1959 EBO with banjo's

Highlander · August 10, 2012, 05:23:02 PM

This place does not do bargains...

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/GIBSON-EB-0-BASS-1959-VINTAGE-GIBSON-BASS-/390452556588?pt=UK_Musical_Instruments_Guitars_CV&hash=item5ae8c9332c

Dave W · August 10, 2012, 06:38:52 PM

There's a Make Offer button, Ken. Use it.

uwe · August 11, 2012, 02:50:01 AM

Two of my basses, no, wait, three have those. Tuning with them is a chore and hurts your fingers after a while. And the pull kills them eventually, they were not made for bass.

Lightyear · August 11, 2012, 09:23:39 AM

Quote from: Dave W on August 10, 2012, 06:38:52 PM
There's a Make Offer button, Ken. Use it.

Yeah, go ahead! We all know that marriage is way overated! Besides, you do have a nice, comfy shed to move into!

Grog · August 11, 2012, 09:26:21 AM

My '59 EB-2 had banjos with shrunken plastic buttons. The tuners were loose & didn't stay in tune. I bought a set of '60s nickel Firebird tuners & used the buttons off of them. That stiffened everything up & they work about as good as they can.................

Dave W · August 11, 2012, 06:43:10 PM

It's unusual to find any 50+ years-old Gibson with its original plastic (bakelite?) buttons, whether it has banjo or conventional tuners.

IIRC the banjos had a pretty low gear ratio and are difficult to turn with higher tension strings.

Highlander · August 12, 2012, 06:43:37 AM

Make an offer...! Bid...!!!

The shed would not be a suitable hiding place...

Grog · August 12, 2012, 07:38:51 AM

The EB-1 came with white plastic (bakelite?) buttons, I've seen NOS sets for sale thet looked good yet. My EB-2 had pearloid buttons, & they were in rough shape. The cheaper EB-0 as pictured above, came with nickel buttons. I went that way because I could find originals and it was fixed for life.

dadagoboi · August 12, 2012, 10:05:02 AM

Quote from: Grog on August 12, 2012, 07:38:51 AM
The EB-1 came with white plastic (bakelite?) buttons, I've seen NOS sets for sale thet looked good yet. My EB-2 had pearloid buttons, & they were in rough shape. The cheaper EB-0 as pictured above, came with nickel buttons. I went that way because I could find originals and it was fixed for life.

As stated in the listing, they are replacements. Originals had cream colored plastic buttons. I replaced mine with Schallers in '65 ASAP after buying my '60 EBO. I misplaced the original banjoes sometime in the '90s. A set sold a few weeks ago for around $200 on Ebay. '59-'60 EBOs are going for as little as $800 in OK shape. Usually 3 or 4 of them on Ebay and not a lot of interest.

Highlander · August 12, 2012, 01:46:51 PM

For me it's all about the date - one day I'd like to own an instrument the same age as me - finances prohibit that at present, but I'd love to own one of these or an EB2...