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Aussie Mark

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Up to around $800 in good condition. Personally, I'd go for a Ripper if I were you, since the Grabber is bolt on instead of having a set neck, and has only one pickup.
 

Aussie Mark

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Grabber has a bolt on neck, which gives less sustain than the Ripper's set (glued) neck. The necks are the same profile, essentially "precision" style - the same width as a Stingray, but are a little "fatter" than a Stingray neck. A set neck gives you more sustain and is regarded as a higher quality instrument.

The Ripper has two fixed humbuckers, and Grabber has a single moveable humbucker that slides in it's mount.

Both have alder bodies with maple necks and fingerboards.

The G3 is another variant, and has 3 single coil pickups (Strat style), bolt on neck, and a rosewood fingerboard.

As I said, the Ripper is the one to get. Great rock bass (eg. Gene Simmons). See my sig for pics of my Ripper (and some action shots in my band gallery).
 

rhfactor4

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May 3, 2004
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redondo beach, ca
well, i found a grabber for 900, its in really good condition "like new" and is a G3, what do you think?

and is it normal for a gibon instrment not to say "the grabber" or something like thaton the headstock?
 
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Aussie Mark

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The G3 doesn't have the same reputation as a Ripper or Grabber, but I suspect that's only because the single coil pickups don't have the "Gibson" sound. If you like the sound it's likely to be just as good a buy as a comparable Ripper or Grabber. For that price ($900) I hope it includes a hard case.

The Ripper/Grabber/G3 usually has the model name on the truss rod cover, but sometimes the truss rod cover is just plain black with no words on it.
 

dlloyd

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Aussie Mark said:
The G3 doesn't have the same reputation as a Ripper or Grabber, but I suspect that's only because the single coil pickups don't have the "Gibson" sound. If you like the sound it's likely to be just as good a buy as a comparable Ripper or Grabber. For that price ($900) I hope it includes a hard case.

The Ripper/Grabber/G3 usually has the model name on the truss rod cover, but sometimes the truss rod cover is just plain black with no words on it.

I used one for a while that had no model name on it... think it was a ripper.

Not bad basses, but I'd probably pass at that price.
 

johans

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Apr 19, 2004
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the Bay Area, CA
for bass
i really doubt gibson

they may be better off staying in guitar making rather than stepping into bass world ...
 

mike jewels

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May 1, 2003
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Queens, NY
I owned a Gibson G3 back in the late 70s.

It wasn't a bad bass. It had its own sound, much more Fender-like than the Ripper, which had the two humbuckers, and a 4 way varitone switch. The G3's pickups were wired: Neck & middle, bridge & middle, or ALL THREE! :eek: The middle position was my least favorite; not enough definition. It was a very "different" sounding bass. I sold it to a friend of mine who installed mini switches so he could isolate any pickup, then it sounded something like a Jazz bass. The pickups also had blade-type pole pieces, and were encased in clear plastic. I do miss it sometimes. :(

If I were in your shoes, and had a choice, I'd take a Ripper.

I also have an Epiphone Jack Casady. If anyone wants any info on them, let me know.

Very nice basses. ;)

Mike
 

Mobay45

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Home of the Bongo Birthday Bash '06
The very first bass I ever played was a Gibson. It belonged to the guitar player in the band. The next week I showed up with a Fender Bullet bass of my own. I don't know what model it was, but that Gibson bass felt like a boat anchor hanging around my neck.
 
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