[lxmetal]

Hey! It's me the new guy... well, 'been an innocent bystander for some time. Just wanted to pipe in with a local find, a '76 G-3 Grabber with EB pickup configuration... What do you make of that?

[SKATE RAT]

i've seen a pic of that before,very weird,cool and crazy!........EB-G3 !

[jules]

Hi lxmetal and welcome,

yes this has been up before. We've discussed it in two separate threads (this is the third)

Here and then again here

My own feeling is that this is frankenstein bass made of mostly Gibson parts, potentially by a Gibson employee. I like being proved wrong however....

Did you get any paperwork with it? Like an original order for it? A previous owner suggested he had some, but never posted it here.
Go on, tell me you have the original order he mentioned.... If not perhaps you could email Gibson the serial number and pic (like he did) and see if they will send you a copy.

Jules

[lxmetal]

Well the guy who bought it on ebay is looking to off it and I am testing it out... It has a great EB sound and I love the long scale as I have been playing a Thunderbird for a long time. However there is a warp that starts at the headstock that is a major detraction as far as I am concerned...
I was really excited to check it out, but when I saw that twist I was not about to pay top $$$ for it. No provenance was with it, so like you say it could be a parts bass. I don't know what to offer. I was searching for a Grabber (G-1) and I know I could probably find one for $4-500 if I kept searching. The ebay thread was expired. I wonder how much it went for last year?
Thanks for any advice!

[Chris P]

Please post a pic of the body. The old eBay auctions aren't online anymore. Sounds interesting!

[lxmetal]

.I am into the oddball style...But that warp has me wanting to run the other way. Did they ever use volutes on bolt on necks?

[donnervogel]

Does the warp affect playability? I'm asking because except for the earliest skunk stripe Grabbers, all later Grabbers had scarfed/grafted on headstocks which may twist without actually affecting the fretboard.

Except for the Kalamzoo (the cheapo brand, not the plant) basses, Gibson only used volutes on set neck basses, not on bolt ons or - strangely enough as they could have used it - on the neck thru TBirds. Even more strange, the volutes are more prevalent with the less break prone maple necks, than with the frail mahogany necks. In any case, a volute won't keep a neck from twisting.

That is one ugly mofo btw, but it has charm. Should you want to walk away from it, I might be interested. Drop me an email at uwe.hornung@cliffordchance.com then.

Uwe

[jules]

Originally Posted by donnervogel

they could have used it - on the neck thru TBirds.

Good point - do you think neck diving was the issue? Seems odd that none of the mahogany necks have it. Maybe its a woodworking issue...

Originally Posted by donnervogel

That is one ugly mofo btw, but it has charm. Should you want to walk away from it...

So altruistic, as always. Perhaps we should start calling ze Kollection ze Orfanage. Perhaps you could start selling your own Christmas cards to fund it

[donnervogel]

I have a heart for ugly things but the two part pickguard here and the naked flat body of the G-3/Ripper/Grabber shape is pushing it. But rare is rare, so if this bass needs a home who am I to shut my doors to it in the bitter cold winter I cry?!!! Yes, Ze Reichs-Gibsön-Örfffänäge is an apt description for my humble attempt to bring some warmth and happiness into the life of these wretched little things, thank you, Jules, for your kind thoughts.

The only "voluted" maho neck Gibson I can think of is Rob's Triumph if I recall correctly (mine doesn't have it, but Rob's is later). But then maybe few maho necks with a volute exist since the volute is a seventies thing when the forces of evil maple had invaded Gibson. I remember seventies Les Paul guitars with volutes, but then these might be maple necks too.

On a scarfed neck like the Grabber's/G-3's, a volute would be counter-productive. It would not stabilize the graft line which starts somewhere behind the first fret, but add leverage for it to break.

I doubt whether volutes automatically don't work with maho or other non-maple woods - Warwick still uses them on all their models irrespective of what wood they are using for the particular neck.

Uwe

[SKATE RAT]

yer right. my friend has a '72 Les Paul "gold top" geeeeetar with a maple neck,volute and mini humbuckers.strange beast.