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The Grabber is back! : Gibson Grabber II

#41
Is there much difference in the tone when the pickup is slid to it's extremes? I'm not sure I'm sold on the sliding mechanism and have to wonder if 2 pickups wouldn't have been a better design (talking about from the original design, I realize this is a reissue of the original).
 
#42
That price is seriously messed up. There is nothing radically upscale in parts or build quality there. The used/vintage market doesn't warrant a reissue price being that high. Neither does the new market.

"Neat" I guess, but a dumb move in terms of pricepoint.

Now, having said all that, if they'd make a G3 reissue, and "street it" at something equal to a Lakland Skyline/G&L Tribute pricepoint, they'd get me into the store to try one.
 
#43
checkeverything said:
I am not sure about the tonal variation on these. Thought the original Grabber had the pick up sliding further towards the bridge (a la music man) as a variation. This ones a p pick up and maybe a deeper p bass sound...don't get it.
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Huh? You thinking about an Epiphone or something? The Gibson in the first link has the same sliding pickup as the original 70s model.

It's still a $400-600 bass in my books. Was not a great success when it came out. Quite a marginal bass compared to everything else in the market at the time.
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At the time (I was pre-teen in the 70s so take my opinion as you will) I considered the Grabber to be a joke. The sliding pickup seemed like a silly gimmick that woud do hardly anything tonewise - I don't know how it really worked.

In the 70s the Grabber was about the price of a Fender P bass IIRC. Maybe they are pricing it to compete with Fender Custom Shop reissues today. If it is made with the kind of care and quality materials that is typical for modern day high end USA Gibson, and comparable to the Fender Custom Shop, then the MSRP is just fine. It will also mean that these will be considerably better than the original 70s basses on average.
 
#51
Agreed that the G3 would have been a better reissue. I love mine and the tone is very unique.

Did someone in the Gibson research department screw up? I don't remember the grabbers having a 3 point bridge (maybe in the beginning?) or a set neck (was always a bolt on). Too bad they do a maple fretboard.

Either way, this will only motivate collectors if anyone. Probably the reason for the limited run.
 
#56
Thinking about it now, the three point bridge is probably a money saving issue. They can reuse parts from the eb basses. The description says its based on the 75 to 78 years (when my G3 was made) and I know at that time they came stock with a string through fender style bridge that had a chrome cover.

The hard part about a reissue of the G3 instead of the grabber would be getting a new model pickup that would sound like the originals. The grabber they can use humbuckers they already make.
 
#58
coreyfyfe said:
Thinking about it now, the three point bridge is probably a money saving issue. They can reuse parts from the eb basses. The description says its based on the 75 to 78 years (when my G3 was made) and I know at that time they came stock with a string through fender style bridge that had a chrome cover.

The hard part about a reissue of the G3 instead of the grabber would be getting a new model pickup that would sound like the originals. The grabber they can use humbuckers they already make.
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The original Grabber bridge was horrible and cheap. They usually go bad, so the three point is better and in line with the old family.

The TB pickups are great pickups.
 

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