prowla

My latest acquisition - a 70s CMI Matsumoku, bolt on neck with twin truss rods, mono & stereo jacks, wavy Grover-style machines.

[quote name='Chris2112' timestamp='1498422166' post='3324532'] Why would I avoid getting a Rickenbacker? Awful tone unless you're playing through a Sansamp is one thing. The cheap and ugly looks are offputting too, but the strides the company has made over recent years to prevent foreign copies of their basses, constructed 30 years ago, being sold privately is as mean spirited as it gets. I know some players covet the Ric look, but objectively I find everything else about them quite dire. Aside from looking like a Rickenbacker, which Rics are really good at, they're like a bad Jazz bass and even a half decent Jazz makes them look, sound and feel hopeless. [/quote] I think you need to get off the fence there! I totally get Ric's approach to the fakers and, being a contrary git, I've just bought a 30 year old Japanese Ric copy! I think it is good that Ric protect their brand; unlike Fender, where it can be difficult to tell whether an instrument with the logo on its headstock is genuine or not, even for people who have a good idea about them. Buying a Fender is a minefield.

[quote name='12stringbassist' timestamp='1497914883' post='3321354'] I have 4 Ric 4003's and can't think of a reason not to buy one. However, the original poster should spend a lot of time trying a Ric before buying one. Prices are now stupid. As to John Hall, he had me banned from the official Ric forum and I have had long email talks with him about the finish quality of a Midnight Blue bass with the finish bleeding into the binding. I have even spoken to him on the phone. He is a total twerp. He doesn't look after his customers. He makes their lives difficult. As to the protection of his brand and their designs, he is perfectly right. [/quote] I have to say that is a very balanced perspective there!

[quote name='sammybee' timestamp='1496253288' post='3309993'] My Moog regret was selling my Moog Prodigy for the princely sum of £30 in 1988! It still stings even to this day. [/quote] Ouch!

I've also got a Roland SH-32 vintage synth unit which I can play with my Roland PK-5A pedals; it's got loads of sounds and a really good Tom Sawyer patch. The Minitaur does "Clocks" OK [url="https://youtu.be/z5eEXbGUPCk"]https://youtu.be/z5eEXbGUPCk[/url]; with the PK-5A you can set the "Mono" to one octave and the "Poly" to another, so flipping octaves is easy. In fact, you can set the "mono" to one MIDI channel and the "Poly" to another and so switch between synths with one button.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' timestamp='1497629445' post='3319668'] Quick heads up.. This year's SE Bash will be at the school in Addlestone as per normal, and will be held on [b]Saturday 23rd September[/b]. Will do a brand new thread for it over the weekend. Nik [/quote] Ah - I read posts in time series. Addlestone is doable for me!

[quote name='NancyJohnson' timestamp='1497351074' post='3317430'] There's a few village halls near to me (Crowthorne) that would be ideal; most have staging areas that would be good for the clinics, plenty of parking. I'd be happy to enquire on pricing. [/quote] Well, there is the Acoustic Couch in Bracknell, though it's really just a single performance room (but it does have a bar and is directly below a multi-storey car park).

I quite like it. I think the pickguard should be chamfered though, rather than square-edged.

[quote name='drTStingray' timestamp='1497702242' post='3320133'] Yeah I understand your position - I guess their lawyers are pursuing aggressively any potential sales outlet for unlicensed knock offs. Unfortunately, as you can see from some of the responses, some people just don't get the concept of a company protecting its products and legitimate customers - although Rickenbacker maybe unique in going after the secondhand market - you can only speculate but it seems possible their sales and finances were being badly affected. I am guessing this is all Fender's fault because people have got used to being able to buy 'knock off' Fenders in a range of prices and Fender has seemingly not been bothered about protecting its brand or customers' interests - until it was too late a few years back, when courts didn't back them. Lawyers representing other manufacturers have also gone aggressively after people (usually retailers) selling knock offs, particularly if they are being passed off as genuine instruments (even Fender have done or threatened this). It doesn't affect my attitude to buying - for instance I found some of the Musicman forum stuff 10 years or so ago pretty unpalatable (although it should be said that most people involved were behaving like complete twats) - however having been a big fan of their basses since the 70s, would a few posts on a forum between people who should know better bother me - well the answer is not at all. And in my book, Rickenbackers are cool basses, warts and all, in the same way as any other professional level instrument. [/quote] The problem these days is you sometimes cant tell a Fender from a knock-off; I'm cool with Ric protecting their brand.

Very understated grilles there.

[quote name='drlargepants' timestamp='1497685317' post='3319990'] Speaking of which, there is a web site that sells lots of secondhand USA jazz (& p) necks Can anyone remember what it is ? [/quote] ebay?

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1497557833' post='3319155'] I agree if a used one is bought then JH gets none of my cash, but moving on said used one isn`t as simple as moving on other makes. Making both parts of my argument valid - I wouldn`t buy a new one to prevent JH getting any of my money, and a used one is more difficult to move on - not many sold on here for example, a forum specifically for bass. I should add I`m not a Ric-hater, both of the ones I`ve played for a fair amount of time I really liked, played great, sounded greater, so I`m not knocking the instruments, just the Stasi way the company police them. [/quote] What's the issue with selling one? I think the company is protecting its intellectual property against forgers & fakers; you wouldn't complain if software counterfeiters or producers of fake Rolexes were taken to task, would you?

[quote name='hubrad' timestamp='1497546562' post='3319053'] Yup, swap the neck, then you can get a few quid back by selling the P neck on Basschat! :-) [/quote] Or maybe buy a J-bass body and put the P-neck on it.

It'd be cheaper and less hassle to just buy a Jazz neck and bolt it onto a P body.

[quote name='Grahambythesea' timestamp='1497501950' post='3318661'] Are you sure it was the bass that sounded good not the amp? I'm told that they are really difficult to re-fret. [/quote] I've never tried re-fretting an amp! As for the bass; I've always said a Ric sounds like a Ric even when it's not plugged in.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1497520599' post='3318798'] I`ve played a couple of Rics, really liked them, however I can provide a 2 word answer to the question: John Hall I wouldn`t give him any of my money, additionally selling a Ric on isn`t made particularly easy due to him and the antics of the Ric Stormtroopers. [/quote] If you buy a used one, he won't get your money. So that invalidates your argument there...

I recently sold a Japanese (Matsumoku) Ric copy - it wasn't a bad bass, in fact it was rather good. I might some day pick up another one to do up, if I happen across one. (At the moment, I've got a couple of other projects on the go.)

[quote name='Al Krow' timestamp='1497470464' post='3318532'] Wow! That is one heck of a recommendation. Do you currently own a Rick yourself? If not, sounds to me that your case of GAS is an order of magnitude stronger than mine and definitely needs quenching! [/quote] I've only owned three Rics...