Members Reverse Entropy Posted December 13, 2012 Members Share Posted December 13, 2012 Gibson in the late 70s released three basses with new designs. The Ripper, the Grabber and the G-3. Occasionally you'll see someone play a Ripper - Gene Simmons used one for years with KISS. The Grabber had a bizarre sliding pickup - the 'cool' one was the G-3, and I've never seen one anywhere in person. Gibson has a semi-reissue out that combines the 3-pickup G-3 with the Ripper. I played one for a few minutes at a local Sam Ash. It's got a nice slim neck with a raw feeling finish. Not the best feeling smoothness I've tried, but good enough and it should play in well. The fretwork was good, and it has the new 'baked maple' fingerboard. It looks OK and no complaints on the feel of it. I wonder about its long-term wear. The neck profile is narrow across the board and fairly deep in thickness; rounded. Body cutaways fit me comfortably, and though it's a fairly large body it didn't feel unusual while playing it. The pickups are three BIG single coil jobs that remind me of a Tele bass. Not really sure what I think about the sound, but it's round and fat enough. Interesting release from Gibson, and worth fooling around with if you see one. It's certainly no boutique bass, but is a decent workin' dog's bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted December 13, 2012 Members Share Posted December 13, 2012 I have one. They were released back in September and are now being blown out at most retailers that carry them. It was very limited production. Long term wear on the fretboard? I'm sure it's no different than any other maple fretboard bass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Reverse Entropy Posted December 13, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 13, 2012 I meant whether the color is baked in all the way through - I don't really understand how they process it. After you get some wear from the strings (like an old Fender guitar fingerboard), will it be the same dark color, or is it lighter inside there somewhere ? What do you think of the pickup sounds ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted December 14, 2012 Moderators Share Posted December 14, 2012 Neck profile is narrow and thick, similar to a Jazz bass? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Reverse Entropy Posted December 14, 2012 Author Members Share Posted December 14, 2012 Originally Posted by isaac42 Neck profile is narrow and thick, similar to a Jazz bass? Somewhat similar. If a J neck is comfortable to you, you'd like the Ripper/G3 tribute. It's not as small as an EB series neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted December 14, 2012 Moderators Share Posted December 14, 2012 No, I like Ric necks. The older, narrower Ric necks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitargod0dmw Posted December 19, 2012 Members Share Posted December 19, 2012 God this forum sucks. It won't let me reply w/ quote or multi-quote. Let's see if I can even do a quick reply... Reverse Entropy: It's literally baked in an oven until the wood turns brown. It's essentially burnt wood. Then they add moisture back into it. I haven't played it enough to see any wear, but I don't think there is anything to worry about. I'd suspect the people buying multi-thousand dollar LP's and 335's would have complained by now. isaac42 & Reverse Entropy: The neck profile is nothing close to a J neck. It's more like a P neck. It's a modern P nut width at 1 5/8" and the actual profile is a little thicker than a P. It's also got a volute at the headstock end. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators isaac42 Posted December 19, 2012 Moderators Share Posted December 19, 2012 So thick, but not particularly narrow. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members misterhinkydink Posted December 19, 2012 Members Share Posted December 19, 2012 Originally Posted by guitargod0dmw God this forum sucks. It won't let me reply w/ quote or multi-quote. Let's see if I can even do a quick reply...Reverse Entropy: It's literally baked in an oven until the wood turns brown. It's essentially burnt wood. Then they add moisture back into it. I haven't played it enough to see any wear, but I don't think there is anything to worry about. I'd suspect the people buying multi-thousand dollar LP's and 335's would have complained by now. The multi-thousand dollar LP's and 335's have rosewood boards. Still, I don't think it's an issue. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Crisco Posted January 1, 2013 Members Share Posted January 1, 2013 Still priced at $849 or higher but a lovely bass with great tone and lots of thump. If I had a grand I'd buy it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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