Gilmourisgod

They are a lot of fun to play, but definitely an idiosyncratic bass. the intonation can get a little "iffy" above the 12 th fret with that floating bridge piece. You can intonate the E and G accurately, but A and D will always be an approximation. Not the bass for high-register chordal work, that's for sure. The electronics are truly odd, don't know what they were thinking there, but once you surrender to the illogic of the setup, it sounds great. I've played all the variants, including the full-blown German Hofner, which is indeed a nice bass. It damn well better be at that price! i think they are wildly overpriced, with the diffence in amplified tone between the Contemporary, Ignition, and German Hofner being tiny, and bearing no relation to the price difference. My son has a Jay Turser Violin clone, and for the price ($220 USD a few years back) its a very nicely made little bass. They cut corners on the electronics and hardware, the tuners are cheap but serviceable, and the pots and jacks are crap, but easily swapped out for short money. It came with rounds, which is not where these basses shine. We put a set of Labella Deep Talking Flats on it a few years ago, instant Macca Thump. https://www.musiciansfriend.com/bass/rogue-vb100-violin-bass-guitar/430598000015000?cntry=US&cur=USD&source=3WWRWXGS&gclid=CjwKCAjw6qqDBhB-EiwACBs6x_Gi3U4M6DrG19GBP7Fa6nUw20-VBB5GOcxQVC7MUlEs5jedftYIMhoCjLQQAvD_BwE

Very nice build! How do you like the tuners, thinking about a headless build myself.

Thought I'd wander across the Pond and see what the Brit Builders are up to. Haven't posted here in a long time. Here's a couple of Ric inspired builds, the Black one finished a couple years ago, the Walnut one just recently. The black one took 4 years on again/off again, the walnut one two years. The full build diaries posted on Talkbass USA here: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-hossenfeffer-bass-build.1102535/#post-16376432 https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-hossenfeffer-ii-build.1286896/#post-20081778

Charles Rennie Mackintosh is one of my Architectural heroes, always wanted to visit the Glasgow Shool of Art. Points for recognizing the typeface, though it is available as a free downloadable text style!

I'm addicted to Youtube instructional videos, there's really only a few decent books on guitar building, but hundreds of excellent tutorial videos. To address the thread topic, I found it damn hard! I had some previous woodworking experience, but nothing at the level of precision required to build a playable bass. I had to break it down into a series of steps, each one exhaustively researched and visuaized, or even mocked up in scrap wood, before butchering any expensive lumber. Probably why my first build took 4 years on and off! Having slogged through that steep learning curve, my second build is going a lot faster, and it's a lot more fun with less stress. The process itself is incredibly satisfying, and there's nothing like plugging them in the first time and getting some pleasing noise out of it.

There's the rub, when you get a good one, the finish is immaculate, and they play like butter, pity its hit or miss. The "new" (2010?) finish is a UV catalyzed varnish that is supposed to cure in minutes, a huge advantage over waiting weeks before a traditional Nitro finish can be buffed out, or days for a poly one, but I agree they must be rushing it. When they fasten down the bridge, presumably with an air-driven screwgun, the sharp castings bite through the finish. I think the vast majority of them are fine, but a company is judged by its worst examples, and in how warranty issues are resolved. Having once owned a 1979 4001 new, and seeing current production 4003, I can say the new ones are overall more consistent, and better made as most of the basic woodwork is CNC. They still do a surprising amount of handwork, more then most, I think, except maybe Gibson. If you haven't already seen it, this video, though its getting a little dated, is a good overview of their manufacturing process, and shows the UV cure booth I suspect is the weak link in the process. The section on finishing starts at about 14:20

Dang, that fretboard is gorgeous! Can you afford to take any more width of the center cocobolo “beam” along the string path?

There’s a a bizarre theory among the Ric Partisans that the crooked pups are “meant” to be that way, and that the 1mm or so misalignment somehow enhances tone. If so, my straight pup is “defective”. If that tiny misalignment had any positive effect on tone, why is Ric the only manufacturer who does it, and why do they vary from straight to way off square bass to bass? No mystery here folks, no “ tone enhancement” it’s simple bad QC. Note also that the Tubeampoligy bezel has a straight opening, not crooked. Presumably they checked out a few pups prior to investing in injection mold tooling? I love Rics, that tone has no equal, but the QC issues are ridiculous. The clearcoat issue lifting around the bridge has been happening regularly since 2010, really, 8 years to not solve a blatant manufacturing defect? This is made all the more galling by Rics requirement that any warranty repairs must be done in the CA factory, with shipping one way at your expense. In the US, that usually works out to $100+, lord knows what it would cost from U.K. The finish warranty starts on date of manufacture, not date of sale, so it’s possible for your warranty to expire before you even get the bass if it sits warehoused for a while. Not surprised to hear they are just as divisive here as on Talkbass in the US. Love the bass, loathe the company.

Wow! Those inlays are gorgeous. Ambitious build you have here, that’s going to be fun. I always wanted to try a Bigsby or Kahler tremolo on a bass, but figured I wouldn’t use it much. I saw Stanley a few times over the years, never saw him play the Bigsby bass, he just bent harmonics on the open string length at the headstock. I’ll be watching this one!

I'm not usually a T-Bird guy, but these might make me a convert! Wonderfully crisp, precise, and expertly crafted work! I am also highly impressed that you can maintain the red nail polish while working. The only red I see is my blood on the wood, usually the first indication I've cut myself again. I call it "Woodwork Anesthesia", I just don't notice minor pain while building, but later my hands look like hamburger. I just don't do woodworking enough to develop some thick skin, I guess. Hope to remedy that.

Well met, Christine, was just checking out your triple build thread, very nice, per usual. After the hottest summer I can remember on Cape Cod, during which my shared shop was unbearable, and a hectic fall, I’m itching to get back to work on the Walnut Ric, gonna try “sparkle” crushed MOP inlays on this one, we’ll see how it goes!

I have small/average size hands, so chunky necks put me off, never liked P necks, but a Jazz feels great. The Ibanez necks feel great in my hands.

No Rickenbacker Corporate worshiper here, The Dark Lord is an arrogant dude, and really could care less what customers think as long as sales continue apace. Their CS and QC kinda suck, particularly lately, what with basses having clearcoat peeling off them willy-nilly, another reason I decided to build my own, I have only myself to blame, and believe me, I know where every flaw is on the black one, however miniscule, and I OWN them. I'm hoping this thread will generate some creative Ric INSPIRED build examples, no desire to rile people up about Rickenbacker, that's somebody else's thread! I didn't build a Rickenbacker, I built a Hossenfeffer.

Christine! I blundered onto your thread here on Basschat, loved your builds threads on Talkbass. Nicely succinct sharpening tutorial, I’ve been using the “scary sharp” sandpaper on glass method, still not expert at it though. I use a Veritas angle guide, but still often end up sharpening chisels out of square. How do you keep square by hand, or does the grinder rest hold it square to the stone?

??? Is that good or bad? My work is firewood, Rics are firewood, this topic will go up in flames?

We'll see what happen, I guess. These are one-off builds for personal use, not sale, so as far as I know, that's perfectly legal under US copyright, not sure about UK. You can paint a copy of a Van Gogh and hang it on your wall, but if you try to sell it..... There must be 20 similar Ric inspired personal builds on US Talkbass, no negative words from Rickenbacker so far. I'll understand if the moderators want to pull the thread, no harm done. In the meantime, here's one I finished last year, a 4003 clone in Jetglo finish with checker binding. Sorry for the crappy photos, anybody interested in the whole wretched slog of a 4-year build thread can check it out here: https://www.talkbass.com/threads/the-hossenfeffer-bass-build.1102535/#post-16376432 It differs from a genuine Ric in a few ways, one DA trussrod, a volute at the headstock/neck joint, dowel reinforced construction at the wings, fully shielded, etc. The goal was to re-create a 4001 bass I once owned, with some technical improvements and, of course, checker binding. As expected, it sounds.... like a Ric, not surprising since the pups are OEM Ric standard hi-gain. Also bought the electronics harness from Pick of the Ricks, who buys them from Rickenbacker Inc and marks them up, so Rickenbacker Inc. has already had a bit of profit from me in parts alone. I will NEVER sell either of these basses, the Walnut one will be a college graduation present for my son.

New amateur Builder here on Basschat. I've been posting on Talkbass for a few years, seen some amazing UK and European builds over there, figured I check out what's happening over here. Ive never posted photos here yet, so this is an experiment......That works!! Here we have a Ric 4004/4003 inspired build in walnut and rock maple. This was my first experience binding a headstock, nerve-wracking, but I'm really happy with the result. A fair way from finished, as you can see. Still the whole fingerboard and neck process to complete, but the gist is there.

He is a Ric Tone Monster. He does a tutorial on it, but it’s specific to his gear and software, so not much use to the crappily equipped among us. The whole band are killer players. I’ve been obsessed with learning Siberian Khatru lately, about half way through it and hitting a wall! Damn you, Squire! A magician with a Pick and a Ric. The bonanza of isolated Squire/Bruford tracks on Youtube is a goldmine, my admiration for Squire is undiminished after 40 years of listening.

Long time Talkbass poster, finally wandered over here. I live on Cape Cod in the US, but have a sister and 4 nephews in U.K. I’ve been playing bass on a strictly amateur basis for 35 years, in and out of bands through college and beyond, but nothing serious. These days I spend more time building basses than playing them. Hoping to learn more in your builders section, a couple of highly skilled U.K. builders also post on Talkbass, led me here. Current basses: 1983 G&L L2000 Warmouth Fretless Frankenjazz 1986 Steinberger XP-2 Home Built Rickenfaker 4001 Clone Amps: Prehistoric Peavey Mark III that needs a recap, Roland Bass cube, headphone amp setup. I don’t gig out anymore, so headphones good enough most of the time, and doesn’t annoy the wife and kids.