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Ripper

origami

origami

Jun 26, 2005
653
4
Big D TEXAS
www.myspace.com
#1
i have a brand new Epiphone Ripper!

i didn't "need" another bass, but got a killer deal on this bass, and i have been looking for a good beater bass that looked cool. i have had my eye on this bass for a while, and though it is not a Ripper in the "gibson" sence of the word (humbuckers). it's good enough for me.

i play a some Dallas gigs tonight and tomorrow night (feel free to stop by and by me drinks), so i will be able to give it some field testing tonight, unless my EBMM stingray is feeling too good to put down. i kind of like to stick to one bass once i get going on it.

review so far (not playing live or rehearsal): sounded good at the music store throuh a hartke combo and ampeg combo. got it home to my GK rig (1001rbII, neo 2x12). like many maple basses lots of highs and tight lows, a little clanky (someone put rotos on it). it is P/J loaded and sounds accordingly. sounds really quite good for a bass under $300. it is V/V/T. the best tone so far is p picK-up on full and jazz on halfway, tone halfway. keeps it full, but not too bright at that setting.

feels very solid/hefty, resembles an boat anchor. could stop jealous boyfriends from beating me up on stage with one swipe. it is a tiny bit neck heavy, and although the pick ups are pretty quiet (even the jazz bridge) there is some slight grounding noise (the kind that goes away when you touch the bridge or stings). maybe i will drop EMGs in it. the neck is sort of like a D shape.

constuction flaws: one scratchy pot and selector switch, easy fix at the music store. there are a few pick-up and thrus rod screws that are almost stripped out. i guess, par for the coarse for a bass in this price range. you can easily tell it is a multi-piece body, but i think it looks cool.

overall, a good punchy bright bass that'll do that green day thing with a pick. it also has that 70s gene simmons look to it too.
 

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#3
yes it is hard to find a gig in dallas since deep ellum, lower greenville, etc... are not what they used to be.

if you are a cover or tribute band, business isn't so bad, but original (not metal) it's tough for us.

we headline (play last) at curtain club tonight @11:30pm
and city tavern tomorrow (same timeslot).

mike
the farstar
 
#4
Congrat's on your Epi Ripper. I used to have an actual 75 Gibson Ripper that I bought new back in the day, and it was a pretty decent bass, very versatile to say the least.
I think you did well for the money, and a P/J wired bass on a Ripper style body and neck is a pretty decent platform when you think about it. Now if only Gibson could be convinced to reissue a new version of the Ripper.
 
#9
Traded for a Ripper a couple of months ago. Humbuckers for sure.

Can't say that I am a fan of its width. Hard to play sitting down.

Replaced the PG and strung it up with Jazz flats. Not crazy about it yet although I keep working with it. Buzzes a bit from fret rash, but that's relic right?
 
#10
I am a proud owner of Epi Ripper P/J. It is an amazing bass, brass nut, abalone dot inlays, rock hard and straight maple neck, three way toggle switch, awesome. Not that it need to, but I upgraded the P pups with Fender 62 pups. In my bass inventory this bass in number 3 behind 00 MIA Jazz and 08 JG RIC.

PS the big body of the Ripper is perfect for balance and especially anchoring your elbow to thump it good:D
 
#11
BobXboB said:
The Gibson Ripper has single coils in a soap bar config. Definitely not humbuckers.
Click to expand...

Umm, sorry but they were humbuckers. It was also part of the sales hype when I bought mine in 75. The store even posted an article about the Ripper with it's many features, along with a big picture of Greg Lake of Emerson, Lake and Palmer playing a Ripper on the wall where the Rippers hung.
 
#12
well, friday night at curtain club, couldn't put the ebmm stingray down, so i didn't play the epi ripper at all.

last night at city tavern, i decided i was going to play the ripper.

right away i had an issue: the volume knob was already spining in place, and didn't have time to fix it before the show. simple fix later.

knowing it was a little hefty; i put strap locks on the bass, and put a shoulder pad (i stole from a gym bag) on the strap. boy, let me tell you this bass got very heavy quick, and after 10 songs and rocking out, i could sure feel it. ouch, maybe i am getting old.

soundwise. pretty good. i mean its not the stingray, but solid rocking bass tone. the 'clank' dissapeared once the guitars filled in the sound. plus, i got a much warmer sound with the bass through my 800rb than with the 1001rbII. so i had the p pick up full and the tone and bridge pick up at 70%. filled out the sound well. i did notice it did the squeely feedback a bit when i used my distortion sounds. my other basses are a little more controllable.

after the show, a half dozen people or more came up and wanted to see the bass, because they loved the look. i let every hold it, to get a gauge of the weight.

cool. may return it out of the wieght issue, but definately worth every penny, and it looked cool.
 
#13
Wow! A P/J on a Ripper! That looks weird! Does the split P pup look like it's placed a little too far back towards the fretboard?

Gibson Rippers are very heavy basses, as are a lot of their axes - both basses and guitars. I've never had any problem with neck dive with mine. And they are a little uncomfortable to play sitting down. My neck is a shallow C configuration and is very slim and fast towards the headstock.

This is my '77 bought new. SuperHumbuckers. Never had it feedback - but then i've never run it through distortion either.

bessie.jpg
 
#14
sooner or later i'll have one of these...this is pretty much the bass that made me want to play bass.

back when i first started playin', there was a local band out of Rocky Mount called Cosmorock, and they bassist played an old 80's Epiphone Grabber. He got the most immaculate tone out of that thing...his, and Mike Dirnt's old ripper are what really got me searching for Tone, and i'm yet to get one myself...just a matter of time :smug:
 
#17
Thanks for the pics. Looks like a humbucker to me.

I brought mine in for repair and was told they were single coils and that's why they hummed. I sold it over 20 years ago so I can't check it anymore ;) It did hum in the same way as the single coil J in a PJ I had around that time.

Maybe mine was messed up, it never did sound that great.
 
#18
I stopped playing bass for several years when I became a father. Last year I decided to get back into it and an Epi Ripper was my first score. I really dug it, but minor tragedy/frustration/inconvenience intervened and I had to sell it.

'Twas a good bass though.

Back in the day I owned a '76 Gibby Ripper. Man, I loved that thing. Of all the scores and scores of guitars and basses I've let pass through my hands, that old Ripper is one of the only ones I regret parting with.
 

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