Greg Lake's Ripper

[Denis]

If you look you can find a few photos and maybe a clip with Greg Lake and his Ripper. Always wondered about it because it's black with a maple fretboard.



Well, while looking around I found this press release photo of Lake with a Ripper, but it's a natural finish. I guess this gives some new insight into what I thought may have been a custom bass or modified later. Of course, it's possible these are two different basses. Anyway, it's interesting to say the least.

[40Hz]

They originally came in natural and "ebony" finished bodies. Both with a blond maple neck. IIRC starting sometime around the beginning of '75 they added an option to get either an ebony or maple fingerboard. Most of the early ones had the maple board. The only Rippers I've ever seen with an ebony fingerboard are the fretless models. But I understand they did up some fretted ones as well. I believe Greg's natural was either one of the pre-release prototypes or a stock '73.

The sound he got out of his Ripper, along with his comment in a Guitar Player article where he said the neck was in tune all the way up to the 22nd fret on the E string, is what motivated me to get my own back in April of 1974. And I've still got it. Mine is still factory original except for the strings. And it's still going strong.

[Alanko]

Is this the bass he uses at Cal Jam?

[patman]

When I saw him play ('74-75?), it was a natural Ripper

[Denis]

Then my guess is that he bought or was given a natural finish Ripper and had it painted black. I've been under the impression, and maybe Uwe can comment, that all black Rippers came standard with ebony fretboards.

[nofi]

i'm more interested in that rack of fender guitar? amps behind him. who uses that. acoustic guitar?

[lowend1]

Gene Simmons played a black/ebony Ripper on tour in '75, before going back to his LoBue. He used a sunburst/ebony version during the sessions for Sonic Boom.

[Denis]

I'd have to go back and see what Gene played when I saw KISS in December '76,

My '73 is a natural with a maple fretboard and my '80 is black with an ebony board. They are the same but totally different.

[lowend1]

I'd have to go back and see what Gene played when I saw KISS in December '76,

My '73 is a natural with a maple fretboard and my '80 is black with an ebony board. They are the same but totally different.

He had the Ripper at the Capitol Theater (Passaic NJ Oct '75) and the LoBue at Roosevelt Stadium (Jersey City NJ July '76)

[Hörnisse]

[uwe]

I think the explanation for the black Ripper is simple: Given that by then the white suit became his trademark, he probably had the natural Ripper refinned to black - a natural Ripper wouldn't look good on a white suit under all that lighting in an arena show, simple as that. Before he went all chubby, Greg was very vain about his angelic looks. He was the only reason why some guys could drag their girlfriends to ELP concerts for two hours of music mostly alienating to female ears, the soppy Lake ballads excepted!

My understanding is that "ebony"-colored Rippers always came with an ebony fretboard and the only way to get a maple neck was buying a natural one, but that might have been different when they came out. And Lake had his eyes on a (then) new Gibson bass so early he even visited the factory and saw those immensely heavy singlecut Ripper prototypes that were still sans a pickguard and therefore unrouted.

[Pekka]

i'm more interested in that rack of fender guitar? amps behind him. who uses that. acoustic guitar?

Lake played some electric guitar too, for example on "Battlefield" and some parts of "Karn Evil 9". He also had a doubleneck Zemaitis with bass and a 6-string necks.

[Denis]

My understanding is that "ebony"-colored Rippers always came with an ebony fretboard and the only way to get a maple neck was buying a natural one, but that might have been different when they came out.

It was my understanding too that the black Rippers always came with ebony fretboards. I think they look great all black (like all black RDs) though it's cool seeing a black one with a maple board.

Pekka, I think Lake was predominantly a guitar player but was asked to handle bass for King Crimson and that carried over to ELP, thought he often played guitar also. I get the impression these days that unless he's performing ELP pieces, he's usually on guitar.

[ilan]

Wouldn't an original black Ripper have a laminated b/w/b pickguard? Greg Lake's has what looks like single-ply black. Which may support the refin hypothesis.

[Alanko]

Greg Lake also had that modified Rickenbacker, so he had the access, and the inclination, to approach luthiers to modify his instruments.