The Grabber Bass is back under the Epiphone brand name and comes in black and natural finishes. Gene Simmons, Mike Dirnt, and Nirvana’s Krist Novoselic used the original Gibson model.
Grabber Bass
First introduced in the 1970s, the Grabber Bass was a model used by famous players, including Gene Simmons, Mike Dirnt, and Krist Novoselic. In 1975, it famously appeared on the front cover of KISS Alive!
Then, it was famously put to work by Nirvana’s bass player, Novoselic, and it saw a resurgence of interest once more. Plus, Green Day’s Dirnt also favoured the model. Many bass players have, therefore, wanted to see this model back in production.
Stripped Back
This new Epiphone version has all the critical elements of the originals, including the three-piece alder body, a bolt-on maple neck and fretboard, and a 34″ scale length.
It is fitted with an Epiphone Bass Humbucker with a coil split accessible via a mini toggle switch. The two main pickup controls are master volume and tone. However, that extra split adds plenty of useful tonal variations.
Hardware
This model comes with the Cast Grabber 4-String bridge with a nickel cover and certainly looks the part. It also comes fitted with two-a-side die-cast tuners, with Clover buttons attached to that standout pointy Flying V-style headstock, plus it has a bone nut.
The single-ply black pickguard is matched with a set of Black Speed knobs and has the front-mounted 1/4” output jack. It all looks very ’70s and in keeping with that era. This style works well with both colour schemes (black and natural), so it all works nicely. It gives an air of stipped-back and ready for action.
A premium gig bag is included in the price, and I have no idea how easy it is to find a hard case for one of these, so at least you get something to protect it. I would rather have had a hard case, as I suspect it could be awkward to find a suitable case for one of these.
Verdict
Originals of the Gibson Grabber Bass are getting hard to source and expensive. Therefore, this new Epiphone model is a great idea, and the price is not ridiculous. However, I think they could have given it a decent case.
MSRP – USD 999/GBP 929
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