sniperschool Posted April 24, 2012 Author Posted April 24, 2012 Sorry for the delay in getting pictures (the bass didn't drive at mine until yesterday) Condition is really good a few press marks and a tiny patch buckle rash on the back I haven't had a chance to weight it but it's pretty light (feels the same as a '81 Precision I have here Nowhere near the weight of a heavy precision or a 4001
sniperschool Posted April 25, 2012 Author Posted April 25, 2012 Neck feels really good and pick ups look to be original
spinynorman Posted April 25, 2012 Posted April 25, 2012 Might the body be Alder rather than Maple? Mine is most likely '74 and the old shape body like yours, but there's a lot more visible grain than you get with maple and it's a couple of pounds lighter than my '78, which is definitely maple. I weighed the natural '74 at 9lbs. [IMG]http://i242.photobucket.com/albums/ff24/philtrory/Gibson%20Ripper/Natural%20Ripper/IMG_1887a.jpg[/IMG]
sniperschool Posted April 25, 2012 Author Posted April 25, 2012 I don't really know about woods but there's definitely much less grain on my one than in the one pictured above Thanks for the input and I reckon this would be around the 9lb mark
Bassman Rich Posted April 26, 2012 Posted April 26, 2012 Dear All My ripper is a 74 one (original body shape), and pretty much identical in colour to the one for sale here, and i'm guessing (cos i'm no authority on wood), that its maple too. Its lighter than all my precisions, but I dont have any scales so cant weigh it. The pic Spiney norm put up, looks to me like maybe it was a black bass that sbeen stripped (is that black paint inside the holes where the machine heads go, or just no light/flash so looks dark?), and they put the more grainey wood under a paint job. No idea really, just a thought, but if I didnt already have one, I would definately have this one, its the best year/colour combo imho, and in great nick too. Good lightweight bass, and has quite a bit of trebly growl and bite compared to other Gibson basses which may be available, especially the mahogany ones ;-) By the way, didnt they originally have maple for the 73/4 ones, go to alder till 76/7 ish, then go back to maple again?
sniperschool Posted April 26, 2012 Author Posted April 26, 2012 Thanks Rich I plugged it in yesterday and it certainly sounds like a Ripper should sound!
spinynorman Posted April 27, 2012 Posted April 27, 2012 (edited) [quote name='Bassman Rich' timestamp='1335457140' post='1631562'] Dear All My ripper is a 74 one (original body shape), and pretty much identical in colour to the one for sale here, and i'm guessing (cos i'm no authority on wood), that its maple too. Its lighter than all my precisions, but I dont have any scales so cant weigh it. The pic Spiney norm put up, looks to me like maybe it was a black bass that sbeen stripped (is that black paint inside the holes where the machine heads go, or just no light/flash so looks dark?), and they put the more grainey wood under a paint job. No idea really, just a thought, but if I didnt already have one, I would definately have this one, its the best year/colour combo imho, and in great nick too. Good lightweight bass, and has quite a bit of trebly growl and bite compared to other Gibson basses which may be available, especially the mahogany ones ;-) By the way, didnt they originally have maple for the 73/4 ones, go to alder till 76/7 ish, then go back to maple again? [/quote] Yes, well spotted, although it was actually a natural body that someone sprayed black and I then stripped again. I'm sure what you can see there is the original finish, somewhat tarnished by living under black paint. Whoever it was also sprayed over the pickguard, which I couldn't save, and the pickups, which I could. Conventional wisdom is that they used maple until the body shape changed in 75 and also then changed to alder. They changed back to maple a couple of years later. However, I've come across a few original shape bodies, including mine, which suggest Gibson was already using alder before the shape change. Grain patterns vary, I think the key indicator is weight - I can't explain a 2lb difference in basically the same bass unless it's different wood. My black maple 78 looks cool, but for tone I'd go for the alder one every time. It actually has at least 3 useful options on the pickup selector and always surprises me how well it fits in with blues, rock, ballads, anything. Plus you don't feel like you've been carrying a concrete block through the gig. High time someone bought this. Edited April 27, 2012 by spinynorman
sniperschool Posted April 28, 2012 Author Posted April 28, 2012 [b][i]High time someone bought this. [/i][/b] Here here! Got a couple of people that want it but are waiting on funds So as of this morning it's still available Anyone want to come out to the studio in Essex is more than welcome to try it out in person
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