Trading for a Gibson

[ilan]

So I have this late-70's Fender P that I want to sell/trade. The body is stripped to natural, some replacement parts (pickguard, bridge), but not butchered or hacked. It's a decent bass but I have better Fenders. Someone in a local board is offering a Gibson Grabber for trade. It's a natural finish bass and looks original. I am thinking of offering him my P for the Grabber+cash. How much $$ is fair to ask in such a trade? Thanks

[uwe]

I know nothing about the value of Fenders (do they have value at all?  ), but even a Grabber in very good condition shouldn't fetch more than 1.000 bucks, a regularly used one more along 700 US-$. That bass got never over its budget image though it would probably make a lot of bassists more happy than its more valuable sibling, the Ripper.

Am I wrong? Have Grabber prices dramatically risen?

[dadagoboi]

Am I wrong? Have Grabber prices dramatically risen?

Difficult to find a decent one for less than $1000 IMO.  That's what I paid for this one last year on Ebay.  It was after a long search and returning one with a frozen saddle bridge with no cover or case to a respectable dealer.  That one was $900.



No way I'd trade it for a late 70s stripped P with unoriginal p/g and bridge.   But that's just me.  I could build a similar bass for less than $500.

[godofthunder]

  I would take a Grabber over a Ripper any day and I have had plenty of both. I'm not a big fan of trades. I'd sell the P and get as much out of it as I possibly could then go with cash in hand. Grabber prices are up I paid $450 for my black one with case but that must be at least 6-7 years ago.

[ilan]

Thanks guys. I was under the impression that Grabbers were still $500-600. I guess that has changed.

I prefer a bolt-on over a set-neck for tonal and maintenance reasons, and I like the Grabber's simplicity. If the seller is at all interested in this trade, this could be a good cross-over bass for me, given my Fender/Ric preferences.

[amptech]

Though I´ve only looked out for EB0/3´s the last years, I always check Grabber values/auctions when looking for Gibsons - as I´ve had a Grabber since I was 14. $1000 seems to be the average price these days. I´ve only seen one that was priced way too high, but it was wine red autographed by some Gene Simmons guy. I have a nutural, and wouldn´t mind having a black or red - but the autograph didn´t wash off so I let it go:-)

Seriously, I´d never part with my Grabber - it always sounds good whatever style. I have a mid 70´s P-bass too, had it for about 20 years, but never really liked it like I like my Gibsons (or even my rick). Guess P´s are fine, but I keep tinkering with it to improve it, so there must be something wrong with it! Maybe it´s a tad heavy and therefore not comfy, maybe
I´m just not a fender guy..   

[ilan]

What is a typical weight for a Grabber?

[amptech]

What is a typical weight for a Grabber?

Mine is 3,58 kg (had to check it now)

[ilan]

So under 8 lbs.? Wow. I would have thought that this big maple body would be at least 9 lbs.

[amptech]

It surprised me too, though it´s lighter than my P bass for sure. I thought maybe my digital scale was off, but it measures one package of sugar just right (1 kg).  Mine is a 75 model, which they made (i think) with alder or maple both with maple necks. I assume it´s maple by looks, because the finish on the back wears off in flakes just like on my ´75 4001 rick.

It´s a wide body, but not very deep - and there´s plenty of routing under that big pickguard. They even removed more neck pocket wood than necessary on mine! Think I posted that in an early thread.

I´m really glad I got it, as a kid I wanted a slim, pink metallic Ibanez with ultra thin neck. My uncle (a Kiss fan) was selling his grabber for $200, and i went straight to the local guitar store to trade it for an Ibanez.  But they couldn´t trade it in for more than $200 and I had no money, so I kept it. The shop owner even advised me to learn to play on the grabber even though I thought it was big and bulky at the time. So I did, and when I found out the bass could be set up with a lower action an thinner strings a couple of years later, I had incredible speed

[godofthunder]

 Early Grabbers have alder bodies and are lighter. Later ones have maple  bodies and are heavier. I forget what year they changed maybe '78?

[amptech]

According to Jules, alder was an option as late as 77 but no mention of when they stopped making alder bodies.

Maybe mine is alder, then.

[ilan]

I've seen grabbers with black headstock fascia and others with a plain maple headstock. When was the change?

The bass in question is a '78. This is the pic he has uploaded:

[uwe]

The maple ones also sound different, more massive and dense with a bit more sub-lows, not as barky and low mid-rangy as the alder ones. The alder ones are a lot more dent-prone though, so if the Grabber in question is in good condition, it's probably a maple one because the alder ones do suffer over time unless they lie conserved in a case.

Does the one you're interested in have a skunk stripe? Those were the earliest one and had a different headstock angle too (actually no headstock angle as such, rather the headstock was recessed).

[dadagoboi]

My '75 is tight grain lightweight 5 piece alder.  7.5 lbs.  Until I saw Scott's post I thought it was soft maple but I took another look.