Kalamazoo KB Bass Guitar
Short scale SG style bass, made by Gibson

Short scale strings suitable for the 30½ scale Kalamazoo KB bass Rotosound RS88S Trubass Standard Gauge Short Scale Strings (Rotosound - Bass Strings - RS88S - True Bass (Black Nylon)) Thomastik-Infeld JF324 Jazz Flatwound Short Scale 4-String Bass (Thomastik-Infeld JF324 Jazz Flatwound Short Scale) D'Addario EXL160S XL Regular Short Bass String Set (D'Addario Bass Strings Nickel Wound Short Scale - Regular) Fender 5250XL Short Scale Bass Extra Light Strings (Fender short scale Nickel Steel roundwounds) Rotosound RS77S Jazz Bass Strings Short Scale (Rotosound - Bass Strings - RS77S - Jazz Bass) D'Addario EXL220S Electric Bass Strings XL Nickel Super Light Short Scale (D'Addario EXL220S Nickel Super Light Short Scale) Ernie Ball 2837 Slinky Silhouette 6-String Short-Scale Bass Strings (Ernie Ball 2837 Slinky Silhouette 6-String Short-Scale Bass Strings)

Kalamazoo KB bass shipping figures

Unusually for the 1960s, the available shipping figures for the Kalamazoo bass are split by colour. The shipping totals are also listed for 3 Gibson/Epiphone comparible models: EB0, Newport (EBS) and Melody Maker bass. As can be seen, the Kalmazoo bass greatly outsold the other models in 1966 and '67, though it slips behind in 1968, and production almost stops in '69 - the EB0s peak year. The Melody Maker bass is another cheaper model, rarer than the others, even though the shipping figures for this bass are most likely incomplete.

Kalamazoo KB bass pricing

The Kalamazoo bass was cheap; approximately half the price of the EB0, and still a good deal cheaper than Gibsons cheapest bass, the Melody Maker, whilst having the same pickup (and therefore a good deal of the sound) of both models. No wonder it sold well initially.

Three views of the KB bass. Left: components like knobs and scratchplates were far less fancy than on Gibson and Epiphone branded basses. Middle: The neck plate is unmarked, though has an unused hole for the strap button. On most basses this was actually situated on the rear of the upper horn. Right: The machineheads used were closed-cover Japanese-made tuners, as used on a lot of 1960s basses by numerous manufacturers. Other Gibson and Epiphone basses to use these include the EB0 and EBS Newport

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