Incoming Grabber

[dadagoboi]

Been looking for a Grabber. I bought this one June 15 but it had some problems so I returned it.  Loved the neck, it sounded great but the whole bass was sticky and smelled of cheap car freshener.  Plus no case, bridge cover or knob pointers and the saddle screws were all buggered.  The store staff at Willie's was very easy to deal with and I wouldn't hesitate to buy from them again, I'd just ask more questions.  I did a measured drawing of the body before I sent it back...you never know!

 
'Won' this one yesterday (Tuesday) AM, it will be here Friday.  Looking forward to the Gibson 'Fender'.


I like the all natural maple finish and the single pickup as opposed to the G-3 black headstock/3 pickup configuration.  Hope it smells and feels better than the first one.   I'll post pix, hopefully not requiring smell-o-vision.

[amptech]

This is not he first smelly grabber - mine smells really weird too.
Got it from my uncle in '91 , he claimed that their drummer puked in the guitar's case in the early 80's.
I always thought that story was made up, smells more like an old hooker - a fine blend of wet basement,
unwashed panties and cheap perfume.

The case has been washed thoroughly many times after, but it's still a quite funky grabber to this day.
Nice player, though..
Good luck with a fine bass!

[Dave W]

I've never heard of them smelling odd before. Could be that the finish was slightly decomposing after all these years and off-gassing caused the smell.

[dadagoboi]

I've never heard of them smelling odd before. Could be that the finish was slightly decomposing after all these years and off-gassing caused the smell.

I'm guessing nicotine caused the stickiness as well as the smell someone tried to cover up with air freshener.  That combined with six saddle screws with broken slots made returning the bass the best option.

[amptech]

I´ve smelled a similar ripper too - been thinkin of the finish ageing, or the glue used for the lining..

As for the cover i bought one off ebay by someone who makes a decent nickel repro.
Had a couple of broken saddle screws. At the age of 14, with the Grabber being my first real bass,
I started fingerpicking near the neck quite soon. Keeping your right hand anywhere near the bridge on an
uncovered grabber is lethal! This is the bass they should have named the ripper!

[Wilbur88]

Mine just smells a little musty, just old which is cool by me.

[godofthunder]

   I have never had a Grabber, G3 or Ripper with a funky smell. I think if the bass smells bad it's how and where it was stored not how it was made. Congrats on the Grabber Carlo! When these first came out I thought them gimmicky, even with Gene Simmons playing one they couldn't convince me that it was the bass for me. These days I think The Grabbers is the best of the lot, simple, ballsy and loud! I have a Black '81 Grabber and a '75 G3 at the moment and have owned various Rippers over the years.

[dadagoboi]

   I have never had a Grabber, G3 or Ripper with a funky smell. I think if the bass smells bad it's how and where it was stored not how it was made. Congrats on the Grabber Carlo! When these first came out I thought them gimmicky, even with Gene Simmons playing one they couldn't convince me that it was the bass for me. These days I think The Grabbers is the best of the lot, simple, ballsy and loud! I have a Black '81 Grabber and a '75 G3 at the moment and have owned various Rippers over the years.

I remember when they came out, I had absolutely no interest.  They were about 20 years too late.  In '55 they could have seriously given Fender a run for its money considering Gibson's better name recognition and dealer network.  The chunky wide neck feels very similar to a first gen P bass and soundwise it's in the ballpark.  Even the sliding pickup would have made sense in those times.

Neck pocket gap was laughable on the one I sent back, imagine it will be the same on the incoming.  That is really difficult to understand considering how tight the tolerances have to be on a set neck compared to bolt on.

[godofthunder]

 Most neck pockets on the G series I have always found to be pretty tight, especially compared to Fender of the day.

[dadagoboi]

Most neck pockets on the G series I have always found to be pretty tight, especially compared to Fender of the day.

Functionally side gap doesn't matter as long as the bolts are tight and there's good contact with the bottom of the pocket.  Visually it looks sloppy.  Nice to know they fixed it with the G-3.

[Denis]

No gaps on the new G-3s! 

[godofthunder]

No gaps on the new G-3s! 

Ha! Jolly joker.

[dadagoboi]

No gaps on the new G-3s! 

Just two too many pickups for me.  I won't even mention the three point.  Oh wait, I did.

[Denis]

Ha! Jolly joker.

[Psycho Bass Guy]

Just two too many pickups for me.  I won't even mention the three point.  Oh wait, I did.

A vintage G-3 was the first Gibby bass I ever played that I liked. Leave the three point alone! It's better than that abominable Warwick tailpiece.