Gibson Grabber, maple/maple with 'skunk stripe'....value?

[Blackbird]

All,

What is an approximate value on Gibson Grabber, maple/maple with the 'skunk stripe'??

Thanks!

[uwe]

Good to very good condition? 1.000 bucks perhaps.

When I bought my pelham blue skunk stripe six years ago, it cost me 1.400 bucks, that price was considered outrageous back then for a Grabber and it probably still is, only justified by Rumbleseat, the seller, being always expensive (yet always offering real raries too, they had a good eye for them), and this specimen being something totally unique I have never ever remotely seen again.



Since then Grabbers have gone up in price, but not to a great extent. And the skunk stripes are more valuable only to the knowing few.

[Blackbird]

Good to very good condition? 1.000 bucks perhaps.

When I bought my pelham blue skunk stripe six years ago, it cost me 1.400 bucks, that price was considered outrageous back then for a Grabber and it probably still is, only justified by Rumbleseat, the seller, being always expensive (yet always offering real raries too, they had a good eye for them), and this specimen being something totally unique I have never ever remotely seen again.



Since then Grabbers have gone up in price, but not to a great extent. And the skunk stripes are more valuable only to the knowing few.

Good to very good it is, one owner, and asking $700 Canadian.  I'm NOT supposed to be even looking, but I found this and am tempted enough to sleep on the couch for a week....or two. 

[uwe]

That is a very good price, go for it (or give me the guy's number!). Tell your wife how much peace of mind it will give you and become pro-active in the household ("you know, hon, I never really even knew how much I'd enjoy helping you ...").

And absolutely don't tell her that loose comparison I once made in another forum life about how owning a Grabber is akin to having oral sex performed on you in a public parking lot by a person whose name you don't know. A combination of knowing it's oh so wrong and blissful gratification.

[Denis]

Hahahahaha!
Hey Uwe, that blue on the Grabber is almost identical to a blue Ford used on Boss 302s, Boss 429s, Mach 1 Mustangs and Torina Cobras. It was called Grabber Blue!

[uwe]

That is a fascinating observation, Denis!  We've speculated in the past whether this Grabber was a NAMM show room model and now that you mention that there was a color named "Grabber Blue", the bass might be a pun/inside joke on words, just perfect for making a statement at NAMM.  

And you know what, Denis? For years I've been hanging around in this forum and in similar ones, countless times I have posted that blue Grabber pic and no one ever even bothered to make me, the poor kraut, aware of this blatantly obvious connection. Until you came along.  Vielen herzlichen Dank.  All others: Hang your heads in shame and guilt!!!  

[Denis]

You are most welcome! Good score on the photo of the Mustang. It's oriented almost identically to the Grabber pic!
I can't believe this connection has never come up before, especially now that Ford is reintroducing this color. Cars and motorcycles and guitars are not so far removed from each other really. 

[Blackbird]

That blue is a perfect color for the grabber...sharp indeed.  Overall, the natural maple doesn't appeal to me...on this model anyway. 

[Dave W]

Now that you mention it, I do remember the color, wasn't it from around 1969-70? I just never paid much attention to Ford products back then. Still, with a few Mustang fans around here, I'm surprised the connection between it and Uwe's blue Grabber hasn't come up before.

[Denis]

Yes, I think only 69-70 and maybe '71 too. I guess it takes a Mopar guy to bring up that sort of thing. 

Once you get used to the Grabber being that color rather than natural or black, it becomes appealing very quickly.

[uwe]

That is what got me in the end! I had been circling that bass for months, making offers to Rumbleseat, they never budged a cent from their price. I knew it was hilariously expensive, but still ... After about half a year I caved in and bought it together with a natural Guild B-301 on which they were gracious enough to give me a larger discount.

The Grabber Blue is now one of those pieces in my collection that never fails to impress the viewing public, irrespective whether vintage specialists or lay(wo)men. In hindsight, I've made my peace with that price. It is also the only bass I own where someone took the trouble to finish a maple board neck in gloss back completely before fretting it. I always wondered why someone would go through all that trouble and not just slap an ebony board on it (some of the Grabbers shortly before deletion in the early eighties had ebony boards). Only based on your recent info, Denis, does it dawn on me now that they were trying to emulate that black & blue car look.

[uwe]

That blue is a perfect color for the grabber...sharp indeed.  Overall, the natural maple doesn't appeal to me...on this model anyway.  

That said, before turning a Gibsonite, when I thought of a Grabber, Ripper or even an RD, I always thought of them in natural maple. I didn't even know they existed in other fins until diving deeper into the Gibson vaults. So the naked look is certainly a period classic. And I guess it is no coincidence that the new Ripper II cites the natural look of yore too.

[gearHed289]

Pelham blue in real life doesn't look even remotely like Ford's Grabber Blue. Pelham is a darker metallic finish, while grabber is a lighter pastel. Uwe's Gibson DOES look close to the Ford color in that pic though. Beautiful bass! And even more beautiful car. I like blue Mustangs. 

 

[Dave W]

I agree. The question is whether Uwe's is really Pelham Blue. Is it even metallic? Judging from his pic, I didn't think it looked anything like it.

[Barklessdog]

I had a 73 Mercury Cougar with a 351 Cleveland V-8 that had Ford Blue Valve covers & air cleaner.



The engine was also used in the wonderful Pantera.