The Epi sounds great. I wonder if it has the original pickups.
It should, whatever they are, they sound great on that bass and I'm generally not one to wave the P/J combo flag here which cosmetically leaves a lot to be desired. But the GRipp3r pups are loud, assertive, with a nice presence/treble (without sounding clinical), strong mids and ample ooomph. It is of course a Fenderish sound, but then the Ripper was always intended to be closer to a Fender than to an EB or Thunderbird. The nod to Gibson heritage comes from the placement of the pups which are both quite a bit farther towards the neck than they are on models of "that other brand".
I've said it before: Those Epi GRipp3rs (the more recent "Ltd Edition" ones, not the first series from the nineties which I can't comment on as I haven't played them yet) are great value for money and a happy marriage of Ripper ooomph, Grabber mids and G-3 snarl/presence. Plus an excellent modern type bridge that doesn't look out of place on that bass and is superior to the frankly cheapo Grabber and G-3 bridges and to most people easier adjustable than the original Ripper three point. Yes, that is an endorsement of this particular Epi.
Uwe
