Norman's Rare Guitars - Guitar of the Day: 1981 Gibson L9-S Ripper Bass

[@c.jarmstrong3111]

RIP Rick Danko ❤ he will always be one of my favourite bassists / vocalists, and I will always continue to listen to The Band every day

[@ryanperron8309]

Cameron Armstrong Music I wonder why they’re not a household band. They were super influential

[@mikeymojo8299]

#ThumpinThursday #1981GibsonL9Sripper 1) Detroit Rock City/KISS 🤘🏻🔥 2) The Weight/The Band 3) In Bloom/Nirvana 4) Whip It/DEVO killer 70s Gibson Bass, a classic rock machine. great demo @markagnesi Hi Jen 🎥🎸

[@daves.2111]

Mike M. Well so much for the 335 that I told you was next on my list yesterday. They dropped the Mark & Frank video playing twin Joe B Epi korina Vs and I had a moment of weakness. Called ‘em up - it’s on the way.

[@gusdupree2508]

The thumbnail new?

[@mikeymojo8299]

Dave S. That’s awesome 👏🏻 🤘🏻

[@mikeymojo8299]

gus dupree yeah

[@editorjuno]

A true masterpiece by my friend of nearly forty years, the great Bill Lawrence. R.I.P.

[@TheActor93]

Happy to see a Ripper, always found these bass’s interesting; especially the model that had the one moving pick up you literally slid up or down on the body to change the tone.

[@MrTwodogshumping]

TheActor93 I have the gibson grabber with the sliding pick up. It's my main axe. I love it. It's an 80s model with a 3 piece flamed neck

[@idiosyncraticmushroom3030]

I'm pretty sure thats the grabber, the beginner version.

[@leftybass5860]

When I built my own bass 20 years ago, I gave it a big body like a Ripper, but with a Hofner-influenced headstock.

[@bobg.stewart7401]

Had a late 70s Ripper - black on black with rosewood fingerboard ... Phase switch ... BadAss bass bridge ... Played it through a TNT amp with a 15" black widow ... Sold it when moving across country ... WISH I STILL HAD IT! ... Best bass I ever played.

[@RockHardRiffs]

I've never seen Mark so excited about a bass. Sounds great to me. Love the Devo. Rock on Carlos!

[@guywerry6614]

Yep, you know it's a great bass if MARK is excited about it!

[@johnspokus]

I played one for many years. Sold it to pay some bills at a time when I wasn't playing much bass, but still had a ton of basses, Brings back memories. Recorded some great tracks with mine. but my taste in basses has changed, pretty much strictly a Fender guy now.

[@pattonPwr]

the bass of basses... I own a '76 and it's been my main bass for 6 years now...

[@leviticusjones2384]

Watching with my 4 year old son. "Dad, when I grow up like Mark, I want a freakin' Ripper Bass! It's awesome!" "That makes two of us, Son." Mark is VERY good at his job...

[@captainhowdy3104]

Cool how mark plays songs by artists who actually played that particular bass, rite on!

[@codywhite96]

Gene Simmons used a Grabber Bass. Same shape body but with the Sliding pickup and a Flying V headstock. Great Basses. Mark Evans from the early AC/DC used a Ripper quite often in 1975. From what I understand the finish was somewhat rare cherry sunburst. Thanks for finally doing a Ripper! Thanks for GOTD.

[@User-jk8wq]

Cody White Nah mate, Gene played a ripper...albeit for about a week in 1976-ish

[@garnetbezanson1404]

i'd love to hear that plugged into a vintage ampeg amplifier

[@frankperricone2065]

My 66 Gibson EBO 76 Ripper and 77 Fender jazz all threw my 70's Ampeg V4b sound great PS has to have 215 cab

[@StairwayToEvan92]

For all you young whipper snappers out there, Rick Danko played bass for the band.

[@JohnnyArtPavlou]

StairwayToEvan92, 😂🤣😍Which Band? 😉

[@oskarileikos]

John JohnnyArt Pavlou THE BAND!! The best band ever!!

[@jon.wilson]

Oskarileikos yeah but which band?

[@oskarileikos]

Jon Wilson a band called The Band. Check it out!! Great songs and amazing players, I've never heard any band playing together as well as they did

[@jon.wilson]

Oskarileikos hehe I know The Band, I was just going along with the joke

[@MrStranger1944]

I can dig it.

[@Forty3Snakes]

Gibson grabbers and rippers vibe. Just the purest beauty and badassness possible.

[@franklinwilson3783]

Love the growl from the bridge pickup by itself

[@HexxHenderson]

One of the other cool features of that bass is you can run the strings through the body like he has it there or you can attach the strings to the bridge and do a Toploader deal for a different sound and sustain. I have had a bunch of these over the years and I even have an original Gibson Ripper demo record that features Dartanian Brown from the rock band Chase.

[@JoeHakos]

Love that Bass! Thanks Mark and Jen. Thumping thumpity Thump

[@schecterseven3894]

Hey guys.

[@pattonPwr]

people stop asking for Mike Dirnt... he used a Gibson G3, c'mon and google!

[@SonicXRage]

Didn't he use both?

[@TheRockyhockey007]

whip it baby , whip it good , great sounding guitar , simple straight forward thumpin , love it , no wonder it was s o popular in the day. Nice looking instrument too , that one probably won't last long. Thanks Mark and Jen.

[@rickc2102]

Hell yeah, I've got a fretless one of these, picked it up real cheap because someone had swapped the bridge with a Fender-spaced Badass II that made the bridge pickup almost silent. One new bridge later, and the bass is a beast.

[@pjmuck]

I love these basses too. Had no idea there's no setting to hear the neck pickup alone though. Kind of an idiotic oversight.

[@sjeffy5137]

That is strange as hell, I’m glad that I really only use bridge (stingray fan) on most basses

[@andrewpappas9311]

Song 1: Detroit Rock City - KISS Song 2: The Weight - The Band Song 3: In Bloom - Nirvana Song 4: Whip It - Devo

[@captainhowdy3104]

What's with the 2 screw holes at the bridge? That looks like a nice high mass bridge, maybe an upgrade.

[@AGore88]

Everytime I watch an episode of GotD, I start it thinking "eh, not really interested in that one" and end with "oh shit, that'd be killer to have". Great at your job indeed, hahaha

[@MattyIce250]

i love these basses so much and have requested you to do one so many times! i nearly creamed my shorts when i saw l9s!

[@travelinman482]

I wonder if there’s a vintage Schecter guitar laying around at Norman’s?

[@Bodyknowledge77]

No thumper fart jokes please..(unknown fact: this bass after 10 years of owning smells like burritos and head cheese) 1.KISS "Detroit Rock City" 2.The Band "The Weight"3. Nirvana "In Bloom"4. DEVO "Whip It"..The thumping continues! Badump thump!

[@mikeymojo8299]

Bodyknowledge 77 4) Whip It/DEVO

[@Bodyknowledge77]

Mike M! In my haste I missed the Freedom Of Choice boys!

[@jakepownall1082]

And Green Day!

[@pattonPwr]

green day never used a ripper.. maybe for 1 show

[@patricksuto757]

yeah mike used a g3 not a ripper. sounds kinda similar tho.

[@josephromero4585]

Fantastic playing ,Mark!

[@anthonynonya]

Great selection of songs today. Thanks for another great 🎸 of the day. 😎

[@zankyalbo2208]

The model itself dates from '73 (as you said). A strange time at Gibson and Fender. Fender starts making guitars that look like Gibson's (Coronado, others) and Gibson starts making guitars that look like Fenders (L6, L9. Grabber). CARLOS, NICE TO HEAR YOU ARE WELL. COME IN AND SCRATCH ONE OFF.

[@billyrhythm]

Drummer who digs GotD, especially Thumpin' and Weird days. What are the two extra holes near the bridge? Some kind of bridge cover ala old Ps? Seems odd that something would be there. Love the history lessons Mark!

[@mattiasjp]

The only bass to out-ugly this is its brother, The Grabber (the bass Gene holds on the cover of Alive), simply because of the headstock. I think it’s a miracle that they remained in production as long as they did. Sounds good and are well crafted instruments, though.

[@olivuuuur]

Get some hagstroms on the show!!!

[@Levitationaldelusion]

When I saw Botch in like 99', their bass player was playing a ripper. I had never heard a bass make sounds like that live...was intense. Nice bass for sure

[@wezzlyn]

Levitationaldelusion Brian Cook! Plays for Russian Circles now. Great bass player

[@Levitationaldelusion]

Thats right! Dude has massive sound.

[@Levitationaldelusion]

yeah the EGC basses sound sick also.

[@I.am_Groot]

Thought it looked fugly at the start but it grew on me... Cool clip Mr Stubble

[@AdmiralQuality]

Yeahhhh! DEVO! That thing's surprisingly not-bad sounding and versatile. Thanks for the demo!

[@SupernalOne]

sweet! Whatta growl, what nice thumping, and a very nice encyclopedic knowledge of the 70's-80's rock catalog. the only Gibson bass I've ever seen with through-body stringing, has to help the tone

[@DanButcher303]

I love Thumpin Thursday !!!!!! Id love to see more yazz basses !!!!!

[@michaelmerritt1722]

It's a thumper! Thanks guys! #ALLCAPSFORCARLOS

[@ShaneBradfordTV]

Really really needs to come back

[@richard.featherstone]

You should put the time at which the birthday dedication shite ends in the description, then I know where to jump to in order to see the interesting part.

[@khkartc]

First an L5-S, then an L9-S bass. What’s left but an L6-S?

[@fluroflash2803]

Please Mark, play some Rory Gallagher

[@bubbafang4510]

22nd birthday my awesome Gramps gave me his and MY FAV '74 GRABBER bass, sadly some a- hat stole it at college . Someday Ill get another one but want it to be in black better if oxblood...TRUE KISS bass

[@jmr1229]

Atta boy, Mark! Loving The Ripper. Hoping to see one of those sweet Derek Smalls signature B.C. Rich double-neck basses come out of the back room sometime...

[@andrewpappas9311]

Jason Ryan That’d be awesome, gotta get some Big Bottom in there

[@ryangreer6927]

What about the grabber?

[@TheBassplayinggoalie]

Mark Evans, the original bass player of AC/DC played one of these.

[@Glennquagmire1912]

absolutely LOVE the ripper basses!! do a washburn though mark!!!!!!!!!!

[@PatoGallini]

Im from argentina see you everyday. Keep on rocking!

[@d3-embro]

Yo i would love if you guys did a gibson marauder

[@benpeled1837]

Hey man, next week is my 18th birthday, is there any chance you will do something shredy and play a little zepplin? Great show

[@Smagledorf]

Awesome bass Mark! Really cool you do things you don't like usually doing for your viewers... Sooooooooooo... How's that Maton coming along ;) ? Gotta do a Maton!

[@jackattack8044]

My friends birthday is tomorrow. Chris Fountain, turning 17!

[@joebodynobody764]

Someday I hope to see a Goya Panther bass. Possibly a Gibson Grabber?

[@williamkaylor1191]

I remember 1981.....

[@anthonykueber6098]

Position four was worth sticking around for....kinda' like the Kama Sutra....

[@onthe1481]

Anthony Kueber--woah

[@just.a.bolivian.dude.1390]

The coolest gibson's bass

[@40spinup]

Wahoo Thumpin Thursday!!

[@forcefan1211]

When are we gonna hear some Dymaxion played on the channel?

[@BenCoaton]

Mark Mark Mark Could you please give my son William a happy 8th birthday shout out for 30th March please? All the way from Spalding in Lincolnshire, England. He loves guitar of the day and we watch it together every day 👍

[@enthnd03]

shortsighted on gibson's part, probably their best basses....ever....and they discontinued it

[@SonicXRage]

They probably didn't sell well when they were first introduced, but I see no reason why they shouldn't reissue them today, as many bassists from notable bands have used them and they seem to be in high demand now. For some reason, they think that the SG bass deserves to remain despite the fact that it's probably no more popular than the Ripper: they're both quite obscure, yet they've been used by notable bassists. Therefore, I bet a modern Ripper would sell about as well as the SG basses they are still producing, or perhaps even better, since Rippers seem to be a little more versatile.

[@enthnd03]

@@SonicXRage yes, a reissue would be more than ideal because the look and tone of the ripper is something unique yet still classic, it's kind of their equivalent to a jazz bass....but like....better? And I'm a big jazz bass fan. And Gibson has done similar things before, like with the explorer and even SG/LP to an extent.....so hopefully they start reissuing sooner rather than later

[@jasoncottrell2505]

You forgot about Mike Dirnt from Green Day. He plays one in the Longview video.

[@williamanderson3402]

I rolled my eyes for Thumpin’ Thursday and then this one really won me over. Nice job and cool song choices today!

[@stinkybojangles4128]

Super rad bass

[@gagelink4963]

If you guys get some Ibanez guitars in, please do them for GOTD

[@vinnyolmsted8018]

How about like a whole week of thump? T-Bird Tuesday, Wal Wednesday, Thumpin' Thursday (misc.), Fender Friday, Steinberger Saturday.

[@wingracer1614]

Alembic All Day!

[@michaelgallagher3640]

Easy now... step away from the bass.

[@vinnyolmsted8018]

You say that like it wasn't part of the plan.

[@h80np39]

im a bass player but fuck no

[@tommywd40]

Some people just want to watch the world burn

[@PanhandlingPrince]

That's 1 badass bass !

[@michaelheckman9162]

I’d love to see an original first design P-bass is you ever get one.

[@noble4549]

no green day?

[@soothsayerofthedarkandexis8525]

Mark Evans from AC/DC had one for the albums he played on.

[@matthewpaluch777]

Happy THUMPIN' Thursday everyone! Gene $immon$ anyone? My favorite Gibby bass is the Victory Artist.

[@rotorhead58d]

You are my hero.

[@leedavis6372]

Ripper's are the best!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1

[@TURBOCAST]

Great bass!! Now what about some G&L love!!

[@imperium7846]

Do an ESP or another Jackson

[@JazzIs4urSoul]

God I wish I could just throw money at the screen and have this bass in my hands

[@olivuuuur]

Position 2 tone screams Mike Dirnt early 90s era

[@GeoffreyGentryMusic]

Oliver Bowles It does.

[@acarlovonsexron1994]

...Except he played a Grabber.

[@ryangreer6927]

He used a grabber which is pretty much a small ripper with single coils

[@ObiWanKenobi]

Carlo Von Sexron a G3 to be exact

[@oskarileikos]

Oliver Bowles No, this whole bass screams for The Band and Rick Danko

[@mattsmith9024]

Actually, Gene Simmons played a Gibson Grabber. A single Bill Lawrence pick-up that could be moved over a 4" space and a flying V style headstock and maple all the way through. Just info.

[@lauramoore9659]

Nice!!!

[@revinar5838]

"Not a bass?!" But bass is superior!

[@jodyhendrix5876]

Yeeeeasss! Sounds great! Whip it good!

[@recsec2777]

Lay the Weight Right on Me!

[@tomjohn3364]

Welcome back thumping Thursday. A very worthy bass. Vox vox VOX VOX

[@hotwheel6663]

Ripper Bass!

[@jorgemellooliveira9611]

um contrabaixo que agrada qualquer musico por mais critico que seja alem de sua beleza

[@grantkennell2422]

No Green Day?! Mike Dirnt was iconic with this bass in the 90’s!!

[@eddiehfsolutions]

Try the grabber, not the ripper

[@bassmangotdbluz3547]

I remember that Stanley Clarke played one for a short time before he married Alembic.

[@AndrewCapobianco2014]

Love the Ripper but I will always take The Grabber

[@dropoutjohn]

Pretty cool... for a base!

[@dropoutjohn]

Seriously though, that was the best sounding bass I have ever heard! 👂! I wish I could by it for my best friend! Thanks for sharing Mark.

[@simondeeth9097]

This hurts. Bought one new in 1977. Traded an Epiphone Casino which I really wish I still had. (Kept hold if my 1970 fretless P though). The Ripper went into pawn shop after about 6 months and I never got the cash together to redeem it. Don't tell me how much they're worth now.

[@skimmer521]

LOOKS WAY HEAVY. DANG

[@Pandafro13]

The sitar guy is back

[@nachobolso69]

Mr. Stranger is here and he dig it but where is Carlos??

[@Samizsm23]

Yess i asked for this one

[@thomasnettleton289]

Episode 482. Yes, I just realized I've been 100 episodes off because I am a DUMB ASS! But even dumbassery can be remedied. A thunderous Thumpin' Thursday, although I was disappointed there was no bass toss at the end. 😀

[@benchase1925]

No Mike Dirnt?

[@pilgrimMj]

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