Paul S Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 FWIW I think black single ply would be totally spot on. I had a near cousin of one of these for a while, the G3. Lovely thing. That was of no relevence whatsoever but I thought I'd say it anyway 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted January 12, 2022 Author Share Posted January 12, 2022 1 hour ago, Shaggy said: True. If it were mine (which it ain’t!), to honest I’d leave the current one on there rather than change to black, but if making a new one I’d still go for a quality sheet of proper celluloid tort, eg: https://www.wdmusic.co.uk/pickguards-c62/blank-pickguard-sheets-c95/wd-music-brown-tortoiseshell-celluloid-thin-non-laminated-p608 Bass doc used to make custom ones to order on here (pretty sure also sourcing from WD Music), not sure if he does any more? Flip those sheets are expensive, and too small as it happens. But it's giving me ideas. The bakelite sheet would be perfect for single ply black, not quite as jet black and glossy as a modern PVC pickguard sheet. Just the right level of sheen. I'm going to rebuild it tomorrow with the golden brown vomit tort that came with it, and then have a hunt around to something suitable. Either single ply black or very, very dark tort. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted January 12, 2022 Share Posted January 12, 2022 23 hours ago, Shaggy said: That L6S is proper lush - even has the “harmonica bridge” sported by early ‘70’s Gibson’s - and so much nicer than the endless Les Paul copies of that era 👍. Makes me wonder why Kimbara were never as big as Ibanez or Aria? It was a different sort of brand - both Aria & Ibanez were (are, I suppose) premium brands owned by big Japanese companies with an international reach. Kimbara was a domestic UK brand belonging to the distributor FCN Music, alongside their lower-tier marques Columbus & Satellite. Kimbara was broadly their top-quality brand & was sourced from several manufacturers, including Matsumoku, who made most Arias. @Maude's Ripper will be the same bass as the set-neck Aria LB650 - apart from the name. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 7 hours ago, Paul S said: FWIW I think black single ply would be totally spot on. I had a near cousin of one of these for a while, the G3. Lovely thing. That was of no relevence whatsoever but I thought I'd say it anyway I miss my G3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu_g Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Congratulations 👏 nice bass. Saw that one for sale, was tempted to buy that to go with my Avon Grabber,I bought recently. 6 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted January 13, 2022 Author Share Posted January 13, 2022 54 minutes ago, stu_g said: Congratulations 👏 nice bass. Saw that one for sale, was tempted to buy that to go with my Avon Grabber,I bought recently. That is lovely! 😍 What a pair that would've been. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bassassin Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 8 hours ago, stu_g said: Congratulations 👏 nice bass. Saw that one for sale, was tempted to buy that to go with my Avon Grabber,I bought recently. Same as my old one - wonder if it is my old one? Another great, near replica-level bass, always though with a swapped trc, neckplate & a Gibbo sticker, you almost could get away with passing it off as original. Of course if you have the Ripper, Grabber and L6S copies, you have to have an Avon Marauder to finish the set: Only one I haven't had is the Ripper. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stu_g Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Still has serial/model number on it. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 On 09/01/2022 at 21:40, Maude said: Very nice. What is the rotary position switch for? I rather like that as it's a bit unusual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted January 13, 2022 Author Share Posted January 13, 2022 8 minutes ago, Richard R said: Very nice. What is the rotary position switch for? I rather like that as it's a bit unusual. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard R Posted January 13, 2022 Share Posted January 13, 2022 Thanks. I like the look of the rotary switch rather than little toggle switches. But of course it's more expensive and looks very 1970s 😄 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted January 13, 2022 Author Share Posted January 13, 2022 2 minutes ago, Richard R said: Thanks. I like the look of the rotary switch rather than little toggle switches. But of course it's more expensive and looks very 1970s 😄 I know, there's something very cool about a big chicken head rotary switch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wreckthedisco Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 On 09/01/2022 at 21:40, Maude said: I've always liked the look of the Gibson Rippers and Grabbers, and in turn the 70s/80s Japanese copies. That's why when this popped up on facebook not too far from home I had to have it. After a quick message to our resident expert on Japanese basses, @Bassassin, for some much appreciated info I'd agreed a price the seller and I were both happy with. These are the sellers pictures. I picked it up yesterday and had a chat with the seller. He acquired it forty years ago in a swap for a 4x12 guitar cab, the seller is also a guitarist so it's spent the last forty years hanging on his wall, with the occasional play just for his own fun so it's in really nice condition. A couple of dings that were there when he got it and a couple of little issues that have been sorted but obviously have left it non original, which is a shame but can't be helped. Firstly, the original scratchplate was a celluloid one and had started gassing off and crumbling, so he has fitted a replacement. The original would've been a very dark tort, as per the early Gibson Rippers, the later ones were black (I think). I was going to make a single ply black one but I actually quite like one on there now. Secondly, the original three point bridge had snapped and this is a generic replacement. It seems a pretty good copy and looks the part so it'll probably stay as well. The only issue is the strings are higher than I'd like but the bridge is bottomed out, something I'll address. I've pulled it apart for a good clean and polish, and to sort any little issues such as the pots which are a little crackly. Very clean in the cavities and nice, tidy routing. Maybe newer manufacturers could learn something from the Matsumoku workers as I've seen some more modern basses that are much rougher. The electrics look good and all original so just a squirt of some cleaner/lubricant will hopefully quieten things down. You can see the 'burn' marks where the celluloid scratchplate had started to react. It's constructed in a kind of butchers block fashion but build seems really good. The rear with a rather nice grain to it. Three piece neck construction so should be stable. And a set neck. All the wood joins are nice and tidy and in all honesty most of the woods match really well. I'll update in a couple of days when it's rebuilt, set up and been put through it paces with some new strings. Hopefully the pickups will have the same edge to them as the Gibson ones. I have the same Kimbara Bass, rescued from a Charity shop in Southampton as a wall hanger. i love it and have been doing amateurish restoration on it. I hoped i could ask some advice. it has the original scratach plate but this is becoming really brittle and cracking. it constanbtly has a white crystaline powder appearing on the surface and is sometimes wet, despite being in a dry room wth good airflow (i have a number of other guitars that are not doing this). I want to replace the scratch plate but am worried about the choke as this seems integral. does the disc with the numbers (under the chickenhead dial) come away and could i put this onto a new scratach plate? and would a proper gibson ripper plate fit the pickups ok?? i have found some but they're £45 - £75 a go and i dont want to throw that kind of money for it to be wrong! Many thanks Paul Devon 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
neepheid Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 1 hour ago, wreckthedisco said: I have the same Kimbara Bass, rescued from a Charity shop in Southampton as a wall hanger. i love it and have been doing amateurish restoration on it. I hoped i could ask some advice. it has the original scratach plate but this is becoming really brittle and cracking. it constanbtly has a white crystaline powder appearing on the surface and is sometimes wet, despite being in a dry room wth good airflow (i have a number of other guitars that are not doing this). I want to replace the scratch plate but am worried about the choke as this seems integral. does the disc with the numbers (under the chickenhead dial) come away and could i put this onto a new scratach plate? and would a proper gibson ripper plate fit the pickups ok?? i have found some but they're £45 - £75 a go and i dont want to throw that kind of money for it to be wrong! Many thanks Paul Devon The old tort pickguards have a tendency to react negatively with the air around us it would seem and very slowly disintegrate over time - possibly emitting gases which may have a negative effect on your pickup windings if they're not potted or covered/sealed in some way. I can only speak from an official Gibson Ripper point of view having only worked on those. Everything should come off the pickguard, even the choke - Gibson did it two ways - early ones had a bracket soldered to one of the pot casings to which the choke is bolted, later ones had a bracket which was attached like a washer on one of the pot shafts before it pokes through the pickguard. The 1234 plate is a separate piece and be very careful with it - they're super rare and it took me ages to source one for my Ripper rebuild! Yes, you can use it with a replacement pickguard - it's just a giant washer with some number on it at the end of the day. I can't guarantee that a pickguard intended for a Gibson Ripper would directly fit this bass. Your best bet would be to get the existing one copied. It's probably too brittle to send to someone in the post so a tracing would be the next best thing. I'm sure there are folk who can make you a custom pickguard from a tracing. Good luck! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PaulThePlug Posted April 22, 2022 Share Posted April 22, 2022 gigink... for custom back print jobs or brian https://www.ebay.co.uk/str/earlpilanz gets a few shouts on here for his Harley Benton plates and others... prolly the £30 mark. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maude Posted April 22, 2022 Author Share Posted April 22, 2022 It's as @neepheidsays above. Zoom in in this picture, the disc is in the tray with the bridge. And this one shows the choke mounted to one of the pots. 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.