Vintage original 1978 Gibson The Ripper electric bass.

A nice and original example in a stunning black finish.

The Gibson Ripper was a distinctive solid-body electric bass that Gibson produced from 1973 to 1983.

It was designed by Bill Lawrence, Gibson’s in-house electronics wizard, and became known for its aggressive tone, versatile electronics, and unique styling.

Neck:

Set-neck construction (glued in, like most Gibsons).

34" scale length (long scale, unusual for Gibson at the time).

Maple neck with an ebony fingerboard, dot inlays.

Pickups & Electronics:

Two specially designed Bill Lawrence humbucking pickups.

Four-way rotary switch offering different pickup wiring options (series, parallel, in/out of phase).

Volume and tone controls, plus a midrange choke switch on some versions.

This gave the bass a very versatile tonal range, from deep and warm to biting and aggressive.

Hardware:

Gibson’s three-point adjustable bridge.

Open-gear tuners.

Black pickguard that covers a good portion of the body front.

Great players like Krist Novesleic of NIRVANA and Gene Simmons of KISS famously used these basses.

Play this one and you can hear why.

Pickguard has some wear as pictured.

Comes with original hard case that is a little beat up but original.