• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Gibson Grabber/Ripper/G-3 club

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.

Man this looks great. Good job!

Personally, 9 times outta 10 I prefer a guard on there... You should maybe fabricate one and see how it looks without drilling it in.

We are also going to need some sound clips of this guy!
 
  • Like
Reactions: B0W and GeoKinetic
1976 G3 here with the family
a number please!
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20210916_185148.jpg
    IMG_20210916_185148.jpg
    910.2 KB · Views: 86
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.
Keep it the way it is. It looks awesome! My first new bass was a 74 Gibson Grabber.
 
Here's my family, the ones i've built myself xD

b-1-5-_nc_sid-730e14-_nc_ohc-zdtmiocr4wcax8q-fzl-tn-wjdjvmi4px4jyeef-_nc_ht-scontent-fymy1-2-jpg.jpg

^^^The Sparkle Green Ghoul Grabber the first one i had built 7 years ago. Had given it to my dad, had built it with the intention of gifting it to him. He kept it for a long while, & recently gave it back to me (not cause of anything negative about it - he just asked me to build him a gene simmons lobue inspired bass. Shorter scale, symmetrical, he's grown acustomed to short scales & enjoys them overall). Scaller 3D roller bridge, artec/gotoh sidewinder pickup (yes with the sliding grabber gimmick xD). 3 ply B/W/B guard, emerald green body with sparkle flakes (matching headstock, minus the flakes). Bolt on Maple neck, rosewood board, 21 frets. It has a tummy cut at the back, Master volume, tone, Tube output jack (which is side located).

The Sun Yellow G3 has a pre made (from allen eden guitars) flat fender style headstock, 21 frets, Bolt on maple/maple neck. guard is of 1/4" plywood i had lying around, thickness down to approx guard thickness, stained black. 3 way toggle, master Volume & Tone. Standard high mass fender style bridge. 3 jazz bass pickups (both the bridge & neck pickups are "bridge" pickups, while the middle is a neck pickup. Sounds great, enough meat around its tone but still kinda clanky when it wants to be.

The sorta blood red Bull Ripper bass is the latest i've built. Overtime it became more infused with my zodiac sign (Taurus) & i went with it. 3 ply B/W/B guard, 4 position rotary switch*,Master Volume, Tone, mid control with kent armstrong choke. economy 3 point bridge, the only one of which is strung through (the other two are bridge only). bolt on maple neck, purpleheart fretboard, 21 frets. my own take on the taurus zodiac symbol woodburned into the 12th fret. Schaller BM tuners, Massive headstock with Bull's head carved from maple wood & glued on. Wilde L90 6h output pickups.

*Rotary switching - Both pickups are always on, & always in phase. selection is as follows:
1 - Full Humbucker, in series
2 - Full Humbucker, in parallel
3- Split coil (neck North, bridge south), in series
4- Split coil (neck south, bridge north), in parallel.

All of these are killer basses, & my own takes on the classics.
 
Back in August, I had an epic quest of scrambling enough cash together to buy my Golden Goose. Finally found one halfway across the states, but the shop would only hold it two days, so I had to make a mad dash for cash, and let go of my Fender MIJ JAB Jag Bass, but it was well worth the sacrifice.

I am now proud owner of an 81' G3 Grabber.
Wish it had the bridge cover, and I would have liked the clear pickups, but that's unimportant, and i can't be picky.
So I had my buddy 3D printed a cover for me, and I covered it in aluminum tape. Hoping my other buddy who works in HVAC can use the machine shop to make me an actual metal one, but I digress.
All in all..

I absolutely love this bass.


IMG_20221008_152608.jpg

It's getting buried with me
 
Back in August, I had an epic quest of scrambling enough cash together to buy my Golden Goose. Finally found one halfway across the states, but the shop would only hold it two days, so I had to make a mad dash for cash, and let go of my Fender MIJ JAB Jag Bass, but it was well worth the sacrifice.

I am now proud owner of an 81' G3 Grabber.
Wish it had the bridge cover, and I would have liked the clear pickups, but that's unimportant, and i can't be picky.
So I had my buddy 3D printed a cover for me, and I covered it in aluminum tape. Hoping my other buddy who works in HVAC can use the machine shop to make me an actual metal one, but I digress.
All in all..

I absolutely love this bass.


View attachment 4874015
It's getting buried with me
Wow! It's a clean, minty beauty. Congrats.
 
Back in August, I had an epic quest of scrambling enough cash together to buy my Golden Goose. Finally found one halfway across the states, but the shop would only hold it two days, so I had to make a mad dash for cash, and let go of my Fender MIJ JAB Jag Bass, but it was well worth the sacrifice.

I am now proud owner of an 81' G3 Grabber.
Wish it had the bridge cover, and I would have liked the clear pickups, but that's unimportant, and i can't be picky.
So I had my buddy 3D printed a cover for me, and I covered it in aluminum tape. Hoping my other buddy who works in HVAC can use the machine shop to make me an actual metal one, but I digress.
All in all..

I absolutely love this bass.


View attachment 4874015
It's getting buried with me
It's looking fresh! If you are not fond of the black pickups, search for clear ones on the internet! And if you would like to sell your blacks, just pm me! :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: Microbass
Back in August, I had an epic quest of scrambling enough cash together to buy my Golden Goose. Finally found one halfway across the states, but the shop would only hold it two days, so I had to make a mad dash for cash, and let go of my Fender MIJ JAB Jag Bass, but it was well worth the sacrifice.

I am now proud owner of an 81' G3 Grabber.
Wish it had the bridge cover, and I would have liked the clear pickups, but that's unimportant, and i can't be picky.
So I had my buddy 3D printed a cover for me, and I covered it in aluminum tape. Hoping my other buddy who works in HVAC can use the machine shop to make me an actual metal one, but I digress.
All in all..

I absolutely love this bass.


View attachment 4874015
It's getting buried with me


That's a beaut and welcome to the club!
Might be a tad older than '81 - I believe (or believed?) they switched to the Y-tuners from late '79 along with the black pups. Have you checked the pots?
 
That's a beaut and welcome to the club!
Might be a tad older than '81 - I believe (or believed?) they switched to the Y-tuners from late '79 along with the black pups. Have you checked the pots?

They went back to the clovers in the 80s. I had an 82 grabber with clovers, and the 1980 parts list shows clovers. The parts list page on flyguitars says the schaller M4 style were used on the G series late 1978 to early 1980.

jdSF2.jpg
 
That's a beaut and welcome to the club!
Might be a tad older than '81 - I believe (or believed?) they switched to the Y-tuners from late '79 along with the black pups. Have you checked the pots?
Yes. It appears to be a parts build from the factory. Pickups stamped 79, I think the pots 78? Neck 81 and body 80
IMG_20220903_152335.jpg
IMG_20220903_154327.jpg
 

Attachments

  • IMG_20220903_154327.jpg
    IMG_20220903_154327.jpg
    1 MB · Views: 22
Hey guys!
Here are my 3 G3s. Just finished the re-wiring and the renovation of the 1978 one. It's body was in 3 pieces ;D.
-1976 cream refin with stainless steel rounds
-1977 Maple gloss with Nickel roundwounds
-1978 Road warrior alder satin with flat wounds
G3s are wonderful basses. Does anyone tried one of the reissues? I wonder how they compare to the original ones.
IMG_20221219_161041_387.jpg
 
Hey guys!
Here are my 3 G3s. Just finished the re-wiring and the renovation of the 1978 one. It's body was in 3 pieces ;D.
-1976 cream refin with stainless steel rounds
-1977 Maple gloss with Nickel roundwounds
-1978 Road warrior alder satin with flat wounds
G3s are wonderful basses. Does anyone tried one of the reissues? I wonder how they compare to the original ones.


gimme
 
  • Like
Reactions: B0W
Hey guys!
Here are my 3 G3s. Just finished the re-wiring and the renovation of the 1978 one. It's body was in 3 pieces ;D.
-1976 cream refin with stainless steel rounds
-1977 Maple gloss with Nickel roundwounds
-1978 Road warrior alder satin with flat wounds
G3s are wonderful basses. Does anyone tried one of the reissues? I wonder how they compare to the original ones.View attachment 4907853

Those are killer!

Ive played the RI tributes back when they launched. The tone wasnt anywhere close to the originals (granted ive only heard originals on video, never played one in person). Felt nice & all, but at the retail price, idve just found a used grabber 1 or g3 if i were lucky enough & got those.
 
  • Like
Reactions: B0W
Can anyone tell me how to remove the pickup cover on an original Ripper? A cable went loose on the pickup side, I can't select that pickup anymore. I removed the two long screws but the cover won't come off by just pulling it. What should I do? Is it secured at the bottom?

edit: nevermind, it was glued down during a previous electronics repair...
 
Last edited:
Can anyone tell me how to remove the pickup cover on an original Ripper? A cable went loose on the pickup side, I can't select that pickup anymore. I removed the two long screws but the cover won't come off by just pulling it. What should I do? Is it secured at the bottom?

edit: nevermind, it was glued down during a previous electronics repair...

Usually they were cased in epoxy for the most part, meaning you couldn't remove & fix it on your own.
 
Usually they were cased in epoxy for the most part, meaning you couldn't remove & fix it on your own.

yeah I was going to say it is "filled with wax" for lack of better vocabulary...

I'll look into with a electronics hobbyist friend of mine, maybe we can just reach the contact point. It's the cable that connects the neck mic to the volume pot that went loose.
 
  • Like
Reactions: ThaCoast
Hello Gibson friends!

I recently picked up one of the Gibson G3 Tribute basses to scratch the itch for a vintage G3. Has the itch been scratched? Eh. Not so much.

On its own, I think it's a fantastic example of a modern Gibson bass. It plays very well and the pickups are absolutely fantastic. The last real line of basses that they actually put some sort of care in to imo. But still, not much like the original.

Anyway, I have an all original 1976 Grabber and was wondering if anyone would be interested in trading for a G3?
 

Attachments

  • IMG_5909.jpeg
    IMG_5909.jpeg
    1 MB · Views: 57