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1975 Gibson Ripper rescue

#43
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#45
Neepheid, I salute YOU!

Gorgeous axe, my man! I still have my Grabber from the early 80s, plays and sounds great, I've had many offers but I know I'd regret it the minute I let it go. But it's not as sweet as THAT bass! Well done!
 
#54
Awesome work! Kinda coincidence but i've had the same idea bout the color for my own ripper bass build (in the future when i have more money) :D
Ripper 77 Blood.jpg
although mine is photoshop picture & a brighter red. I'm going for a bloodish red. For a 4 way rotary switch 4 Position Rotary Switch | Allparts.com

How does the Curtis novac choke sound? I was planning on going for that for original looks to the wiring but it's pretty expensive (so i'm gonna end up with Kent armstrongs tone choke) & GFS lipstick humbucker pickups in black (cause inexpensive, & different + i can always go for the SD ripper replacements later on if ever i want to). Anyways, great job man, always loved ripper basses.
 
#59
ThaCoast said:
Awesome work! Kinda coincidence but i've had the same idea bout the color for my own ripper bass build (in the future when i have more money) :D View attachment 627908 although mine is photoshop picture & a brighter red. I'm going for a bloodish red. For a 4 way rotary switch 4 Position Rotary Switch | Allparts.com

How does the Curtis novac choke sound? I was planning on going for that for original looks to the wiring but it's pretty expensive (so i'm gonna end up with Kent armstrongs tone choke) & GFS lipstick humbucker pickups in black (cause inexpensive, & different + i can always go for the SD ripper replacements later on if ever i want to). Anyways, great job man, always loved ripper basses.
Click to expand...

Cool mockup, careful with that switch though, the body of it seems quite deep and the cavity is not at that point (if you see the picture of the one I used, I had to bend the terminals down to stop it bulging the pickguard).

The Curtis Novak choke coil when engaged by the mid pot sucks out the appropriate mid frequencies and makes the bass sound more "polite" in fingerstyle but gives that scooped sound that I hear is supposed to work well with slap. I had a cheeky pop of the G string (can't slap for toffee) and it did seem more twangy and like the sort of thing I've heard when people slap. I'm sure the Kent Armstrong tone choke will do a similar job, assuming it's spec'd the same way as the originals. I went with the Curtis Novak one because it's the right shape and Curtis says on his website it's wound as per the original.
 
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#60
timonvh said:
Great job, and wonderfully documented. It must be a joy to be able to accomplish that.
I congratulate you.
Timon
BTW thanks for the heads-up about the custom truss rod covers!
Click to expand...

Thanks. I looked it up and I got the truss rod cover done by these guys: Custom Engraved "Signature" Truss Rod Cover fits most Gibson guitars Les Paul, SG, and etc. - Philadelphia Luthier Tools & Supplies, LLC

If you're thinking of getting it done, I could try and find the PDF I sent them as the guide.
 

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