Giving Up on the Epiphone Rippers

Damn!!!! I just bought a bass... and if I didn't I'd be making you a offer!


If you ever wanna give one away for free... contact me first!

 

I think you are potentially opening a huge can of worms here, but I will say this. Sounds to me like you have given these basses more than a fair shake and don't like them. there is absolutely no excuse for playing a bass you hate.

 

Well, my Gibson Ripper didn't Woof or Doink, it was just sort of a rich lower mid-range sound, so it seems that the REALLY cut the quality or changed the engineering of the pickups. Sorry to hear it.

If you don't like it, don't keep it. I had a GORGEOUS Ibanez EFM-1000 that was the best feeling and playing bass I have ever touched, but I couldn't get a sound out of it I liked no matter what I did and how many strings I tried. It was so beautiful, it was hard to consider selling, but I put it away in the case and sort of stopped thinking about it, and then put it up for sale without looking at it again.

 

^why don't you just try and find a real gibson ripper??
they're probably miles better than both of your epis.

 

Same thing for me with Ricks. I've owned 6 nice Ricky basses, just trying to like them, but I always end up trading or selling them. Sometimes a bass just doesn't work for you.

 

Comparing Epiphone to Gibson Rippers is apples to oranges, not necessarily because of any inherent quality issues (although, I haven't played an Epi so I don't really know what they feel like or how they're built) but because they have very different pickups. Epis IIRC have Fender-style pickups; Gibsons had some pretty unusual and unique humbuckers, and then they were wired up in some atypical ways with that four-position selector switch. And, my Gibson Ripper has a beefy neck that's not like anything else I've played---again, I don't know personally about the Epis, but I strongly suspect their necks were not the same. And I believe at least some of the Epis were bolt-ons; the Gibsons have set necks. (Some Grabbers had bolt-on necks, but I don't think I've ever seen a bolt-neck Ripper.)

If you like the way the Ripper body feels and looks but are unsatisfield with the tone, then an old Gibson might be worth checking out. They have a sound all their own---which is not for everybody, but with the right amp and EQ they can get a really great, punchy, thick tone that's great for rock.

 

Yeah, the Epi Ripper are nothing like the Gibson Ripper.

 

I used to own a Gibson Ripper I bought new in 1975, plus two Rickenbacker 4001's. I currently own an EPI LE Ripper P/J. I've owned multiple Fender P's and J's. I think it boils down to this - if you want a nice thud from your bass that punches people in the gut, don't get an Epi Ripper or a Ric. I personally like them for a number of reasons, but with stock equipment and a simple amp, they're just going to have a more mid-range sound, and are better suited to playing with a pick IMO. I think the Epi LE Ripper and a Rick sound similar in some ways.

If you want an Epi with some punch for cheap, try their T-Birds for $300 new; I have one and it has a lot of bottom for the price.