Low End Of Love
Joe Shooman signs off each issue by celebrating an iconic bass guitar This month: Gibson Grabber and Ripper
Joe Shooman on iconic basses. This month: Gibson Grabber and Ripper basses
Are you a Grabber or a Ripper? On the Grabber side, you’ve the likes of Gene Simmons, John Entwistle, Mike Dirnt and Suzi Quatro, while Ripper players have included Greg Lake, Justin MeldalJohnsen and Krist Novoselic. These Gibson basses were both introduced in 1973. How have they aged?
The Grabber, sometimes called the G1, was designed by Bruce Bolen and Edward Klein to sell at a relatively affordable price point, in the face of intense competition from Far East copyist imports and and the momentous Fender phenomenon. Its build quality was decent, though; early models had a maple body, while later runs were alder. Both versions had a maple fretboard, a maple bolt-on neck and a Flying V-esque headstock. An innovative feature was an adjustable sliding pickup which allowed unique tonal changes on the fly, and this was also the first time that Gibson had used a scarfed neck joint. This allowed the headstock to be manufactured separately and more efficiently as less wood was used.
Stringing was through the body rather than at the bridge, necessitating longer strings which weren’t easy to find at the time. The dirty, fuzzy sound was perfect for the rockers and proto-punks of the Seventies, particularly pushed hot through a great valve amp. The company introduced the G3 in 1975, with three Bill Lawrence-designed single coil switchable pickups with very different tonal qualities in various combinations. The Grabber had had its day by 1983, although it made a comeback with a limited run of 350 in 2009. The G3 had to wait until 2012 for a sort-of reissue, the Grabber 3 70s Tribute Bass, which switched out the Lawrence pickups for Alnico V single-coils, laid out slightly differently.
Ralphe Armstrong was instrumental in the development of the Ripper. As he told Fly Guitars, he went to Illinois with John McLaughlin, who introduced him to the luthiers in question: “I met Bruce Bolen and designer Walt Johnston and they asked me to write down what I wanted. That’s how they came up with this bass called the Ripper and the G3 with three pickups.” Armstrong also said that he loved his fretless Ripper for its deep, rich tones and long sustain at the higher registers, enabling satisfyingly sweet glissando work.
Bill Lawrence was also involved with that L9-S Ripper, which again had a maple body and neck, although a few had alder bodies in 1975. The headstock was the classic Gibson shape, with a slimmer neck than the Grabber, and this time two of Lawrence’s Super Humbuckers were featured, with a quad control. It’s a gnarlier, more aggressive, richer-toned at the bottom-end beast, with punchiness dependent on the configuration of those pickups. Weighing around 11 pounds, it’s on the heavy side. The Ripper was discontinued in 1984, but a run of 350 Ripper II basses was issued in 2009 with a three-point bridge and a new T-bird Plus humbucker.
So, which is it to be? The bite, crunch and sliding pickup of the Grabber, or the richness and aggression of the Ripper? The answer, of course, is to have one of each. And the G3, and the reissues…