Rare Ribbecke Bird

[Dave W]

http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/hnp/msg/5876973500.html

This is a relist, it's been on CL locally for months. Ribbecke guitars are rare enough and very expensive, this claims to be 1 of only 4 basses.

[Alanko]

Quite a cool bass. Quite a strong Alembic vibe. Are those Bill Lawrence pickups? Not sure Craiglist is the best medium for offloading a rare, expensive bass.

[Dave W]

Could be, they look like guitar-size blade humbuckers. OTOH Ribbecke's work was so limited and expensive, they're probably custom wound to his specs, whoever made them.

Ribbecke is semi-retired now, but he takes on limited commissions for $25K and up. Hey, no problem, where's my checkbook? He designed an acoustic-electric bass for Bobby Vega in the early 00s, called the Halfling, and AFAIK they're still made by the Ribbecke company but that's his daughter's company.

[planetgaffnet]

The (reversed) headstock styling works really well on that, but then again, I like the Spector headstock on a Thunderbird.

[mc2NY]

Cool bass...but it's heavier than I like..over 10 lbs.

Seller knows me from NAMM shows. He now runs a company making instrument cabs. Has some name bands using them.

He wanted to trade for my sunburst Gibby Les Paul Sig bass and guitar set but I din't go for it. I think the LP Sigs are a lot easier to move than a pricey Ribbecke TBird.