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Gibson Grabber/Ripper/G-3 club

#681
A. D. Fairhurst said:
I've met you before! You mentioned the Ripper to me a while back. How's it coming?
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Well so far there isn;t much building goin for it since i don't have any wood yet. But i've got pickguard material & a few months back i went & got a couple of rotary switches. I've also got the ferrules too. It's not going to start for another while i'm sure but once it does, you'll be the first to know :D
 
#686
BASSDROID said:
I love these basses and have been obsessing over them for about 10 years now. Welp, I guess I'd better get to joining this here club!

then:
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"]
'75 Ripper (fretless), '78 Wine Red Grabber (sold), '74 Ripper (sold)

and now:
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'74 Cherryburst Ripper (maple) , '75 Ripper (alder, fretless), '75 Tobaccoburst Ripper (alder)
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By any chance did you buy the '75 Tobaccoburst off an Australian named Mark?
 
#687
Bob Gollihur said:
Have to toss my Rippers in the mix, including the aforementioned original -

I bought this fretless Ripper above new in 1976, and did a total overhaul in 1997. I replaced the pickups with a set of Lane Poors, my first set of many that followed. It also has a onboard Bartolini preamp with three band EQ. The pickups are a bit wider and a third tone control and preamp switch has been added, but note that the original rotary switch looks the same but now controls a pickup pan pot. This instrument has a more versatile sound now, and with its vintage look intact is indeed The Stealth Bass.

ripper1.jpg
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I snagged the fretted Ripper from eBay a bunch of years ago, an early 70's model. This one has reverse, unmarked tuners (the fretless Ripper has "Gibson" marked, normal rotation) and a semi-transparent pickguard with a barely-noticeable tortoise shell pattern. And it's a lightweight, too, just 9lb. The wiring had been mucked with, but I've got the first three positions working properly again, and did anyone ever find that reverse phase fourth position useful for anything?!?

hipper.jpg


This project "Hipper" (Hoyt-Ripper) bass was born of the fact that I have played five string bass almost exlusively for the past several years - but I found this maple Epiphone Ripper body on eBay, and luthier Link Removed (who has built me four other custom basses over the last fifteen years) did me the special favor of building a three-piece five string maple neck/board and mounting it to the dark Gibson redburst Ripper body. It has a pair of Lane Poor J-bass pickups and Bartolini preamp. While the neck looks short, it is a 34" scale bass-- that long body and bridge placement brings the nut closer, which is frankly a nice position-- don't have to reach very far. The custom tortoise pickguard really brings it all together. It is a chunky 10lb. 1oz, but damn, it is sweet. The action is the best of all my fivers.
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I've never seen a fat-style ebony model before.
 
#688
ThaCoast said:
It is pretty sick, which is why i'm just gonna build my own ripper (slim bodied with some GFS lipstick tube pickups - cause SD replacements are out of my $$ range). & it'll be blood red all maple w/rosewood board stained black.
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KyleSerlington said:
yup. then insomniac with the G3, and then on nimrod and warning he used vintage p-basses, and then after that he used a mix of his custom fenders and vintage fenders on everything i believe
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mistergoats said:
I sold my G3 so I guess I'm out of the club. :(
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Hey do you guys want to join the Mike Dirnt fan club?
Mike Dirnt Fan Club | TalkBass.com
 
#691
Just got my G3 in the mail this weekend . I love it except for the fact that all of the bridge saddle screws stick up about a quarter inch and dig into your right hand while playing . Has anyone tried a different bridge on this bass ? Would a badass III work on it and still be able to use the string thru body? And/or has anyone just switched out the saddles with fender ones ? I went to a few stores this weekend and they couldnt find a matching thread for the bridge saddle screw for a shorter one. Obviously I wouldn't get rid of the original saddles but I wouldn't mind swapping them out for something more comfortable while I was playing it . Also does anyone know if the G3 will fit into an Epiphone jack Casady hard shell case?
 

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#692
Badass 1 was made for Gibson basses.

Screws are 4-40 I believe. Pretty common. Ace hardware; big boxes won't have it. You could trim them down on the bottom end.

No fender saddles won't fit.

Better yet to find a bridge cover at a decent price. Beware that the covers for any Gibsons with the three point bridge won't fit. The G3 bridge cover is lower and narrower. So... the eBay repros don't work.

A guy with the skills should make one of aluminum and polish the crap out of it. And while he's at it, make one for meeeee.
 
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#693
phender6 said:
Just got my G3 in the mail this weekend . I love it except for the fact that all of the bridge saddle screws stick up about a quarter inch and dig into your right hand while playing. Has anyone tried a different bridge on this bass? Would a badass III work on it and still be able to use the string thru body?
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Congrats on the new bass! Badass bridge would work but you won't utilize the string through option anymore since badass is top load only.

phender6 said:
And/or has anyone just switched out the saddles with fender ones? I went to a few stores this weekend and they couldn't find a matching thread for the bridge saddle screw for a shorter one. Obviously I wouldn't get rid of the original saddles but I wouldn't mind swapping them out for something more comfortable while I was playing it.
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The only fender bridge i could think of is vintage threaded saddle ones. But the strings might jump if you play hard. My suggestion is a hipshot A style bridge with .687 spacing (not .750) to utilize the string through option. A little pricy but worth it. At least the saddle adjustment screws won't carve your hand up!

phender6 said:
Also does anyone know if the G3 will fit into an Epiphone jack Casady hard shell case?
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& yes it should. I got one for my grabber bass build & it fits perfectly.
 

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