New 2009 Grabber II and, yes, even the Ripper!

[uwe]

All those TB Plus guitar humbucker size pups in chrome and gold (the rootbeer fin Money bass had gold hardware) you see on ebay are IMHO leftovers from the deleted Mon(k)ey series.

[Blackbird]

I have three and Daniel/Doombass has one, no one else bought one here, right?

I ,too, have a Blue one.

Wifey got it for me on my last Birthday.

These basses are great, I love the sound and the versatility of the various sound you can get.  It gets really snarly with my bass driver.....underrated and great value if you can get one.  Prices seem to be going up a bit after last year's clear out.

It looks hot to boot.

[uwe]

I remember that birthday event too. So that makes six of them in this forum, which is a lot better than, say, the TBird Studios did.

[barend]

And the first Grabber II is on the bay:

http://cgi.ebay.com/Gibson-Grabber-II-Bass-Guitar-Limited-Edition_W0QQitemZ300343330644QQcmdZViewItemQQptZGuitar?hash=item45eddb8754&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14

Makes you wonder why he is selling it. Because it sounds awesome telling from the way he desribes it.
Hopefully within a year you can get one of those for 800 bucks or so.

[Dave W]

Eh. Maybe he just can't bond with it.

But I don't like sellers who say things like "super-rare... and it is totally awesome!!!" 

[uwe]

It's a no holds barred growly rock bass, not really versatile for other styles, too "furry". If Gene Simmons got one in his hands, he'd drop that Punisher - not a bad bass by any means - subito. Probably the most aggressive Gibson bass ever, even beats the LP Standard in that respect.

[barend]

I wish he did. I think his Grabber sound in the beginning period from Kiss is the best sound he ever had. That is the main reason why I like the Grabber, although I never played one.

[SKATE RAT]

i hafta admit  the Gene Simmons Punisher is pretty damn cool.

[uwe]

It's a good bass alright, sounds a bit like a 9 volted TBird plus the upper register access of a Ric. But for all its EMG bite it doesn't have the brutish warmth of a Grabber II. Nothing really has, I was pretty much blown away by it.

[gearHed289]

I wish he did. I think his Grabber sound in the beginning period from Kiss is the best sound he ever had. That is the main reason why I like the Grabber, although I never played one.

I don't know how much, if any, Grabber sound was ever heard on a KISS record. He mostly used the Lobue until he got the Spector. I love his totally distorted live sound from the early days that you can hear loud and clear on what used to be bootlegs, now available on the KISSology DVDs.

[uwe]

The early (not: earliest) stuff sounds grabberish to me, circa Hotter than Hell/Dressed to Kill/Alive . That said, Simmons sounds like Simmons on any bass he plays (he pretty much plays with the same platform sole stalking feel he walks the stage with as if consciously trying to avoid sounding smooth and nimble) and was never particular about what he played as long as it gave him the sound. Revenge was mostly recorded with some Asian pos budget bass he had obtained in a whimsical mood in NYC. He liked the sound so much, he sent someone out to buy another one, "but it sounded nothing like the first one".

[barend]

I think he played the '75 (Alive!) period mostly on the Grabber, from what I see from the youtube clips.
Gene rules!

[Freuds_Cat]

Sound? All the bite/middish rasp of a vintage Grabber, but with more low ooomph and a trace more treble. No doubt due to a combination of now set neck, the three point bridge (rather than the flimsy Fender-rip-off of the original Grabber) and the force of the TB Plus pup which is quite versatile irrespective whether it sees traditional use in a TBird as a soapie, in an LP Standard as a guitar-size chromeling, in an SG as a faux-mudbucker or now in the Grabber II as "the slider". That said, I was still surprised how dark the bass sounded when I plugged it in considering it is all maple. It's hard to tell from the thick (handicraft-looking, but still appealing) matte finish whether the wood is really maple - that is what the Gibson site states -, to me the bass sounds more like a maho body with a maple neck would, Fenderbird lovers should be in ecstasy at their first listen (or those people who like the Yamaha Attitude sound). The greater sensitiivity/responsiveness of the sliding TB Plus pup also has the pleasant s(l)ide effect that grabbing the pup (the sliding mechanism is a lot more stable/tighter than on your father's Grabber, you need to apply some real force to move it) for a position change has a much greater influence on the sound. The bass is never muddy, but with the pup in frontal position, it does grab your manhood.

Uwe

Finally got to try one of these basses today through a new Ampeg BA115. As usual Uwe's winelovers description of bass sounds is very accurate. Three things regarding the body. 1.The grain that can be seen through the paint job looks like Mahogany or maybe Swamp Ash at a pinch. 2. The sound suggests Mahogany. And 3. The weight is too light IMHO for Maple.

I was really impressed with this bass. Balls, bass & bark. I always considered the sliding pup more a novelty than a serious tool for adjusting sound. I am now a convert. Beautiful to play, lovely neck. I really enjoyed playing it. Couldn't bring myself to fork out Aus$2500 for it though.

[clankenstein]

darn that looks good in black.

[uwe]

Yes, it does. And the three point looks much better than the flimsy Fender-rip-off bridge the originals had.