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Well, it's my first New NBD for a while and I have sold a lot of gear recently.... I've had one of these before and as much as I loved it, I couldn't gel with it for some reason. Still, I had a Ric-shaped itch that I knew I'd have to scratch again one day. I knew the 4003 wasn't right for me as I struggle with the top bezel edge digging in to my forearm. The 4003S is a totally different beast though and actually sits very comfortably for me. I heard recently that Rickenbacker was not going to make any more instruments in Midnight Blue, which to me was a real shame as it's a colour I love. Anyway, after a few fruitless Google searches I managed to find one: brand new at a ridiculously low price. Given the likelihood of finding another one any time soon, I decided I'd take a chance and order it online. Past experience has told me that online ordering is a bit like a reverse version of Russian Roulette, in that five chambers are loaded with not particularly well set up or well cared for instruments and I generally always try before I buy, especially with Rics and their, ummm, folibles. In this instance though I was lucky: perfect condition and finish (no QC issues here), low action, no tail lift, quiet electrics etc. As always, the treble pickup was a lot louder than the neck one so after a bit of adjustment I got that lovely warm "fizzy" Ric sound that I love and that nothing else comes close to replicating. I put on a set of TI Flats and it's a beaut. Haters gonna hate and all that, but to me this is the best Ric I've played and hopefully we'll have a good few years together. Maybe I should call her Taylor...

I'm normally okay with that. My problem EVERY freakin' time is the guitar stand coming with me when I lift my bass to start a set....

My fave spoonerism? "You're a fart smella" - a compliment apparently.

To keep the brass sealed I'll use a spray lacquer, this is the final result. These are a great functional bridge IMO, and I'm more than happy to keep this on the bass as I'm also replacing the nut with a chunkier brass version.

Then, after levelling off the base, going slightly larger and rout the inset edge for the flush fit cover..

My rig from last night. ACG Finn with LaBella flats (what a revelation they are!) Ashdown Little Bastard 30W valve head Barefaced One10 and Super Compact. Astonishingly loud and full, a big fat creamy bass tone all night long.

I'd just let it go mate. You seem to have built up a resentment over nothing there, and its poisoning you. Why don't you share their social media advertising, saying that you played at the festival last year and you wish them luck for this year. You get promo, the festival gets promo, the charity gets more money and you get a nice warm feeling that you've done some good in the world. Everyone's a winner baby!!

I would recommend the original classic ska ... if you can get the feel for this kind of stuff then the other stuff will come easy

;Pressure Drop' would be a great start - just learn one or two numbers properly and get the feel of how it's done .......... musically it's simple enough but different. If you can get hold of a copy, Club Ska 67 is a good value album to practice with - Whine and Grine Club Ska 67 is the same + one track extra - Amazon have one for £3.25 😎

My birthplace, the Whitstable and Tankerton Maternity Hospital.

That effing strap twist alway gets me. I swear there's a strap consipracy going on, and the strap knows it winds me up. It's not like it's just one strap, either. I have around 4 and the cunning bustards all do it. Like bungee cords that always manage to hit you in the bluddy face, the strap twists out of sheer bluddy mindedness. Accidently kicking the muthas down the stairs doesnt help at all. They're so light they just shake it off. I may take my Black & Decker heat gun to the next one and see how it likes that bad boy

It is actually a trick caused by perspective. The neck has a really nasty twist in it and is approx 6" wide! 😀

Ah, yes! I saw this over on the Dingwall megathread. A lovely beast - congrats. I really must do a NBD thread for my newly acquired Super P...

If you’re going to play a ska set , this is a must ,it’s not too difficult and a great rhythm 🙂

I have a spare old one, if you want one to match the tarnished look of the other 3! PM me your address if you want it.

Some favourites

Very nice Nick, nicest colour on a Rick by far.....I am a bit biased though.

This is my Aria after the body refinish:

Very pretty colour!

Also on this topic of Relic, remember buying a brand new shiny bass is a hard thing, the first “ding” in that new pristine instrument is always gutting. - Which is another good reason to buy a pre relic’d bass. A. Because relic’s look badass B. To the crowd you’ve played that bass more than eaten hot dinners C. Because even if you ding it or dent it, it will all blend in, you will be no sadder than when you bought it, because the dents won’t look out of place unlike on a non Relic version.

One word: Catholicism. Left = the Devil = evil. I still have at least one friend who averts her eyes when she sees me doing something with the 'wrong' hand, and who is happy that her left-handed older brother was forced by family and school to learn to write right-handed. Even if she's never been able to read his handwriting as a result. Thank God for computers, huh? We went to high school together; similar backgrounds, main difference between us being, she and her family are religious, I and mine are not. We're all well over 50. I do hope things have changed now.

I’m on the mobile just now , I daren’t try edit the poll on it as I’ll bollox it all up , I’ll try in the morning on a real machine

Sounds good to me. Maybe Cato needs to wear a support with all the bollox he's coming out with., None intended Cato.

Lush. I think that blue colour goes nice with the reddish Ric' fretboard, which has shown well in the photographs. 😎 So are you saying it's comfortable because of the slightly rounded edges on the "S" body, vs the sharp edges of a bound body? It is very lovely... give me a shout if you decide to sell it. Local collection not a problem! 😜

They did disappear for a while, then came back. I stopped taking them seriously when I saw an interview with the owner, whose name escapes me, where said that he got the inspiration for his speakers in a vision from God. I might have thought better of it had he said it came in a vision while doing peyote and listening to Clapton.

Hi! New member from Stockholm Sweden.

If you want to sound authentic it never hurts to spend a lot of time listening to authentic recordings, whatever the genre in question - the main question I would be asking in this instance is what sort of sound is he trying to create, or this or something in between from Brit two tone era Different folks have somewhat different terms of reference depending usually on how old they are...

I used to find that with records. The time spent searching in record shops ( no interweb back then) and tracking down pieces of obscura was equally as pleasurable as finally placing the needle on the vinyl in question, sometimes more so

Absolutely this. I know it sounds clichéd but it really is about the feel. You can play all the right notes in the right order at the right time, but unless you're really feeling it it doesn't sound authentic.

Nah, not happening

I think I read they’re using big rigs and blades on the two models

I'm not here to help, I'm here to enable and encourage.

I just worry our fan might buy a ticket for the festival and end up disappointed.

Might also be worth mentioning the social conditioning element in handedness (sounds like brainwashing but it's pretty benign). Although nobody bothers about it these days, Lefties of a certain age will no doubt be able to tell stories of attempts to force them to do things (handwriting being a good example, and so is learning to play guitar or bass) right handed - I know I can. I won't bore people with any whinging about how hard we have things (in truth it's not that bad and I'm really not complaining), but subtle pressures to conform are still around.

Very very sound advice

I work offshore and on the current installation I was walking past the Rec room the other day when I heard someone noodling on a bass. I investigated and found one of the supervisors playing a cheap Yamaha bass through a Fender Rumble. He explained that the welfare dept. Had paid for some cheap gear to muck about on. He said he was actually a guitarist but was trying out the bass as it had just arrived. I said I play the bass and he said, great, we can have a jam some evening. I went along a few nights later when I spotted him in there. He offered me the bass and plugged me into the amp. Everything left me! I was all fingers and thumbs. Everything I tried ended up being a mess. I couldn’t understand it. I’d played all of this stuff until I knew it back to front. I can only think that playing an instrument that I’m not used to and also being aware that people are going to be judging you must affect my nerves. Im fine playing rehearsed songs in a bar with the band. For some reason music shops and any other situations where you feel pressurised into delivering a solo performance and I just turn into a vacuum. Things I could play at home with flair, turn into a mess of fluffed notes and forgotten passages. It annoys me so much because you can feel them thinking, he talked a good gig but really he’s crap.

Sold another bass this week, so far my balance for 2019 is sold 3 basses and one cab. Bought nothing.

Great colour, I have the same coloured Jazz with pea green scratch guard. It will look great 👍🏻👍🏻 Mark is a great guy to deal with to.

Try a couple of wedges under the top cab ? The MarkBass wedge may be too much so a couple of door wedges maybe just to direct the sound up a bit towards the ears.

Nice! Got myself one of these in white over Xmas. (Because what better time of the year to buy yourself a new bass) Gotta say I barely touch the pre-amp, sounds really great just passive

Chris is excellent. I still haven't forgiven him for moving away from Peckham.

As Bigwan said - Chris McIntyre is the guy to go to. The only problem with Chris is trying to avoid be seduced into getting any other work / a custom build done... 😀