Gibson, block bass block inlay.

[lancaster]

Way back in the 1965 I bought a Gibson EB-3, serial No 198499, I was looking at some pictures on the web and noticed that all the 60s bases I found had dot inlay necks, my question is when did Gibson start putting block inlays on the necks. My bass was built in 1964 and had block inlays.

Edited November 30, 2014 by lancaster

[AndyTravis]

You got any pics? I thought 63, but that's a distant memory based on reissue 335's I used to sell in a guitar shop.

[lancaster]

Sold it back in the 70s, replaced by a P-bass, it will haunt me to the grave.

[neepheid]

According to this article, it was possible to custom order block inlays on an EB-3 back in the day:

"The 1962 EB-3 shown here doesn’t have the standard finish or fretboard inlay. Instead, it has a factory-original white finish and large-block markers that match the Les Paul Custom of the era. According to Gibson records, it was a special order entered as “EB-3 – white” on September 12, 1962. It was apparently made to match a Les Paul Custom made for members of a band."

http://www.vintageguitar.com/3568/the-gibson-eb-3/

[lancaster]

My bass came straight off the shelf from Frank Hessey in Liverpool, it was not a special order.

[neepheid]

[quote name='lancaster' timestamp='1417560282' post='2621855']
My bass came straight off the shelf from Frank Hessey in Liverpool, it was not a special order.
[/quote]



I'm just quoting an article I found (the only one with any reference to the matter I could find), so take from it what you will. I can't tell you when Gibson started doing this, as was the original question. Your bass was/is an odd bod in the grand scheme of things, I dare say a very fetching looking odd bod, but blocks were almost certainly not a standard feature. I'm not saying I know all there is to know, but given my level of interest in Gibson basses over the years, if blocks had been a common thing I'd have expected to see one - online or otherwise - long before now.