Epiphone Grabber

[MattZilla]

1) does the neck/body angle seem inverted?

2) And they changed either the body shape or the pickguard (or both) because the pg does not match the body curve, like it did on the original.

3) Other than that, looks pretty nice.

4) (But the real charm of a Grabber was of course the sliding pickup...)

1) Yup.

2) Yup.

3) Yup.

4) maybe? They didn’t sell well. It’s a cool quirk in retrospect.

It’ll be a neat odd option for players who want a 34”, bolt on, one dual-coil pickup bass that is in-the-eyes-of-musicians-only distinctly not FSO.

Not as unique as if they hit us with a 38” scale thing with Lob knows what anti-dive body shape, but it’s unique in looks at least. And I’m still crying for an LPDC with gloss paint and binding & blocks.

eta- I checked their very sensibly laid out website, where the heck is the Grabber hiding? Not in “originals”, “modern”, nor “artist”… or I scrolled right past it.

 

[ravelax]

The pickguard alignment is a rather stupid miss, but other than that it looks pretty good! Better than the P/J version. The three piece neck is a nice touch. Still, a Grabber without a moveable pickup is no true Grabber. I assume that's a series/parallell toggle for the pickup, to simulate the tonal change of moving the pickup perhaps. A T-bird humbucker would've been more Gibson-correct, but the MM-type they chose probably makes it easier to swap the pickup for something else without routing, it's a more widely used form factor. I wouldn't be surprised if the stock pickup is the same thing that's in one of Squier's Jaguar basses, if so it's pretty good.

 

[Lammchop93]

The first official pictures have been surfacing...

Is it me, or does the neck/body angle seem inverted?

And they changed either the body shape or the pickguard (or both) because the pg does not match the body curve, like it did on the original.



Other than that, looks pretty nice.
(But the real charm of a Grabber was of course the sliding pickup...)

they really missed the mark with the pickup in my opinion. I’m no longer interested.

 

[Basvarken]

eta- I checked their very sensibly laid out website, where the heck is the Grabber hiding? Not in “originals”, “modern”, nor “artist”… or I scrolled right past it.

Found it here:

Buy the Epiphone Grabber Bass Natural

 

[MattZilla]

Found it here:

Buy the Epiphone Grabber Bass Natural

yeah, me too via google. That was the only way for me to verify the scale length being nothing special.

How the heck is it not on Epiphone’s own site?

Why doesn’t the site have a section that encompasses all of their basses? -that one’s just a gripe.

 

[ctmullins]

After seeing the photos, I’m … disappointed.

 

[Poobini]

yeah, me too via google. That was the only way for me to verify the scale length being nothing special.

How the heck is it not on Epiphone’s own site?

Why doesn’t the site have a section that encompasses all of their basses? -that one’s just a gripe.

still technically hasn't been announced, this dealer just threw pictures up early.

 

[jd56hawk]

Epiphone going with the "Hey, Fender takes risks, why can't we?" school of thought.

 

[Blazer]

I agree they could have done better with the pickguard alignment, but still looks promising. Interesting they are going with a MM style pickup and not a more typical Gibson humbucker.

Maybe to acknowledge the fact that the Stingray Five actually resembles a Grabber?

But yeah, kind of a let-down that they didn't put something more "Gibson" on there, a Thunderbird pickup would have worked better here.

 

[D.M.N.]

Welp, swing and a miss...

 

[emal]

I'll wait before judging but you compare that to what Decibel Sound and Baard are doing and it does seem underwhelming, despite the price point.

 

[Poobini]

I'll wait before judging but you compare that to what Decibel Sound and Baard are doing and it does seem underwhelming, despite the price point.

Yeah, Jerimy's (Decibel) builds are around $2k USD but it's handmade to your specs - I'm sure it's the same with Baard (also he made Mike Dirnt's new one, so you at least know it's quality )
I've got two builds from Jerimy and I can't sing to their praises enough.

 

[emal]

Yeah, Jerimy's (Decibel) builds are around $2k USD but it's handmade to your specs - I'm sure it's the same with Baard (also he made Mike Dirnt's new one, so you at least know it's quality )
I've got two builds from Jerimy and I can't sing to their praises enough.

You are very lucky
There are only 2 basses left that ignite GAS and Decibel Sound Implements is one of them.
I hope these Epiphones are good because people have been wanting a proper reissue forever!

 

[melloncollie]

Personally I’m glad that these epiphones are coming out. This way I can try out the body shape and make sure it’s not too bulky before ordering a build from decibel sound implements.

 

[melloncollie]

Though does anybody have an idea if the proposed Mike Dirnt model is actually happening?

 

[Dean Gomes]

I wonder if it will have a P or a J pickup? their Ripper "reissues"from a few years back had one of each.

Music man humbucker.

 

[Baard Guitars]

Maybe it would be nice to shed a bit of light on this:
- There is a MD signature coming up from Epiphone or Gibson
- The pickups in his prototype are Gibsons, not Curtis Novak or Bill Lawrence
- The prototype is old skool heavy

I made him a custom, high end G3.
This one has Novak and a Bartolini pickups
Mike has reached out personally to built him one. Contractual obligations may force him to play the Epiphone live
Both Mike and the Green Day camp have been more than friendly and I can't stress that enough
I'd be more than happy to build anyone a decent ThunderBaard. The amount of improvements I made while staying true to the original cannot be understated.

Well, I think I forgot lots of things, but this may answer some questions

 

[chiphaleonbass]

These are available on Sweetwater now!

 

[Iristone]

It seems a bit expensive for a non-sliding-pickup Grabber clone. It'll likely be light enough, having an alder body instead of "maple" (Epiphone speak for birch). I wonder if someone will make a scratch plate for it, complete with a sliding pickup or G3 pickup?

 

[MrAB4003]

These are available on Sweetwater now!

I didn’t know that Epiphone rereleased the Grabber! I think there’s a lot of Gibson fans who have been waiting a long time for the return of the Grabber.

https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/GrabEb--epiphone-grabber-bass-ebony