“It was right after high school. I was 18. That was the first Gibson bass I had ever played. That became my sound for a long time – and my look”: Epiphone unveils signature G-3 Grabber with Gibson USA pickups for Green Day bassist Mike Dirnt

Epiphone and Mike Dirnt have teamed up for a signature bass guitar inspired by the Green Day bassist’s long-serving Gibson G-3 Grabber.

Available in Silverburst or Natural, the latter a Gibson exclusive, Dirnt’s new Grabber has been extensively tested on the road with Green Day and is outfitted with all kinds of high-end appointments.

We’ve got Gibson USA pickups, a Leo Quan Badass II bridge, an ebony fingerboard with abalone dot inlays on the Silverburst model, maple on the Natural, and a serious bass on our hands. Both finishes have a solid maple body, the V-style Grabber headstock that distinguish the model.

And hey, this might be a Dirnt Grabber but we can well envisage some Kiss fans picking this up and pretending they are Gene Simmons. Dirnt says he and the G-3 go way back. Like, all the way back, to the beginning of Green Day.

“My original Gibson G3 bass came into my life when we were on tour, touring for 39 Smooth, our first full-length record,” says Dirnt. “It was right after high school. I was 18. That was the first Gibson bass I had ever played. That became my sound for a long time – and my look. I’ve always wanted to do a version of the G3.”

Replicating the magic of his original Gibson Grabber was not easy. Dirnt had a laundry list of specs that were non-negotiables – and he didn’t want it to just be a straight-up replica, certainly not for the Silverburst model.

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“We were very specific about the pots that went in it, how the pickups had to sound,” he says. “They had to go over my original bass and analyse the heck out of it, and say, ‘OK, what is it about this that makes it sound so special?’ And then we wanted to play with some new things too, like the ebony fretboard. Ebony just has a buttery feel to it, and it’s tough as nails.”

Other cool features include the black Speed knobs for volume and tone. A three-way toggle switch is close at hand to select your pickup configuration, with a trio of Gibson USA G-3 wired up “buck-and-a-half” style so all three positions are humbucking (handy when playing punk).

Choose from all three engaged, neck and middle, or middle and bridge. This bass should sound gnarly through an overdriven bass amp.

Both models have a four-ply black pickguard. The signature details are really all there in the spec, right down to the bone nut, but Dirnt’s John Hancock is etched into the truss rod cover. These have a bolt-on build, with three-piece maple necks, 20 frets and a 34" scale length.

Introducing the Mike Dirnt Epiphone Grabber G-3 Bass - YouTube

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“This bass sounds every bit as good as my original,” says Dirnt. “Nothing changes when I play these onstage. These basses are proper from day one. What’s crazy is I didn’t have more G3s back in the day to take into our new sound, when Green Day’s sound evolved, but it’s amazing how good they sound on some of the new stuff.

“That’s where I was blown away. Like, ‘Wow!’ Our sound guy loves these basses. It’s all there. At this point, I’ve played them in clubs, and I have played them in front of 180,000 people, and they perform, not just perform but excel.”

The Mike Dirnt G-3 Grabber is available now, priced £1,199/$1,299, and that price includes a hard-shell guitar case.

For more information, head over to Epiphone.