leftyyorky

John..............................................Paul.............................................................Jones 😊😊😊

In my 1st ever band, playing covers in working mens clubs at 18 years old, I took a set of new RS 66 strings to a gig and put them on my Rickenfaker in the dressing room omitting to stretch them a few times as I didnt know you had to. We tuned to the Fender Rhodes piano (this was 1977) and did a little soundcheck. My shiny new strings sounded awesome and I thought I was Chris Squire! Come the opening song, Peter Framptons "show me the way" every string was exactly a semitone flat. The escape was to play the full song 1 fret up. For the rest of the 1st set (20 mins) I had to retune after every song and try not to whack the strings too hard. How many people on first using a 5 string have gone to smack out the big note on the E string but find out too late that someone put a bigger thicker rope of a string in the way, and what should have been a big fat G is now a bigger fatter D.

Welcome from across the Pennines

Welcome from South Yorkshire 🎸🎸

Welcome from a Yorkshireman 😊😊

I can certainly agree about the quality, I bought a 1980s bb1100s lefty in 1996, it had been gathering dust in Electro music in Doncaster and I paid £190 for it. It was my only bass for about 10 years . It has been reliable and as versatile sound wise as any bass I have ever played. I wouldn't part with it for anything not just for the fact that it would be worth nothing, its a fantastic instrument punching well above its weight, and it has loads of nostalgic value for me. I met Billy Sheehan at a clinic and being the nice guy that he is he was more interested in asking about me than talking about his self. When he asked what basses I played, his face lit up when I told him bb1100s, he said he still possessed one and had nothing but praise for it. I would choose it over a Precision or Jazz anyday.

Hi, and welcome aboard, I'm sure you'll find a vast wealth of knowledge and guidance on here. With regard to bass guitars, I think that for the price range you are speaking of that Squier would certainly be worth a look at, you should be able to pick up a second hand precision or jazz bass and as a Sqier jazz owner myself I can vouch for the quality in that price range. Good luck with your return to bass playing and please keep us informed of your progress.

Welcome from the UK. Nice to have a transatlantic cousin onboard. With regard to Ibanez, my only experience was with a Rickenfaker which i owned from the mid 70s to mid 90s and it was great (ive got a 4003 now!) What do you think of the Squier? I bought a Vintage modified Jazz and i think it is awesome value for money (or even more money) Hope you enjoy your time on the forum with the brits 😊

Hi, thought I would add a little to this thread. Back in 1976 I wanted a Rickenbacker but a lefty was £520! and the nek/headstock was upside down. I bought a lefty Ibanez faker which wasnt entirely accurate, the neck was completely lefty and was bolt on. The pickups were humbuckers I believe, but it sounded great and looked cool as hell, (which is more than can be said for my dress sense, see pic taken in 1980) I sold the bass in late 80s only to quickly buy it back. In 1996 I part exed it for a Yamaha bb1100s which I still have. Last year I took the plunge and bought a Mapleglo 4003 from 2000, which still has upside down fretmarkers 😠 Seriously though I love the Rickenbacker but the faker will always have a place in my heart and memory as it was my first half decent bass and served me well for years.

A belated welcome from your neck o t' woods. (Wombwell to be precise) 😊😊

The car analogy is an interesting one, which at least 2 big manufacturers have joined in on. Ford do the ST line, which is basically a focus st without the engine, Audi do the S line which is a similar sort of thing. I've not seen the Ford badge but the Audi badge just looks like an S badge from anymore than 3 feet away because the "line" is so small. To use Jeremy Clarksons analogy he said he couldnt drive a Porsche Cayman because its telling the world that I cant afford a 911. For what its worth I think Clarkson is just a pompous snob who used to be a Yorkshireman. Back to basses, I own a Squier VM Jazz in maple, and I love it, it plays great, sounds great, looks and feels great, and I've never once thought about putting a Fender decal on it, I'm proud of the instrument as it is.when I was 18 I had an Ibanez Ric copy which I owned for many years, that had a home made Rickenbacker trc on it for about 2 weeks until I thought "who am I kidding?" And put the Ibanez one back on.I dont mind what others do to their basses if it makes them happy and they are not trying to defraud in a sale. Btw I've got a 4003 now and I've no intention of changing the truss rod cover 😁😁😁

By the way, I bought an Ibanez lefty Ric copy and it still cost me £180 back then for a copy!!!

I'd like to tell a little story. In 1976 I, an 18 year old apprentice fitter wanted a Rickenbacker 4001 in Jetglo. Carlsboro sound centre in Sheffield contacted Summerfield the importers and reserved 1 of 2 lefties that were coming to the UK in the next shipment for me to try and maybe purchase. I was gearing myself up to obtaining this wonderful instrument and putting myself into considerable debt due to the £520 (in 1976!) price tag. When I went to try the bass I was gutted to see that it had a right handed neck complete with upside down headstock and position markers. Basically I thought it looked terrible , which is a shame because it sounded awesome!I dont know when Ric started making lefty necks (which incidentally is only a matter of reversing position markers and fitting lefty headstock "wings") but I purchased a 2000 4003 last year and that still has the upside down position markers. The reason for telling this story is that it has taken from well before 1976 to beyond 2000 to finally make a 4003 bass that looks truly left handed. In 2002 Ric decided to make the C64 and C64s models which continued until 2011, and guess what? They are right handed basses with LEFT HANDED necks just so that people can look like a mirror image of a certain bass player from Liverpool who only played a Rickenbacker because they gave it to him! The point I'm making is left handers got a bad deal from Ric for years and yet they were quite willing to inconvenience themselves to build a righty bass that looks like an old lefty one. By the way, the lefty basses still have right handed audio taper pots in them wired anticlockwise which basically makes them an all on or all off switch, and hence as much use as a chocolate fireguard, so mr Hall hasnt fully redeemed himself yet! Rant over😐😐😐

Shocking though that these 2 great manufacturers charge premium prices for a quality instrument and yet cut costs/time by doing things like this. John Hall got involved in a discussion on Ric forum but I just got the opinion that he doesn't treat the lefty market as important compared to the other people. They only make lefties every couple of years if we're lucky, pay an upcharge for them (and on used market too) and its not many years ago that they decided to put the headstocks and fretmarkers the right way round, mine is a year 2000 with a correct headstock and upside down fretmarkers. Rant over!!

Hi,not been on basschat for a while, but since last time I've joined the Ric club so here's my lefty 4003 mapleglo from 2000 which has since had the annoying pickup cover removed and replaced with a Tubeampology bezel.

I acquired a Rickenbacker 4003 lefty last year, and whilst the pots are anticlockwise to turn up, the pots themselves are right handed audio taper pots wired backwards which means that from off there is a large increase in volume or tone for very little movement, and then nothing changes for the remaining 70% of movement. It is my intention to have a good electronics guy to wire them right handed so they work correctly. Frustrating that a bass of this quality comes out of the factory with right handed parts on it!

Im left handed but play 2 handed sports (cricket, golf) right handed. I never wanted to be a guitarist and at 16 I bought a cheapo Avon EB0 copy and flipped it, including filing the nut to flip the strings.I had tried holding a guitar right handed but it just felt so unnatural.2 years later I upgraded to a lefty Ibanez Ric copy,couldnt afford the real thing (£520 in 1976 with a right handed neck and upside down head!)

While I'm at it, here's my old bb1100s that ive had years but could never part with!

Hi everybody, I've been inactive for a while, so I thought I'd post a picture of an aquisition I made last June, and I love it!

I have a lefty VM Jazz in Maple and its a corker! nicest neck I've ever played on, good variety of sound, cost £249! May at some point put on a high mass bridge and batter machine heads as they are probably the weak link in the chain, bue hey, its a budget bass and I've played many more expensive basses that aren't as good overall.

Hi to another leftie, I too have a Squire Vintage Mod Jazz what great bass for the money !! You're right there Stu! amazing bass for not much money, and I havent modded anything, have you?

Hi Stu, welcome from another old git (54) but I've only been playing since age 16 and I've been left handed for 54 years! Rock on old southpaws Steve

I bought a left handed BB1100s for £189 in 1996 (I traded a l/h Ibanez ricky 4001 copy for it for £90! wish I still had that!) The Yamaha is an awesome bass for the money (and possibly more) as stated earlier no need to update preamp as it makes any sound you want from ball rattling bass through snarling mids to biting treble. I played loads of gigs with no backup and never had a problem. I could not sell this bass for anything as it is great to play (it "came alive" in my hands when I tried it in the shop and made the Ibanez, which I always considered a good bass since buying it new in 1976,sound pale by comparison. It is the only BB i have ever played but I would recommend it to anyone.

Cheers Dave, another lefty yorky eh? What basses do you play/own? but please dont say Ric 4001/4003 or you will make a yorky cry!

Thanks for the welcome everyone, and Simon, I've just noticed that you've got a Ric! its my dream bass! but leftys are as rare as rocking horse s"!t and very expensive if you do find one. As I am on sabbatical at the moment it would be difficult to justify the expense, if indeed I could afford one! Hope you are enjoying that fine bass.I'm not jealous honest!