[gps77]

hi all, brand new around here , hoping that somone out there can help me figure out some info on my gibson grabber.
well it started last week when i tried to figure out how old my grabber is.so i emailed gibson service with what i knew about the bass and the serial #. this was there reply
-Dear Customer, thank you for contacting Gibson Guitar Corp.
The Grabber was introduced in late 1974 and was discontinued in 1982.
This model was built in Kalamzoo Michigan.
Check the serial number again.-

so i assumed maybe i typed the serial # wrong in the e-mail so i replied with a picture of the headstock and the serial # and this was gibson's
reply
- The serial number you submitted is correct in how it appears on the back of the headstock. However, the serial number configuration for this period of production for this model is not consistent with the manufacture years.

so here is where i'm confused, what does that mean? the serial # on the neck starts with 06( 1977 from what i've found online ) and under the neck it is stamped Aug 3 1977 on the body.
is there somthing i'm missing ? fake serial # ? seems unlikely for a gibson grabber. here is the pic i sent gibson plus one of under the neck i took today

thanks all

gopal

[doom]

Hello and welcome. Not everyone has had it that easy to date an old Gibson. Yours is definitely a 1977 model (the serial and the special bonus stamped body). I believe that the Gibson support play safe only dating instruments after 1977. From then on anyone can do it.

[jules]

Hi Gopal and welcome to the forum.

yes, mid seventies basses can be hard to pin down date-wise, but as Doom said, yours is clearly a 77. The confusion presumably arose because the serial number would also indicate a 2004 bass, in the numbering scheme used since 1978. I guess they were thinking along those lines....

06164868

[gps77]

ahh, 2004 huh, i guess thats what the confusion was.
thanks jules.
i was curious about something. when i took the neck off this morning to see if there was a date. between the neck and the body was this piece of paper and wire mesh. i'm assuming that was somthing done after it was puchased. gibson didn't do that right?




just curious, i figured it was for a adjustment or somthing

thanks all

[downwithbass]

hey there..

that is a really bad "shim" job. The proper way to do it, is to take the buisiness card and fold it in half. This will raise the neck a little so that you can properly set the action on the bridge. Instead of using a folded buisness card, someone took the wire mesh and then put the card over it to protect the wood on the body where the neck attatchs. But.. what about the wood on the neck?

But, if the bass played well before you took it all apart, I would leave everything the way it was, since if you mess with it, you will have to readjust your bridge action, and may find that you won't be able to go low enough..

Chris

[gps77]

yeah, i put it back together just how it was. wasn't sure what that was for but i liked the action just how it was.

i got two more questions for you all,
i read the part here about dating the volume and tone pots on gibson basses and how most start with 137 which is manufactured by CTS

so i took a look at mine, on the bottom the number starts with 134
is that still CTS? it reads ( 1347529 70-023 250K ) on the bottom
does that mean they were made on the 29th week of 1975?
and its hard to read but i think it says (CENTRALAB USA) on the top circling around the shaft.

and well.... while i'm at it anybody out there know where i might find the cover that went over the bridge? i've been looking on ebay for awhile and havn't seen one pop up. is that a impossable find?

[doom]

You're right on both the date and manufacturer of the pot code. Bridge covers do pop up on Ebay now and then and would be the easiest way finding one. Just a bit of patience and I'm sure you'll find one. They tend to go for 100$ + nowadays.

[jules]

that mesh is stock - i've seen it (or evidence of it) on several Grabbers/G3s.

yes it does leave some indentations

Can't say it was always used, but it certainly isn't rare. The sticker must have been added later though

Grabber bridge covers have a slightly different hole spacing than EB/ripper/tbird - a bit narrower, but they do come up if you watch ebay