searching would confirm everything I told him, I have to conclude that he's attempting a swindle, in spite of his good feedback.

Another thing I forgot to mention: "comes with five extra sets of vintage light gauge Gibson electric bass strings ($60/set if you can find them)." Yeah, right. Since when did strings made in the 90s or later become "vintage"? There's a set on Reverb now for $21 and the last sale I can see was a set sold for $15 in March on eBay.

[Grog]

Agreed............ With minimal research, even somebody with no knowledge of this bass can see that it's not a '58. 1958 was the last year the original version was shipped & only 45 were sold that year. I wonder why he picked that year??? Dave has his displayed online.............


https://davesguitar.com/dgs_collection/eb-1-58/