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Epiphone Ripper!Epiphone Bass Guitar Review!
That’s not to be confused with the Gibson Grabber, another popular bass. And it’s not to be confused with anything else either. Reviews of Epiphone's four-string Ripper were mixed, but some reviewers think it sounded better than the Gibson original. Others think Epiphone got the sound wrong, making it sound more like a Grabber -- or like something else entirely. It’s easy to get confused, but here’s what you need to know. The Epiphone Limited Edition Ripper Bass aimed at recreating a favorite Gibson bass guitar of the 1970s. It wasn’t an exact copy however. It was an inspired original with some new touches courtesy of the Custom Shop. The Epiphone Ripper featured a hard maple body with maple neck and fingerboard. A smooth high gloss finish on top of the fingerboard was intended for durability while a satin finish on the back of the neck aimed toward smooth playability. For the Epiphone model, an added brass nut increased sustain. A bolt-on style bridge increases the transfer of sound to make sure the pickups get everything you play. A combination of a split-coil pickup with a single-coil pup offered a greater tonal range than the original, perhaps leading to the claims that this one sounded different -- although possibly better -- than the Gibson original. The two pickups have individual volume controls. There’s a master tone control and a three-way switch. Because this was a limited edition issued in 2006, the supply of new ones has sold out, but these often show up on the used market at still-reasonable prices. Since this is a well-regarded model, that price can be expected to steadily climb in the coming years as the supply available for purchase gets scarcer. Promotional materials from its release said the Ripper would be able to handle everything from thundering rock to delicate jazz -- and that versatility may be why some players rag on its less-than-vintage sound. Its sound can vary as much as the genre or the player. It’s not too late to experience the Ripper for yourself and judge its sound by your own unique criteria. But you’d better hurry. Epiphone never made very many of this limited edition model, and that means the supply available used could dry up any time. Don’t be left out. Tell us what you know about this guitarUpload your images, or send us the url to your video. We'll embed it on this page, and give you plenty of feedback. Epiphone Ripper to Epiphone Guitars |
