NBD

Re: NBD

I used to have one of those. Make sure the neck screws are hella tight or that neck will flop all over the place. I think they designed it to have a sloppy neck pocket to keep costs down. Nice bridge upgrade, too. The stock one was basically boxed sheetmetal with Tele barrel saddles.
 
Re: NBD

I seem to recall that Mike Dirnt started out playing one of those.
Mike (and many others form that time period) playerd a Ripper which is a 2 pickup Grabber...

The ripper had a neck and bridge pickup and the Grabber had a single sliding pickup.

Neat idea but most of them are a pain in the back side these days...the pickup often won't stay in one place, makes poor contact with the slide part and can cut in and out and by now they all make a hell of a noise when you slide the pickup unless you turn the volume down first but still a neat idea.
 
Re: NBD

Mike (and many others form that time period) playerd a Ripper which is a 2 pickup Grabber...

The ripper had a neck and bridge pickup and the Grabber had a single sliding pickup.

Neat idea but most of them are a pain in the back side these days...the pickup often won't stay in one place, makes poor contact with the slide part and can cut in and out and by now they all make a hell of a noise when you slide the pickup unless you turn the volume down first but still a neat idea.

There's more to it then that.

The Ripper (must be pronounced with an upward inflection, a'la Halford in his prime...that's how I always hear it in my head) was a 2 pup setneck with a varitone and open book hs and that string through 3 point tuneomatic thing. Though mine's electronics are all swapped out, it still is a blast to play, and lighter than you'd think. I know some had alder bodies; mine does.

THERIPPER003.jpg


The Grabber was a 1 sliding pup bolt on with a volume, tone, and mine had a super crappy sheetmetal bridge but it was still string through. I really dug the sliding pup, though I usually left it towards the neck. It isn't a practical design for on-the-fly changes as the volume drops noticeably as it nears the end of the string. After many ill-conceived mods, mine finally moved on. It was also a boat anchor of solid maple everything, exacerbated by the 2 pound brass bridge I bought for 5 bucks and stuck on there when I was 16.
Grabber002.jpg


The G3 was a Grabber with 3 odd looking single coils. I've never played one of those.

Dirnt actually played a G3, not a Grabber.

Mike-dirnt-famous-orange-countian.jpg
 
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Re: NBD

Astro I think that is really cool.

Lots of character. It looks like that's a good quality replacement bridge on there too.

Can you post some pics without the intagram stuff all over it? It's hard to see detail with the forced focus blur and stuff.
 
Re: NBD

The bad news is that the bass seems to be a copy. I was told some parts were not original, which led me to believe that explained the headstock decal..

at any rate, I got this bass for an obscenely low amount of money... $100.
 
Re: NBD

Nice. Got me a cheapy bass I love. Funny thing is, after spending less than $100 on it and being totally happy, I still feel the need to pour obscene amounts of money into 6 stringers. Cool bass.
 
Re: NBD

The bad news is that the bass seems to be a copy. I was told some parts were not original, which led me to believe that explained the headstock decal..

at any rate, I got this bass for an obscenely low amount of money... $100.

Copy? Please, more pics. Neck plate, under the guard, hs face, back, bridge area...
 
Re: NBD

The bad news is that the bass seems to be a copy. I was told some parts were not original, which led me to believe that explained the headstock decal..

at any rate, I got this bass for an obscenely low amount of money... $100.

Since we don't get to see that, I'm afraid none of us know what you're talking about.

I find it extremely unlikely that this bass is a copy. There is no copy manufacturer in the world world who would retool their line to produce a sliding pickup just so they could make Grabber knock offs.

More pics!
 
Re: NBD

Glenn, get the scratchplate up and take a look at the electronics. Look for evidence of Japanese manufacture. Forum members aged over forty will remember the Seventies as Ibanez' "lawsuit" period. Your bass guitar could be more valuable than you suppose.

Of course, it could also be made by one of the less fashionable copyists of the Seventies. Hondo, Kimbara and so on.

Take a hint from the photographs posted by F73. The stock pickup (original or copy) is no great shakes. Consider replacing it.

EDIT - A genuine Gibson Grabber sliding pickup will have the word "Gibson" embossed on the top of the cover.

EDIT #2 - Google for Grabber Bass copy. You'll get plenty of info on makes, models and specs. Beware, however, as you'll also get photographs of Gene Simmons.
 
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