| Model |
1974 Gibson Ripper |
| Pickups |
Two Ripper humbuckers |
| Scale |
34 1/2" |
| Body |
Three piece alder body |
| Neck |
Three piece set maple neck. Maple fingerboard. Adjustable truss rod. 20 frets. Width at nut 1 5/8" |
| Hardware |
Q-system electronics: 1 volume, 1 tone and 1 midrange control. Gibson 3-point bridge. 1973/74 open gear tuning keys. |
| Weight |
4.0 kg |
|
The earlier, wider, slab-bodied version of the Gibson Ripper was produced from the model's inception in 1973, through to 1974. Compare the body shape, particularly the bevelling around the horns, with a 1978 Gibson Ripper - the later Rippers have a far more sculptured look about them, although this is not always easy to see in photographs.
Like all Gibson Ripper basses, this guitar was built in the famous Kalamazoo plant (MI, USA) during the Norlin period of ownership.
1974 US zone 1 price for the Ripper was $449 in the January and June 1974 price lists, rising to $469 in November. A total of 1288 Rippers were shipped in 1974, with the vast majority in Natural finish as seen here. See the Ripper shipping stats for further details.
This is a really punchy bass; lots of Gibson low end, but with so much more higher frequencies than Gibson's older basses. Check out the Ripper soundclips.
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There are 4 comments on this article so far. Add your comment
| Crunchly Comment left 2nd September 2012 06:06:04
Nice old Ripper. I always thought these looked a million dollars when they came out, and they still look on the money today. Saving for a Ripper II right now, just hope they live up to the originals. Anything on the new ones? | RipperL9S Comment left 28th September 2012 15:03:54
What strings did the Gibson Ripper ship with.. Gibson brand I guess.. but flat or round.. what are people here using on their Rippers.. great website by the way.. TIA | David Comment left 15th December 2012 20:08:17
I'm pretty sure the Rippers came with flats, as did most basses back then. Gibson had a new flat wound string called "Observers", and I think they were standard on the basses at the time. I tried a set on my Rick. They were nice sounding strings, but very high tension, which caused the neck to bow, so I have to take them off. They were very bright sounding for flats. | WAB Comment left 12th March 2013 06:06:19
I'm pretty sure there was a Gibson ad in the 70s for bass strings with the Ripper pictured. Can't find it just now |
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