Ripper converted to a G-3?

[neepheid]

Trawling eBay I found something which looks very much like someone took the trouble to convert a Ripper into a G-3.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/141008273244

Has this happened much?  It's the first time I've seen it so I thought I'd ask.

[Dave W]

I haven't seen it done before. With Jaydee pickups, I wonder if the conversion was done by John Diggins himself.

[hollowbody]

I've done it for a friend a few years ago.  


Honestly, it is the best of both worlds. I had a G3 when I started playing. I loved the sound and hated the neck. Now I have a Ripper and love the neck but hate the pickups. Presently I have a pickup set from an SG Bass in it, after trying RD Standard, regular TB+, and Guild single coils in it.

I should have bought a trio of G3 pickups while I had the chance.  

[Denis]

Not too late! I think there are some G-3 pickups on eBay now.

[amptech]

Got a G1, love the pickup (always thought it was a humbucker until reading through the fly guitars info page),
but i have always wondered if the bass would sound better with a glued neck. I can easily slip a slice of
pizza into that neck pocket gap.

[Granny Gremlin]

Got a G1, love the pickup (always thought it was a humbucker until reading through the fly guitars info page),
but i have always wondered if the bass would sound better with a glued neck. I can easily slip a slice of
pizza into that neck pocket gap.

Typo above? According to Fly the G1 (Grabber) pup is a humbucker - it's the G3 pups that are single coils.

"The Gibson G3 bass, or Grabber 3 bass, was launched in 1975, as an upgraded Grabber, or G1. The only difference between a Grabber and a G3 is the pickup configuration. The G3 features 3 single coil pickups wired in humbucking configuration, whilst the Grabber, had one 'sliding' humbucker."

[amptech]

Here´s from the Flyguitars site:

´Grabber

Sliding pickup Gibson part number 13691. The single coil pickup of the Gibson Grabber bass was mounted onto a plastic slide, allowing it to be positioned by the neck, by the bridge, or anywhere inbetween. The pickup was designed for a "dark tonality" and was a simple single coil wrapped around an Indox magnet core. Some Gibson price lists incorrectly suggest that this pickup is a humbucker. The design remained unchanged for the 10 years of production, 1973-83. In later years, this pickup was also used on the early eighties Gibson Explorer bass.´

I´m not really sure myself, i always thought it was quite ´crisp´for a humbucker.
I´ve repaired many a pickup in my life, though never examined a grabber pup.

Nice having some grabber contents here, like it!

[amptech]

Forgot to mention:  I noticed that the fly site referred to it as a humbucker in the grabber section,
but look at the parts - pickups section..

[Granny Gremlin]

 Juuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuules!

[Dave W]

The Gibson catalogs from 1975, 1978 and 1980 (on Jules' site) all describe it only as a "special design pickup" while the Ripper is described as having two Gibson "super humbucking" pickups. Draw your own conclusions.

[amptech]

The Gibson catalogs from 1975, 1978 and 1980 (on Jules' site) all describe it only as a "special design pickup" while the Ripper is described as having two Gibson "super humbucking" pickups. Draw your own conclusions.

But the superhumbucking term is just another way of describing the sidewinder, right?

The Grabber pup is too slim for this kind of design, is it not?

Now, who will be the first to melt down a G1 pickup.....

[Dave W]

But the superhumbucking term is just another way of describing the sidewinder, right?

The Grabber pup is too slim for this kind of design, is it not?

Now, who will be the first to melt down a G1 pickup.....

Super humbuckers didn't necessarily refer to sidewinder design. They used that name on certain standard construction guitar humbuckers in the 70s too.

My point was that Gibson did not call the Grabber pickup a humbucker. I don't think it was an oversight because they used the description in at least three catalog years.

[godofthunder]

 Aside from building basses JD does quite a bit of custom work. If I had to guess I would say that that is his work. I suppose I could ask him.

I haven't seen it done before. With Jaydee pickups, I wonder if the conversion was done by John Diggins himself.

[EvilLordJuju]

I believe the Grabber pickup is single coil - there are several misleading and contradictory bits of Gibson literature that suggest it is a humbucker, and one that categorically states it to be single coil (a late seventies Gibson pickup leaflet). Let me try and find it for you all. And I might put a bid on that Gripper too, if it stays at £350
http://www.flyguitars.com/gibson/bass/parts/pickup/

[amptech]

What's a Gripper? 

confused............