Yikes. I hope it is the correct one. I always thought the Grabber/G3 covers had Gibson embossed on them and the Ripper (which are larger) were blank like the pic. Keep us posted!
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Yikes. I hope it is the correct one. I always thought the Grabber/G3 covers had Gibson embossed on them and the Ripper (which are larger) were blank like the pic. Keep us posted!
There are some cheap repros too if you just want something to cover the knuckle slicer bridge
EBAC-C Chrome Bass Bridge Ashtray Cover for Gibson® EB-0/3 Bass
Got the family together for a portrait!
From left to right... a '73, a '74, a '73, a '74 and a '73. Each is 100% original.
BTW, the only reliable way to date Rippers from '73 through '75 is by using pot codes. In those years, any given serial number could be from '72 through 'the end of '75.
From left to right... a '73, a '74, a '73, a '74 and a '73. Each is 100% original.
BTW, the only reliable way to date Rippers from '73 through '75 is by using pot codes. In those years, any given serial number could be from '72 through 'the end of '75.
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Bringing '74 Ripper husk back to life, only parts that came with it are the bridge, tuners and bridge pup. I've seen some new style complete harness assemblies for sale, but would like to build one myself. Does anyone have or know of a parts list with pt #'s for an early Ripper? TIA!
I think you can find the information you need right here:
Gibson Ripper L-9S technical reference page >> FlyGuitars
That reminds me... been meaning to post these for a while...
Greg Lake with what was pretty clearly an early Ripper prototype. Notice the lack of beveling around the body.
Greg Lake with what was pretty clearly an early Ripper prototype. Notice the lack of beveling around the body.
The first Rippers had fatter horns, from '75 I think the bodies became identical to the G3/Grabber so that's an instant giveaway if the pots have been changed! The other big tell tale is the pickup mounting on the body vs pickguard. Can't remember which year that happened ('78?) though.
I posted this a few days ago and got only one estimate of costs for Rippers these days. The person selling this is higher than the $900-1200 estimate that my one respondent gave, so I'm turning to the "experts."Just trying to get some guidance before I travel and possibly make a purchase. Thanks in advance.
Is this Ripper legit? Question about the wood grain, esp.
Is this Ripper legit? Question about the wood grain, esp.
IMO, this looks legit. IRC, my Ripper was a 74 or 75 and had the metal string plate on the back. I can't imagine anyone going to the effort of routing that specific part of the body, paying a fortune for the plate and then installing. Looks legit. My only question would be if it's a player - the strings look a bit high but difficult to tell from the angles. Certainly could be a simple set up fix though.
Now... That body is stunning - really common for birds eye or flamed parts to appear on the Grabber/G3/Ripper - looks like someone carefully tried to match the wings and went with a 'clean' centre. Nice. Again, 2/3 piece bodies weren't unusual. I haven't seen one like that before. I've seen 1/3 of a body with flamed maple, or just small sections where the flaming occurred naturally, but that is brilliant! Willy Wonka in your other thread is definitely cheap. That would be £1800 ($2400USD) easy in the UK (more than likely sit around for a while for the right buyer of course..). Haven't looked at US G/R prices for a while but I'd say if this is available for $1200 you need to act fast.
Rippers from 73-74 had larger, round bodies with shorter rounded horns. 75-82 the design was changed to the same thing as the Grabber/G3. Pickups wre mounted direct in the body from 73-76, in 77 the design changed to having them mounted on the guard via 3 screws. Not much else has changed other than pickguard material (from the tortoise that could disintegrate overtime, to a single ply black, to a 3-5 ply BWB(WB). Also the rotary numbers were on a chip from 73-76, in 77 with the pickup change they had the numering directly on the guard itself.
Got a temporary pg and knobs for this one. Playing the waiting game for a neck pickup and wiring. The neck is holding well and is strung with LaBella LTF’s, needs a fret leveling.....surprisingly resonant. It’s been sitting in a closet for years, my guess is the owner disassembled it sometime in the late 80’s before he passed away. It came with corroded nickel wounds, and it still had sufficient sustain. Not feeling attached to this one, may end up selling it.
Hi guys,
I am busy with restoring my '74 grabber. I want to order a custom replacement of the truss rod cover. For that I need the mounting hole dimensions and the distance from the bottom of truss rod cover to the bottom screw holes. Would be very nice if someone could sent those
Kind regards, Norman Samuels
I am busy with restoring my '74 grabber. I want to order a custom replacement of the truss rod cover. For that I need the mounting hole dimensions and the distance from the bottom of truss rod cover to the bottom screw holes. Would be very nice if someone could sent those
Kind regards, Norman Samuels
Hi guys,
I am busy with restoring my '74 grabber. I want to order a custom replacement of the truss rod cover. For that I need the mounting hole dimensions and the distance from the bottom of truss rod cover to the bottom screw holes. Would be very nice if someone could sent those
Kind regards, Norman Samuels
Not 100% on this as I don't have one, but I believe it's a standard Gibson sized 3 hole (some maybe 2 hole) bell truss cover.
Hi guys!
I am in love with the ripper and grabber body styles, and when it came to building a versitile studio bass, there was no question what kind of body should I choose.
So I am building an aluminum necked Ripper, it's not a Gibson, just a Ripper shaped object, but I hope you ripper/grabber lovers could help me decide on some esthetics.
I took a G3's body layout, optimized the pickup distance, and added 3alumitones instead of the single coils which could be splitted (this way the tonal possibilities are nearly endless)
My question would be that, that should I make a pickguard, or just go with it this way.
I am in love with the ripper and grabber body styles, and when it came to building a versitile studio bass, there was no question what kind of body should I choose.
So I am building an aluminum necked Ripper, it's not a Gibson, just a Ripper shaped object, but I hope you ripper/grabber lovers could help me decide on some esthetics.
I took a G3's body layout, optimized the pickup distance, and added 3alumitones instead of the single coils which could be splitted (this way the tonal possibilities are nearly endless)
My question would be that, that should I make a pickguard, or just go with it this way.
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