Gibson SB 350

My SB350 is a USA-built 4-string Gibson from 1972, I think they were only manufactured two or three years in the early 1970's. The SB350 is short scale (it has a "sister" model that is completely similar but long scale - the SB450). I am uncertain of what kind of wood it is made of - certainly not mahogany, might be maple.

The SB350 is solid, SG-type body and the headstock has the same shape as the one on the Ripper.

There are two minihumbuckers and a control plate with a volume and a tone control and two switches where you turn the pickups on and off.

I use my SB350 to play bass at places where I don't want to take my beloved SG-Z. I mostly play rock music and this bass fits my style very well. No buzzing from the electronics and very good sound, I saw that another reviewer feels the bass lacks bottom but I don't agree with that at all. However - older instruments can vary a lot depending on how much usage they've had and I guess this can be individual between them...

I usually play only with the bridge pickup (or for some songs both at once) because the neck pickup on its own gives too little brightness for my taste. I get a full, warm sound that I'm very satisfied with.

When I play gigs I usually have a Behringer amp on stage and line this out through the PA-system. I also use some EBS pedals; compressor, dist, chorus, bass-IQ and octabass. The SB350 works very well with this lineup. I use Gibson Thunder Plus Med Light strings on it (0.45-0.100) and these work very well. No buzzing!

I haven't done very much to this bass since I bought it - a 30 year old instruments is allowed to have some scratches and oxide! I've basically changed strings...

There is some fret buzz, but I haven't tried adjusting the neck and it is possible that this might go away with a little effort. No problems with the hardware, saddle, frets or anything.

I can sometimes feel that it is a little bit difficult to play short scale basses - but that is only because I usually play long scale.

Something that needs getting used to is that many of the old Gibson basses - including this one - has tuners that go the wrong way.... It is also a little bit tricky to tune because you just tuch the tuner and you've changed tuning half a tone.

This bass does absolutely like to be played live, I've used it indoors and outdoors and in the rain and so on and never had any problems. It is very dependable and yes, I've used it on gigs without a backup.

You have to take care of all Gibson instruments since they have this nitrocellulose laquer, but this one hasn't cracked or anything.

Gibson customer support are always very friendly. I haven't dealt with them regarding this specific bass, but when I've had questions earlier they've always answered me within a day.

I've been playing bass for several years in different bands, mostly rock. (Started out in the late 1980-s in a reagge band, stopped playing 1989 and started again in the late 90-s.) When I first saw this bass at a guitar fair I actually didn't realize that it was shortscale, I noticed this when I visited the store later and saw it together with other basses.

As I mentioned earlier I usually play a Gibson SG-Z and I have bought this as a complement, I'm very happy with it since it's sturdy and can give me the rocky sound but I don't feel that I have to keep my eyes fixed on it every single second. (I'm very paranoid when it comes to the SG-Z.)

I really love that it is light weight and easy to bring. I travel quite a lot on gigs and to and from rehearsing, and portability is very important to me.

The only thing I had a problem with was that the store where I bought it thought it to be an EB-3 bass, much higher value for those and it was way too high priced. Luckily I sort of know the guys there and we could come to an agreement - I just had to have it!

In the family we have lots of other basses, amongst others a Fender Jazz-bass, a Rickenbacker 4001, a Gibson G3, a Gibson EB-0 Thunderbird, fretless Vantage, Yamaha and so on. When I go out to play I always bring either my SG-Z or this SB350 and most of the time a fretted Vantage that I actually bought on e-bay a couple of years ago and use tuned down a step to D. These last three are my favourites - can't live without them!

'72 Model (I believe this model was made from '72 to '75). 4 string. One volume and one tone control. 2 pickup on/off switches. 2 covered mini-humbucker pickups. Mahogany body and neck. Walnut finish. Rosewood fingerboard with pearl dot inlay. 30.5" scale. 21 frets. SG body style. No thumbrest. No pick guard, but does have black laminated control plate. Blackface peghead with silkscreen logo, 2 per side tuners. Bar bridge with metal cover.

This bass is good for late 60's & 70's hard rock and Cream type stuff. Also will get a great Jack Casady type sound. Not a thumb bass. It has lots of attack especially on the mid to high-end. It is super easy to play and has great action. The low end is not very good, which is probably due to it's short scale. I currently use a Fender BXR 100 amp which has lots of low end so it compensates for the e-string problem. As far as the two pickups, the bridge pickup doesn't carry much weight, when it is cut off the sound is more ballsy without cutting out that much treble. Playing with the bridge pickup alone is fairly useless. The tone control is effective.

I bought this bass used. I did have to adjust the intonation when I got it, which is difficult due to the short scale. I also adjusted the pickups up higher which fits my sound better. The pickup on/off switches were dirty and scratchy and I had to clean them.

This bass is mahogany so you can beat the crap out of it. Pete Townshend would have trouble smashing this one. The finish is good and strong. I've had no problems with anything going out of whack.

I like this little bass, especially since you don't see many of this model around, it's sort of a novelty. I have been playing for over 25 years so it sort of takes me on a time trip. It is so easy to play with great action. The only real negative is the low end problem. Thumb slappers, this is not your bass. Guitar players just love it. I also have a P-bass which I use. All in all, it is a cool bass to have in the arsenal.