A few questions about Ripper basses

[veebass]

I showed the pic to my local luthier and he thinks it could have chipped off when the nut was removed. He suggested making an epoxy/ebony dust mix to fill it in with.
I'm hoping to pick this up today. 

Looking forward to the pics!

[pjm]

I got it. It's awesome however it smells like beer and cigarettes
The back of the neck is really sticky, any DIY remedies? 

[uwe]

Warm soap water.

[patman]

Sounds like it will be a good player.  I would think beer and cigarette smell means someone loved and gigged it.  I always mistrust closet queens.

[copacetic]

How is the neck profile on the II compared with the originals? Nut width?

[veebass]

Sounds like it will be a good player.  I would think beer and cigarette smell means someone loved and gigged it.  I always mistrust closet queens.

I agree- the best playing basses that I bought second hand had seen considerable action before me.

[Dave W]

I agree- the best playing basses that I bought second hand had seen considerable action before me.

Not many can top Uwe's EB-0L for prior action. One bullet wound to its neck.

[uwe]

How is the neck profile on the II compared with the originals? Nut width?

A bit less of everything, but ever so slightly. Nut width on the Ripper II is 1 1/2", my late production 81 Ripper has between 1/16 and 2/16 more width and is a bit phatter in the neck. No substantial difference. A Ripper II still feels like a Ripper, it just has better pups.

[pjm]

So an update on the ripper.
It's been in for repairs,
1. New nut
2. Chip in fret board fill with ebony dust concoction
3. Bridge pickup rewound with vintage spec'd wire
4. New pick guard
5. Replaced the 4 way rotary with a 3 way selector ala Les Paul, neck/both/bridge
The 4 way was not salvageable so the 3 way will be temporary.
So in the mean time I'm on the hunt for a 4 way rotary. Anybody know were i can source a decent replacement and a gig bag that fits would be good too.
cheers

[uwe]

Stick to the three way toggle, it makes much better sense. The original rotary thingy doesn't offer an "unmolested neck pup by itself"-mode and that is one of the best sounds available from the Ripper. All those filtered extra sounds are not practical in band usage.

[neepheid]

Stick to the three way toggle, it makes much better sense. The original rotary thingy doesn't offer an "unmolested neck pup by itself"-mode and that is one of the best sounds available from the Ripper. All those filtered extra sounds are not practical in band usage.

Nothing stopping you wiring a 4 way rotary to give that option, I did it on mine.  That way I get the two best (IMHO) sounds - neck soloed and both in series, in phase.

[uwe]

True (I did on one of mine too otherwise I wouldn't know), but a toggle switch is quicker live, more intuitive/foolproof and can take more of a beating.

[pjm]

Stick to the three way toggle, it makes much better sense. The original rotary thingy doesn't offer an "unmolested neck pup by itself"-mode and that is one of the best sounds available from the Ripper. All those filtered extra sounds are not practical in band usage.

That's exactly what the repair guy said, easy to change pickup settings live and he thinks 1 & 3 sound too similar to warrant the 4 position.

[Denis]

For my '73 I found a new Mallory replacement switch and try as he might my luthier couldn't get it to work. Luckily I found a real nice original on eBay and him wire it so I could use either pickup (which are the Seymour Duncan replacements) independently.
It worked out well and it's quite the bass now
Good luck with yours!

[veebass]

So an update on the ripper.
It's been in for repairs,
1. New nut
2. Chip in fret board fill with ebony dust concoction
3. Bridge pickup rewound with vintage spec'd wire
4. New pick guard
5. Replaced the 4 way rotary with a 3 way selector ala Les Paul, neck/both/bridge
The 4 way was not salvageable so the 3 way will be temporary.
So in the mean time I'm on the hunt for a 4 way rotary. Anybody know were i can source a decent replacement and a gig bag that fits would be good too.
cheers

Must post pics when she is all done.
Who is doing the rewind?
I was very happy with the job Seymour Duncan did rewinding the neck pickup in my Ripper- came out a little cheaper than buying one of their replacements- even with the two way shipping costs   between Australia and the US, but that was when our $ was a bit higher.