The Gibson EB-2 first appeared in 1958; like the visually similar ES-335 guitar launched the same year, it contained an internal center block to improve sustain and reduce feedback.

Initially fitted with a single-coil pickup, it had acquired a humbucker by 1959. It was also equipped with the “sensational Gibson Bass-Baritone switch”, a tone circuit giving an additional “edge” to the instrument’s sound.

The same feature was included on the Epiphone Rivoli, an EB-2 lookalike that also debuted in 1959. The EB-2 itself was dropped in 1961, but returned three years later, and 1966 saw the appearance of the 2-pickup version seen here.

Both basses remained available until the early 1970s.