Anyone know of any decent Ripper/G3 replicas?

[A.D.Fairhurst]

I have long been in love with the fat-bodied Rippers and black-pickup G3's, but I'm 14 so there's very little chance of getting one soon. Does anyone here know of any cheap replicas...? Wishful thinking, I know...

[uwe]

Lieber Alex,

and I thought you only played Fender style basses ...



Welcome to the Empire of Evil, sssssplendid, come in, young masssssterrr ...!



You just diminished our average age here by a couple of centuries! 

Why don't you give the Epiphone Ripper Ltd. Edition of some years ago a try? Those are/were great basses for the money (I have two of them plus some Gibson Rippers too, so I know how they compare). They are deleted, but you should still be able to get one on evil bay or so. Just make sure you buy the two pup version (with black headstock and modern bridge), not the earlier one pup version of the 90ies which wasn't as good.

This here:






http://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guitar-and-amplifier-reviews.com%2Fimages%2FEpiphone-Ripper.jpeg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guitar-and-amplifier-reviews.com%2Fepiphone-ripper.html&h=225&w=225&tbnid=UrB0iz8cR0JfZM%3A&docid=S8TXRMuuQxoVNM&ei=uQI9VsjUJMO7PNLJo9AD&tbm=isch&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=496&page=1&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=0CCcQrQMwA2oVChMIiJXSlsf8yAIVwx0PCh3S5Ag6


Not this here, never mind the Native American temptation, she's not included and your parents wouldn't approve in any case:






Check this thread out, it mentions Epi Rippers and how they compare too.

http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=3632.0

Good luck!

Onkel Uwe (Department of Youth)

[veebass]

I had a two pickup Epi Ripper for a while a few years back.
Not a bad bass.
I also think I recall that there were MIJ Ripper copies in the 70s/ 80s.

[Dave W]

+1 on the Epi Rippers. According to eBay's recently sold listings, one of the last two sold went for $242.50 and the other was listed at $400 and the owner took a best offer less than that. I'd say $300-$350 would be typical.

veebass is correct, there were Japanese copies in the 70s and into the 80s. Probably the best known was the Aria II Pro, and there were also copies by Kimbara and Ventura. You would probably expect to pay at least as much for one of these as an Epi since Japanese basses from this time have at least some collectible value.

Here's a nice Kimbara owned by Outpost member FlatEric: http://flatericbassandguitar.blogspot.com/2010/11/kimbara-from-under-bed.html

[uwe]

I just played mine (the Epi) again - it really is that good. But the body is friggin' huge, you might want to take that into account, Alex, otoh you'll no doubt grow into it! 

[Chris P.]

I used to have an Epi and it fitted perfectly in the JCS case. That's how big it is!

[uwe]

Even for a tall guy like me (6'3"), it's not really comfortable to play sitting down. That body is as large as the original Rippers (before they were downsized) and has less bevelling. That gives the bass great stability while hanging from a strap, but sitting down it's ungainly and you have to raise your playing arm quite a bit.

[godofthunder]

   Those Epi  Rippers are a very nice bit of work but heavy!  Welcome to the LBO!

[A.D.Fairhurst]

Lieber Alex,

and I thought you only played Fender style basses ...



Welcome to the Empire of Evil, sssssplendid, come in, young masssssterrr ...!



You just diminished our average age here by a couple of centuries! 

Why don't you give the Epiphone Ripper Ltd. Edition of some years ago a try? Those are/were great basses for the money (I have two of them plus some Gibson Rippers too, so I know how they compare). They are deleted, but you should still be able to get one on evil bay or so. Just make sure you buy the two pup version (with black headstock and modern bridge), not the earlier one pup version of the 90ies which wasn't as good.

This here:






http://www.google.de/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guitar-and-amplifier-reviews.com%2Fimages%2FEpiphone-Ripper.jpeg&imgrefurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.guitar-and-amplifier-reviews.com%2Fepiphone-ripper.html&h=225&w=225&tbnid=UrB0iz8cR0JfZM%3A&docid=S8TXRMuuQxoVNM&ei=uQI9VsjUJMO7PNLJo9AD&tbm=isch&iact=rc&uact=3&dur=496&page=1&start=0&ndsp=24&ved=0CCcQrQMwA2oVChMIiJXSlsf8yAIVwx0PCh3S5Ag6


Not this here, never mind the Native American temptation, she's not included and your parents wouldn't approve in any case:






Check this thread out, it mentions Epi Rippers and how they compare too.

http://bassoutpost.com/index.php?topic=3632.0

Good luck!

Onkel Uwe (Department of Youth)

...how did you find that video...? I've lost weight since then, by the way. Anyway, I did once have an Epi EB-0, but in the rush to get out of school for the Easter hoidays I left it in a music room. When I came back it was gone. I will try to get a 2-pup one next year, because I might just get a Squier bass or in the highly unlikely event that Epiphone brings out a Ripper or G3 in 2016, one of them.

[uwe]

Alex, your weight and your age are of no concern here. If you feel better slim, great. You're more than welcome to hang around and participate.

How did I find that vid? Your youtube vids are the first thing that comes up if you google "ad fairhurst" - it's not like I needed the NSA or anything!  Don't we all know it, anything you stick in the internet stays there for eternity. Not that there is anything to regret about that vid. I thought it was - shock, gasp, horror! - cute! As a 55 year old father of two meanwhile adult kids I'm allowed to use that phrase though it will probably make the hairs of any sensible 14-year-old stand on end.  And it reminded me of a guitar vid of my son many moons ago in a nicely nostalgic way.

The Epi EB-0 is nothing horrible for the money, but their two-pup Ripper is in another league. That said, I hope that your stolen EB comes to life one night and devours its purloiner!  Or that (s)he at least plays it a lot.

[Highlander]

Their EB3L is at least a set neck too...

Wilkommen...

[patman]

I see the EB3L's come up for sale in town all the time...I am sorely tempted sometimes...

They look almost like the real thing.  If they're well made, it could be a cool instrument.

[Dave W]

The EB-3Ls are reasonably well made, aside from the usual Epi 3-point bridge post problem. Just don't expect the pickup to sound like a real mudbucker.

[Highlander]

Wouldn't be too hard to source one, mind you...