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My 24-hour Gibson G3 adventure

Danny O Danny

Danny O Danny

Nov 6, 2015
4,548
17,464
Georgetown, TX
dannycolemanmusic.com
#1
Browsing online this weekend through the used bass inventory of the area Guitar Center stores, I spotted a '78 G3 for a really good price at the GC a couple of miles from my house. I used to play a Grabber "back in the day" but never played a G3. So I went and tried it out. It was in great condition--looked like it had spent the majority of the last 40 years in its case. Felt great, played great. Not too heavy. I love the body shape and thin-ness and the neck profile. The neck had the (not unusual) slight twist, but it did not effect the action/playability. Sounded pretty good in the store through a Fender Rumble. I decided to go for it.

Took it to band practice. As great as it felt and played, the sound just wasn't there compared to my other basses (Reverends). Not enough punch and "oomph" and definitely a much lower output level. It just was not assertive enough with a full band. Also every now and then the output level would drop dramatically for a moment and then come back--like maybe one of the pickups was flaking out. I really, really wanted to like it enough to keep, but I couldn't justify it (and I don't want a repair project bass). I appreciate GC's 72-hour return policy on vintage gear, and they took it back the next day for a refund with no questions asked.

The announcement of Gibson's soon-to-be-released Les Paul Junior Tribute bass has got me thinking: wouldn't it be cool if they put out a Ripper/Grabber/G3 "tribute" bass but with T-Bird pickups? I think they ought to make three models: a 1 (non-sliding) pickup model, a 2 pickup model and a 3 pickup model.

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#3
Skybone said:
Pretty sure that the Ripper and the Grabber were reissued by Epiphone a few years back in a limited run. IIRC, there was a pretty small batch of Gibsons as well around the same time.
Click to expand...

The “reissues” weren’t really reissues. They were more like cosmetic tributes to the originals. They had different pickups and electronics, which were the thing what gave the originals their unique voices.

Skybone said:
They should be revisited again IMO, as well as the Victory models (single pickup, twin pickup, & twin pickup with active electronics).
Click to expand...

Skybone said:
They should be revisited again IMO, as well as the Victory models (single pickup, twin pickup, & twin pickup with active electronics).
Click to expand...

I wouldn’t hold my breath for any of that happening anytime soon despite my own long running wish that the Victory series would be brought back. Gibson is in the middle of reestablishing itself and under new management. So for the short term I think you’ll see them focusing their efforts on the quality of their most popular models and not taking too many chances until the company is back on solid footing.
 
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#4
Danny O Danny said:
The announcement of Gibson's soon-to-be-released Les Paul Junior Tribute bass has got me thinking: wouldn't it be cool if they put out a Ripper/Grabber/G3 "tribute" bass but with T-Bird pickups? I think they ought to make three models: a 1 (non-sliding) pickup model, a 2 pickup model and a 3 pickup model.

.View attachment 3291336
Click to expand...

Kinda like the thing with Ernie Ball putting out the Caprice and Cutlass: because of the retro trend in the bass community, they probably wouldve been better off releasing the Stingray in two passive versions with the pickup combinations used in the Caprice and Cutlass...........Gibson can chew on the idea of doing something similar with the Ripper/Grabber/G.3 body styles: a classic Gibson design but with a few different pickup layouts including the originals as well as active models (including a P or P/J model to entice Fender enthusiasts --- at the very least from a marketing perspective for the boomer crowd: Giving bassists a reason to own a Fender and a Gibson just like many of their guitarist brethren).........just thinking out loud...........
 
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#5
Skybone said:
Pretty sure that the Ripper and the Grabber were reissued by Epiphone a few years back in a limited run. IIRC, there was a pretty small batch of Gibsons as well around the same time.

They should be revisited again IMO, as well as the Victory models (single pickup, twin pickup, & twin pickup with active electronics).
Click to expand...



4830b005-7e85-4fab-a573-1a39e9ec5f37.jpg

grabber_bass_2.jpg

gibson-grabber-3-satin-honeyburst.jpg
 
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#6
Danny O Danny said:
Took it to band practice. As great as it felt and played, the sound just wasn't there compared to my other basses (Reverends). Not enough punch and "oomph" and definitely a much lower output level. It just was not assertive enough with a full band.
Click to expand...

It’s kinda important to know what you’re buying. I’m surprised you couldn’t get it to work with your band for any reason other that you don’t care for the clean singing tone the G3 was specifically designed to provide. I’ve heard them easily holding their own in prog bands back in the 70s when giant backline amps and cabs were the norm. It’s a sound you like or don’t like.

Too bad about the electronics issue and the dropouts. That’s always frustrating. But that sort of thing goes with the turf when it comes to vintage gear. Hopefully it’s just something minor like the switch or a pot. Because that’s one clean looking G3. The neck twist is concerning. But there’s a good chance it can be corrected.

Glad you brought it back since it wasn’t doing it for you. Somebody out there wants it. And it’d be a crying shame if it just got put back in its case and forgotten for another 30 years.

You did the right thing. :thumbsup::)
 
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#7
Danny O Danny said:
Browsing online this weekend through the used bass inventory of the area Guitar Center stores, I spotted a '78 G3 for a really good price at the GC a couple of miles from my house. I used to play a Grabber "back in the day" but never played a G3. So I went and tried it out. It was in great condition--looked like it had spent the majority of the last 40 years in its case. Felt great, played great. Not too heavy. I love the body shape and thin-ness and the neck profile. The neck had the (not unusual) slight twist, but it did not effect the action/playability. Sounded pretty good in the store through a Fender Rumble. I decided to go for it.

Took it to band practice. As great as it felt and played, the sound just wasn't there compared to my other basses (Reverends). Not enough punch and "oomph" and definitely a much lower output level. It just was not assertive enough with a full band. Also every now and then the output level would drop dramatically for a moment and then come back--like maybe one of the pickups was flaking out. I really, really wanted to like it enough to keep, but I couldn't justify it (and I don't want a repair project bass). I appreciate GC's 72-hour return policy on vintage gear, and they took it back the next day for a refund with no questions asked.

The announcement of Gibson's soon-to-be-released Les Paul Junior Tribute bass has got me thinking: wouldn't it be cool if they put out a Ripper/Grabber/G3 "tribute" bass but with T-Bird pickups? I think they ought to make three models: a 1 (non-sliding) pickup model, a 2 pickup model and a 3 pickup model.

.View attachment 3291336
Click to expand...
what was it selling for?
 
#8
40Hz said:
The “reissues” weren’t really reissues. They were more like cosmetic tributes to the originals. They had different pickups and electronics, which were the thing what gave the originals their unique voices.

I wouldn’t hold my breath for any of that happening anytime soon despite my own long running wish that the Victory series would be brought back. Gibson is in the middle of reestablishing itself and under new management. So for the short term I think you’ll see them focusing their efforts on the quality of their most popular models and not taking too many chances until the company is back on solid footing.
Click to expand...

We'll settle on "re-interpretations" then. :D Still want one of them though.

In the light of Gibson's recent, somewhat turbulent history, I doubt anything BUT the best sellers will be issued, and that generally doesn't mean their basses. The management need to "rebuild" the brand, and that would generally mean a focus on the six string market. Still quite surprised by the announcement of the LP & SG basses in this year's line up, was only really expecting the T'bird to make an appearance.
 
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#10
Skybone said:
We'll settle on "re-interpretations" then. :D Still want one of them though.

In the light of Gibson's recent, somewhat turbulent history, I doubt anything BUT the best sellers will be issued, and that generally doesn't mean their basses. The management need to "rebuild" the brand, and that would generally mean a focus on the six string market. Still quite surprised by the announcement of the LP & SG basses in this year's line up, was only really expecting the T'bird to make an appearance.
Click to expand...

Ok. Reinterpretation is actually a better term for it. :thumbsup:

Agree on the rest too. I got a little long-winded on expressing much the same opinion in another thread. This is going to be a year of addressing quality concerns and rebuilding customer, dealer, and supplier relationships. Gibson is being given the benefit of the doubt by most well wishers right now. They’d be insane to squander that opportunity, or try to wow people in any way other than to fix those things that have long needed fixing first.

Taking a step back in order to jump higher is their best strategy right now.
 
#12
Danny O Danny said:
Browsing online this weekend through the used bass inventory of the area Guitar Center stores, I spotted a '78 G3 for a really good price at the GC a couple of miles from my house. I used to play a Grabber "back in the day" but never played a G3. So I went and tried it out. It was in great condition--looked like it had spent the majority of the last 40 years in its case. Felt great, played great. Not too heavy. I love the body shape and thin-ness and the neck profile. The neck had the (not unusual) slight twist, but it did not effect the action/playability. Sounded pretty good in the store through a Fender Rumble. I decided to go for it.

Took it to band practice. As great as it felt and played, the sound just wasn't there compared to my other basses (Reverends). Not enough punch and "oomph" and definitely a much lower output level. It just was not assertive enough with a full band. Also every now and then the output level would drop dramatically for a moment and then come back--like maybe one of the pickups was flaking out. I really, really wanted to like it enough to keep, but I couldn't justify it (and I don't want a repair project bass). I appreciate GC's 72-hour return policy on vintage gear, and they took it back the next day for a refund with no questions asked.

The announcement of Gibson's soon-to-be-released Les Paul Junior Tribute bass has got me thinking: wouldn't it be cool if they put out a Ripper/Grabber/G3 "tribute" bass but with T-Bird pickups? I think they ought to make three models: a 1 (non-sliding) pickup model, a 2 pickup model and a 3 pickup model.

.View attachment 3291336
Click to expand...

Theres always the epiphone Embassy pro that comes really close to this
 
#14
Huh, I would've just fixed the problem (or have it fixed by someone else) and kept it. In my experience this bass has a sound that cuts through almost anything, it can honk with the best of them, and any other settings I've tried are versatile enough. I don't remember mine having a super low output, I'd have to check it, but if it did I would have noticed right away. They're keepers.
 
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