GIBSON INCORPORATED, KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN, 1960

Details

GEORGE BENSON: A RARE EB-6 BASS
GIBSON INCORPORATED, KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN, 1960
The logo Gibson inlaid at the headstock, labeled internally Style EB-6 / Gibson BASS / Number A 33611 is hereby / GUARANTEED / against faulty workmanship and materials. / Gibson INC./ KALAMAZOO, MICHIGAN, / U.S.A. , also ink stamped internally R4516 29, the laminated maple body with a sunburst finish mounted with one humbucking pickup, the mahogany neck with Brazilian rosewood fingerboard with faux pearl dot inlays, with original hardshell Gibson case and a photograph of George Benson with the bass
Length of back: 18 ¼ in. (46.3 cm.)
Overall length: 44 ½ in. (113 cm.)

Provenance

Guernsey's, New York, 27 February 2016, lot 234.

Sale room notice

Please note that this lot is made from or contains Brazilian Rosewood, which is a protected and regulated species, and will be restricted for purchase to bidders residing in the United States. For more information on lots made of or including endangered and other protected species of wildlife, please see our Conditions of Sale. If you plan to collect this lot in-person, you may be responsible for applicable New York taxes.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

George Benson began his successful music career as a child prodigy, first playing jazz guitar in clubs at only eight years old. In the decades since, Benson has won ten Grammy awards and been awarded a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

Between 1960-1961, Gibson manufactured less than 70 EB-6 bass guitars in this semi-hollow body style, modeled after Gibson’s popular ES-355 guitar, making it one of the rarest guitar models ever produced. In 1962, the design of the semi-hollow EB-6 changed to a solid-body SG, like the EB-0 or EB-3. The EB-6 uses the same tuning as a guitar, but set an octave lower.

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