Manufacturer Gibson Body type Solid Neck Maple | Period 1973–1983 Neck joint Bolt-on | |
Body Maple (early models) or Alder (later models) | ||
The Gibson Grabber was a bass guitar introduced in 1973 along with the Gibson Ripper.
The Grabber featured a bolt-on 34 1⁄2 in (876 mm) neck similar to Fender basses and shared a similar body shape with the Ripper. The Grabber also had a V-shaped headstock like the Gibson Flying V guitar. A distinctive feature of the Grabber was its adjustable pickup, which could be positioned by the player to simulate a neck or bridge pickup position, or in between, to provide further tonal variation. The pickup was brighter than the traditional Gibson style humbuckers. The Grabber had one volume and tone control each, and a removable bridge cover. The Grabber was originally built with a thin, maple body, but it was changed to alder in 1975. 1975 was a peak year for Grabber sales, with 2,637 units sold, due largely to its high-profile use by Kiss bassist Gene Simmons. The Grabber was available in wine red, ebony, natural, walnut and white finishes. It was discontinued in 1982.
Later, another model of the Grabber was produced, called the Gibson G3. This bass had three stationary pickups mounted in the neck,bridge and middle positions. A three way switch was added to the control scheme so that the pickups could be activated as humbucking pairs; neck & middle, bridge & middle, or all three in humbucking configuration for the so-called "buck and a half". Although very similar, the Grabber and G3 have different and unique sounds which lead players to prefer one over the other.
2009 Reissue
In 2009 Gibson produced a limited reissue of the single adjustable pickup version of the Grabber. It was limited to 350 models, all with a black finish.