WITHDRAWN - 1975 Gibson The Ripper LS-9 Fretless: PRICE DROP £1200 £1350 Belfast

[pilotbicycles]

I am letting go of my much cherished 1975 Gibson Ripper, with a factory fretless neck.

Not particularly common and an absolutely wonderful sounding and playing instrument, with a gorgeous Ebony finger board and sunburst finish.

The neck is in good shape, with some playing wear but certainly lots of life left in it. It comes with the original hard shell case.

Controls are Volume, Tone, and Mid control, which allow for a wide variety of sounds.

The pickup selector chooses between Both Pickups in Parallel, Bridge Pickup, Both Pickups in Series, Both Pickups out of Phase (this may seem a little pointless, but I have found to be a really useful setting when paired with octave and synth effects - it seems to boost the octave tracking and depth from synths like the EHX micro synth and EQD Bit Commander).

I purchased the Bass back in 2015 and since it has lived in my home studio and only used for recording.

It has wear as you would expect from a 44 year old instrument, most notably a bit wear and some slight warping in the pick guard and the chips at it's screw fixings by the neck (seen clearly in photos). The electronics and hardware are all in good working order.

It is missing the original bridge cover, otherwise all original hardware is present and correct.

I can ship this if I need to - likely within £75 for shipping and insurance, though collection would be ideal. I can facilitate collection in either Belfast or London, and will be driving from Belfast to London (through Scotland and down) at the end of July, so will be covering a fair part of the UK so could also arrange an exchange around that.

 

Here are a few photos - I can arrange more for particular details if required:

 

 

 

Edited May 24, 2020 by pilotbicycles
Price Drop

[three]

Absolutely gorgeous - I love these.  I saw one in a shop in Paris around 1980.  I already owned a fretted, maple Ripper but was rather taken by the two-tone sunburst on the fretless and hadn't been previously aware that they were available.  There aren't too many of these basses around ('wonder if it's the same one and it made its way to Ireland?)  I didn't have the cash at the time and many years on I realise that my fretless playing is inadequate to justify an emotional purchase.  Weird though, I remember vividly my first sighting of such a lovely bass.  It made such an impression that I had my Ripper re-finished but in 3TS within the year.  GLWTS, a lovely instrument with a distinctive character and tone (and a pic of mine!) - and a Bump for a fabulous bass, of course

Edited May 7, 2019 by three

[mr4stringz]

Beautiful. I love my knackered old (fretted) ‘76 Ripper. Hugely under appreciated basses. GLWTS.

[pilotbicycles]

Love that refinished ripper with the maple board and the added P pickup - no doubt that bass sounds amazing!

Edited May 8, 2019 by pilotbicycles
spelling error

[pilotbicycles]

Still looking at moving this wonderful bass on.

- Straight sale is definitely the preference, though I'd be open to offers/trades, in particular I'd be up for considering the following: Danelectro Longhorn, Fender Precision Bass, Fretted Ripper, Rickenbacker, Status Fretless neck for Fender bass,  Darkglass amp, Barefaced cabs, Red Panda Particle V2, Chase Bliss MOOD... etc

 

[pilotbicycles]

Looking to see this gone sooner rather than later - now price drop to £1200

[pilotbicycles]

This is still available - has seen some use in it's extended stay, but ultimately still looking to move it on.

Still interested in trades too - Darkglass Amps, Barefaced Speakers, and R*ckenbacker Basses, Fender Precision (or similar) Basses...etc. But try me if you have something else. I'm generally a sucker for oddballs.

[Stazz]

Hi,

Just wondering if the Ripper was still available?

I bought one when they first came out and had it stolen in Italy . I remember many good times with it.

[pilotbicycles]

Hi there.

It is indeed! I have ended up playing it a fair bit these past few weeks.

Let me know if you're interested and we can work something out I'm sure!

Edited April 29, 2020 by pilotbicycles
spelling

[pilotbicycles]

After some consideration and increased time with this instrument in recent months I have decided to withdraw it from sale.