ZenKen Posted March 2, 2013 Share Posted March 2, 2013 Welcome back Clint. 4 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted March 3, 2013 Author Share Posted March 3, 2013 Thanks guys. It's been busy around here so I have had to cut back on my web time. However I know some are wanting to see how this turns out so I will see it through. The 1974 pickup comes apart the same way as the 78 so we won't rehash it all here again. We will look over the differences though. Right off the bat we can see some differences in the early and late Ripper pickups. Most apparent is the green magnet wire used on the 1974 bobbins. Also the bobbing in the 1978 pickup is larger, more square and has the nifty little solder lugs build it. You can see a white wire on the 74 that the 78 doesn't have. This white wire is jumping the ends of the coils together. This job is done but just folding the solder lugs over and soldering them together on the 78 pickup so it has no need of a white wire. The frame on the 78 is also slightly longer than the 74 so the bobbins from the 74 will not fit in the frame of the 78. The bobbins for the 1974 pickup honestly look like Firebird bobbins to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted March 10, 2013 Author Share Posted March 10, 2013 The 74 pickup is done and setting up. I hope to be jamming on this old friend next week end. The 74 pickup didn't have the nifty little solder lugs that the 78 pickup has. This means I have to employ the black crape paper tape that Gibson usually uses on coils. I tape up the coils tight and then the whole pickup assembly gets wrapped in a single wrap of the tape to hold everything in place while it's put back together. I also used it to hold the ends of the 4 conductors in place for good measure. Originally the pickup was held in the cover with potting epoxy. I use a type of rubber cement to hold things steady. It does the job well and allows the pickups to be disassembled later if desired. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted March 11, 2013 Author Share Posted March 11, 2013 Put in an order to Stew Mac for the last few parts I need for the bass. The NOS pick guard is wired for sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 And so it has come to this... after 5 years and about $500 the Ripper is reborn and I am once again reunited with an instrument I wish I had never sold. I still have to shave the nut down so the truss rod cover will fit and keep my eyes out for a number plate for the 4 way switch but she's done. And she's mine all mine. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stein Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Great thread. Want to express my appreciation for the effort, and the look into the Lawrence Gibson pups. It looks like the one pup was wound with aluminum wire? I wonder what that might sound like. Gotta say, this bass here is looking great. All the way around. Would even say it looks more Rippery than before. If you ever get the time to do comparisms, or assesments of the sound, would be interested in hearing about it. I don't mean a vid nessesarily, I mean your assesments, your descrip[tion/observations. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueblooded Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Wow! Looks great, Searcy. How does she sound? Thanks for sharing the rebuild with us! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rabs Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 That looks freakin awesome man.. Like the black trim and hardware on the natural finish 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Izzy Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 That turned out looking amazing. This thread was really informative. I like the big pics and the descriptions. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pippy Posted March 14, 2013 Share Posted March 14, 2013 Fantastic job, Searcy. Good idea to use the rubber cement but I can't help but wonder how the original p'ups died? If they were entombed in epoxy what could cause coil-wiring to suffer a breakage? Or was the problem something else? Whatever the probs they had it's great to see them back in the land of the living now! P. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted March 14, 2013 Author Share Posted March 14, 2013 It looks like the one pup was wound with aluminum wire? I wonder what that might sound like. No, it's just green copper magnet wire. I actually have some of that in my shop but it's special. I'll be doing a full video on this one soon but I'll do a few sound clips in the mean time. That looks freakin awesome man.. Like the black trim and hardware on the natural finish Thanks! I wanted to have the bass look traditional but slightly off if that makes any sense. I'm probably going to run a few black screws into the old string through holes just to make them look better till I find new ones. I must say that this HipShot bridge is fantastic. I'll be sure to show off it's tricks in the video. The bridge, the pick guard screws and the Dunlap strap locks are the only things on this bass that aren't Gibson parts. This thread was really informative. I like the big pics and the descriptions. Thanks Izzy. I was starting to think I had over done it a few times but I love these basses and would like to see people be able to bring them back to life if they have one that's been gutted as is so often the case. Good idea to use the rubber cement but I can't help but wonder how the original p'ups died? If they were entombed in epoxy what could cause coil-wiring to suffer a breakage? Or was the problem something else? I'm not sure what kills these pickups. As you can see in the picture below the coils are not totally protected. I think they may get tossed into parts boxes and damaged there as is the case with many Fender rewinds I get. For some reason people loved to tare these basses apart and make insane projects out of them. Can you spot the Ripper in this photo? Here's a bad shot of my original 1974 Ripper. This is from around 1994. It's in a stand on the left. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PingPongBob Posted March 15, 2013 Share Posted March 15, 2013 This is my favorite thread since I've been here! Beautiful job Searcy!!! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted March 20, 2013 Author Share Posted March 20, 2013 Here's a short demo. I'm going to do a long video of it later with lots and lots of talking and very little playing. I know how the kids love that. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigKahune Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 . She turned out great! I really enjoyed following this project. Thanks Searcy, enjoy your beautifully rebuilt Ripper. . B) . 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Nice. Now you need neon bass strings. Totes. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cjsinla Posted March 20, 2013 Share Posted March 20, 2013 Great video so far. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 6, 2013 Author Share Posted April 6, 2013 Whelp, turns out a local guy was impressed with my Ripper rebuild so he brought me his to fix up. He lent it to a buddy 28 years ago and finally got it back. You guys wanna see me rebuild this one here too? It will be a little different then the one I did for myself. Rare Tortoise pick guard... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Blueblooded Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 It sounds amazing, Searcy! Looks impressive too. And I think all here appreciate it for the work you put into it. I know if you post up progress on the second one that I'll certainly be watching. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 That's all I needed to hear. The owner of this bass didn't even know what year it was. He thought it was a 78 like mine. When he showed me a picture of the pick guard and told me it had crumbled I suspected it was a bit older than mine. Yesterday he brought it by the house and let me get a look at it. as soon as I picked it up I knew it was not like mine at all. This bass has the super light Alder body that was only made in 1975. The pick guard was the somewhat rare dark tortoiseshell. The owner was amazed and a bit skeptical that it was that old. I tried to read the pot dates but they were so rusted that I couldn't. I told him I'd get him a provable date if he let me do the job. Cleaning the rust off the back of the pots proved me right. They were made in 74. This along with the body rout pattern, light weight Alder body and tortoiseshell guard was enough to prove the bass was a 1975. Anyone care to take a guess at why every metal surface on this bass is rusted to hell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
surfpup Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Anyone care to take a guess at why every metal surface on this bass is rusted to hell? Salt air? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Thats what I was going to say, he lived by the ocean or it was the victim of a flood or hurricane or it was stored in a very humid area like a basement or garage... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 Both good guesses but I'm afraid that's not it. Here's a hint. The bass was stored in it's case for a number of years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dem00n Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Humidity? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riffster Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Zinc? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sellen Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Lack of fresh air, got unhealthy inside case Cool thread btw 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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