Dee Murray's Gibson Ripper?

[SturmUndDrang]

That's some weird looking tort Dluxe posted. The point about rusty pots is an important one. These basses were known to have off gassing pick guards that often corroded electronics including pickups. If you get to see the bass, make sure to plug it in and check everything out under the hood.

 

[Paulabass]

Cool bass, and worth a grand. The Dee Murray connection is only worth the story to tell your friends, but it's a good one.

 

[djaxup]

Rippers are awesome basses. I like the neck PU mod, but like some1 else already said, it does not sound like a P. It does sound broad and nice and pillowy though. The out-of-phase setting (the one most ppl sacrifice in favor of the neck only position) is really strange. You can make it work, but it has a completely different volume/gain structure, so you can't really switch to it and expect it to work as well as the other three settings. It sounds really nice with modulation and envelope filters though, if you are into strange and unique tones...

The mod is easy to do, and completely reversible. It is an easy solderjob that requires nothing but a bit of lead and a short lead/cable. Check out Ed Friedlands video to get an impression of the sounds:

At minute 4:25 you can hear the neck only mod in action. I liked it!

 

[B-Mac]

Hey Guys,

Someone local is offering up a Gibson Ripper - purported to be played by Dee Murray on tour with Elton John. I have no financial interest other than possibly being interested in buying it.

I looked through the TalkBass forums and there are a few Ripper fanboys. Are these nice basses? I tend to be a P-bass with flats kind of guy - apparently the pickup selector doesn't allow for a neck only setting, which is most likely where I would want to play it.

They are asking just north of $1000. Based on the limited info in the pics below, does this look like a reasonable project bass? Obviously I would need to see it in person to make a thorough evaluation. Looks pretty scummy but that can be cleaned up. If need be I could probably scrape together the cash.

Any thoughts?

Thanks




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My man Greg Lake from ELP had a black and Maple one. I'd love to get one with everything intact. The varitone switch with Parallel, Series, in phase and out of phase settings is something I'd need to have unaltered to buy one.

It is quite possible that this is Dee Murray's though I have yet to see a picture of him with one. Probably used it live for a single tour and then stopped. I'd assume he probably had it for GBYBR tour? Ralphe Armstrong had a fretless version and Peter Cetera also had one all around the same time as Greg Lake. All of the above mentioned used them for short times.

 

[Microbass]

The rust dust (or whatever we're looking at) is rather off putting, but it looks pretty comfy aside from that.

This one has an early see through Tort Pickguard that is made of the material that deteriorates and rusts everything. I have a natural Ripper and replaced it with a one piece black pickguard. Mine was already cracked and in several pieces.

I’ve seen pretty horrific damage done Rippers from the tort-gas. This will be a 73/74 model, 1 of 19 or so... it’s a tough call... the electrics could be ruined, and if still worked may not last very long depending on the level of damage. You do a few replacement options of course. If it currently works I’d try and talk him down. The sunburst is questionable, I’ve never seen one like it, but it could be coated in rust dust or have been stained by the gas.

You can pick up good looking Rippers in the 1-1.5k range if you’re patient. If you could score this for 800-900 then I’d say that’s a winner. It’ll never be a P but you would have enough space to put a P pickup inside without having to route the body* or get new electronics to keep it a Ripper.

*should work. These basses are practically semi-hollow!

 

[B-Mac]

Please educate me...what in blazes is tort gas? This is not meant to be a hi-jacking of this thread.

 

[ole Jason]

I couldn't care less about Elton John crap but the bass is definitely worth $1k if everything is in proper shape. That color is really unusual, most rippers you'll find are black or natural IME.

 

[mikeswals]

Did a little rummaging around the web on Dee Murray, part of the rhythm section that fueled what was arguably Elton John's most creative period. Here is a live version of 'Madman Across The Water' (where Murray is clearly not playing the Ripper in question).

If you're unfamiliar with Dee Murray, that whole concert is fantastic to watch. Just a 3 piece, filling a lot of sound and all of them just killin it.

 

[grinx]

Please educate me...what in blazes is tort gas? This is not meant to be a hi-jacking of this thread.

Turtle farts

or, in this case, the off-gassing that occurs in plastics as they mature (ever smell old tools with clear plastic handles in a closed toolbox for years, Ermagerd)

 

[mmmmmmmmm]

Yes. Yes. Yes. A million times yes. Clean 'er up a little and she'll be playing great...

 

[A. D. Fairhurst]

For a little over $1000, that's a ridiculously low price, especially considering it's a rare finish. Even if you don't like it, you can probably polish it up and sell it on for a fair bit more! All I can say is you're a lucky *******!

 

[B-Mac]

Hey Guys,

Someone local is offering up a Gibson Ripper - purported to be played by Dee Murray on tour with Elton John. I have no financial interest other than possibly being interested in buying it.

I looked through the TalkBass forums and there are a few Ripper fanboys. Are these nice basses? I tend to be a P-bass with flats kind of guy - apparently the pickup selector doesn't allow for a neck only setting, which is most likely where I would want to play it.

They are asking just north of $1000. Based on the limited info in the pics below, does this look like a reasonable project bass? Obviously I would need to see it in person to make a thorough evaluation. Looks pretty scummy but that can be cleaned up. If need be I could probably scrape together the cash.

Any thoughts?

Thanks




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@TBird1958 might know or might be able to find out since he knows the author of the Gibson Bass Book.

 

[rtslinger]

But it doesn't look like a factory sunburst at all. Factory makes the center color look like a teardrop.

I think is Tobacco Burst like the guy from The Band played.
I have a Maple Ripper for many years absolutely my favorite of my 17 basses still

 

[Les Fret]

I don't think it's a refin. I have seen some Rippers with this kind of finish. Think it's tobacco burst.

I would be a bit worried if the electronics and pickups are ok and if it can be cleaned well.

 

[TBird1958]

Love the finish on that bass, certainly worth the 1K!
ACDC's "Long way to the top" video has one of these in it.

 

[godofthunder59]

Please educate me...what in blazes is tort gas? This is not meant to be a hi-jacking of this thread.

They were one ply cellulose pickguards, the cellulose material gasses over time and deteriorates.

 

[ultra60]

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This reminds me of a post, on another forum many years back, where a guy claimed to have one of Geddy Lee's Rics, because the case had "Rush" spray painted on it.

 

[electracoyote]

I'd love to see a picture of Dee playing this bass. I'm not calling foul on the claim, but I've never read or seen anything documenting or substantiating him playing one for any significant length (like a full show or part of a tour where his or EJ's name on the case would be required).

However, it wouldn't surprise me if he had and I have no doubts whatsoever that he could make one talk.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Hey Guys,

Someone local is offering up a Gibson Ripper - purported to be played by Dee Murray on tour with Elton John. I have no financial interest other than possibly being interested in buying it.

I looked through the TalkBass forums and there are a few Ripper fanboys. Are these nice basses? I tend to be a P-bass with flats kind of guy - apparently the pickup selector doesn't allow for a neck only setting, which is most likely where I would want to play it.

They are asking just north of $1000. Based on the limited info in the pics below, does this look like a reasonable project bass? Obviously I would need to see it in person to make a thorough evaluation. Looks pretty scummy but that can be cleaned up. If need be I could probably scrape together the cash.

Any thoughts?

Thanks




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For me, I really don’t care who owned a bass before. As for an instrument, my recollection is these were well built, but had a rather nondescript sound. If that 4 way switch is wired and caped like the EB3, the one position is the neck pickup and is pretty much mud personified.

 

[40Hz]

I used a Ripper as my main bass since 1974.

A couple of things:

They have their own sound. Clean and more midrangy (dare I say prog rockish?) than you’d expect from a Gibson. It does not have the density of an SG/EB-3 nor the growl and snarl of a TBird. It’s its own thing. You can dial and EQ them in for some really deep bass. But it’s still going to keep that clean tone. And that’s going to be something you either like or don’t. And from what I’ve seen it’s not something you grow into. It’s kinda like a Ric. “Ya likes it - or yez don’ts.”

Regarding odd colors, tort pickguards, etc. Rippers basically came in three colors: natural, ebony, and tobacco burst with a black pickguard. Anything else and it’s either a prototype (unlikely since Gibson had a policy of destroying them once production started) or it’s been modded. There is also an extremely rare cherryburst color that shows up every so often. Gibson would never confirm nor deny they made any that color. Closest they’ve ever come was to say they might have made one or two early ones just for trade shows.

Looking at that burst you’re looking at I’d say I’m 99.99% certain it’s a refinished natural.

The three knobs are master volume, midrange choke, and master tone. Not VVT like many people think. The volume and tone behave as expected. The mid choke knob opens or tightens up the overall tone. Kinda like a contour or presence control of sorts. It can give you a lot of different tonal textures to play with. Getting your head around how to effectively use that knob is the key to the kingdom with a Ripper.

The rotary switch settings are series, bridge, parallel, and out of phase. It can be modded by moving a few wires to change the out of phase setting to neck only. It’s not a difficult mod to do. And the good thing is it’s reversible if you change your mind. But the wiring under the hood is somewhat delicate and easy to ness up. So either know what you’re doing or find somebody who actually knows something about Rippers to do it for you. There’s a lot of Rippers out there with seriously buggered wiring. Something that contributes to a lot of the criticism they receive. Bill Lawrence designed those pickups (which are unique to the Ripper) and that wiring harness to operate as an integral system. Change any of that and you no longer have a Ripper.