Gibson SB 300

I've got one of these babies, bought it used in 1978 and have been gigging with it up until 3 years ago. It is in Cherry Red and has "Made in USA" plus the serial number 635528 stamped on the back of the head.
20 fret, 2 single coil p/ups, volume, tone with 2 switches to activate the p/ups.

I love this guitar. I played in a pub rock band, the depth and loudness of this beast is nothing short of wicked. Hooked up to a decent bass rig, I have had many a pint glass or bottle vibrate across the bar onto the floor !!
The single p/ups can be a bit noisy for studio / recording so would suggest either a noise filter if you are contemplating recording with one, really it is a stage guitar not recording machine

The feel of this guitar hasn't changed in all the years I have had it.
The neck is as straight as ever, got it out of the case today for the first time in 2 years, still perfectly in tune!
The Cherry Red has cracked like all old SG / SB models but to me it just adds character

Seems indestructable, only ever adjusted the truss rod once when I got the guitar originally.
Can I depend on the guitar, hell yes ! Never let me down once through all the years of abuse I gave it.

This guitar has always been the choice for me when playing live.
I have a Precision Bass which I use for recording but it feels too clean and clinical somehow for live work (hard to explain)
When I walk on stage with my SB300 it just looks different to all the Jap copies and Jap Fenders, and you can see all the guitar heads wondering just what model it is. Adds serious depth to any band, you never get lost in a crash of drums and cymbals with this baby, just make sure your speakers can handle it !

These were made for a short period of time in the early 1970's, mine is a 1972 judging from the serial number (963988). It was made in the U.S.A. The neck and body are both mahogany, the neck has 20 frets. I can't tell what the fretboard is made of, possibly mahogany but it is a separate piece. The body is an SG style. Controls include a metal volume knob, a metal tone knob, and two on/off slider switches for the pickups. The pickups are passive single-coil with metal rings around them and black plastic covers that say Gibson in script. I believe the body was originally chocolate brown, but it has been stripped to natural wood and is now a dark honey color. The neck is set, with a bone nut and tuners that say Gibson on them. The original bridge was atrocious; I have replaced it with a Badass II, but still have the original. The bridge cover was missing when I bought the bass. However, it did come in the original hard-shell case.

This bass has a very unique sound; it is loud as hell, raw, growly, and very aggressive. I usually have to boost the mids and highs significantly when I use this Gibson, it is very heavy on the low end. I haven't experimented much with using the different pickups, I usually use both on. The tone control changes the sound somewhat, but not drastically. I don't think my current setup (vintage Kustom head, hartke and peavey cabs) is sufficient to really judge the sound quality. It is great for what it does, but not extemely versatile.

When I purchased this bass, it was in horrible condition and had not been well taken care of. Luckily, I had a great tech at the time, he basically rebuilt it for me, cleaned it up, oiled the fretboard, replaced one of the pickup on/off switches that was broken, installed a Badass bridge in place of the original, etc. When I got it back, it played great. At this point, my only complaint is that there are a couple of dead spots higher up the neck on the G string. I have no idea how these were originally since it's over 30 years old.

The instrument is very solid, withstands live playing quite well. I'm backing off on using it live for a minute until I get some better speakers to use. I have used it live without a backup several times. In its present condition, it is a great piece.

Never dealt with them.

Been playing about 5 years, I also have a Washburn XB-120 and a Fender Musicmaster among others. This bass was a great find, the tech who sold it to me didn't want it and was too lazy to put it on ebay - my gain as it is worth far more than what I paid. If stolen, I probably wouldn't be able to find another one, I've never seen another one in real life, and only seen 2 or 3 on the internet. It is an extremely unique instrument, cool vintage look, fun to play, great sound, and very rare.