First Experience with Rickenbackers

[Musky]

[quote name='bode' timestamp='1349998247' post='1833507']
Now that's what I don't understand, what makes a '72 worth 3 grand?
[/quote]
Same thing that can make a '58 Les Paul worth £100,000+ - someone's prepared to pay that much.

[LeftyJ]

[quote name='HADGE' timestamp='1349783753' post='1830394']
[b]Forgot to say a special thank you to lefty for telling me about a ricky on gumtree ,i bought it and the guy gave me the bill of sale for over £1400 and told me he only played it 3 times and i believe him because its that good so thanks lefty i owe you one mate.[/b]
[/quote]

Cheers man, you're welcome! Glad you like it. That price was an absolute steal compared to what these usually fetch! 799 for a lefty is really really cheap, considering their rarity and having been out of production since 2010.

[4000]

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1349998702' post='1833509']
Same thing that can make a '58 Les Paul worth £100,000+ - someone's prepared to pay that much.
[/quote]

Indeed. In real terms though, and ignoring how they sound (which is not how new Rics sound) there are features on my basses you can't get now; full width crushed pearl inlays, chequered binding, aluminium tailpiece etc. If Ric brought out an [i]exact[/i] copy of either of my basses I'd be happy to buy new.

[iiipopes]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1349903996' post='1832182']
Look great, sound great, not great QC, weird ergonomics.
[/quote]
Especially now that RIC has gone to CNC for most of its production and changed to a UV-cured finish instead of the older CV finish, QC at RIC is the best it has ever been, and continues to get even better.
If a player bashes a quality instrument in a thrash band, no guarantees. If it's treated well like the fine instrument it is, then as with my three instruments, all three now over 30 years old, a 320 JG, a 360-12WB FG ckbd, and a 4002, then I've had no problems except what I brought on myself.

[jazzmanb]

got my 1980 4001 few years ago from a local guy off ebay for £800 which i thought was a bargain ,i got it more as a treat/investment.i'm pretty much a fender jazz devotee but i like the rick its a bit harder to play but the sound and look are 2nd to none.

[jonsmith]

Like 4000, I actually prefer the Rickenbacker ergonomics that so many seem to struggle with. I have six Rickenbackers in various guises, one of which is the bass I would reach for every time if I had a free choice (it's just totally wrong for one of my bands unfortunately).

[quote name='LeftyJ' timestamp='1350039759' post='1833820']
Cheers man, you're welcome! Glad you like it. That price was an absolute steal compared to what these usually fetch! 799 for a lefty is really really cheap, considering their rarity and having been out of production since 2010.
[/quote]

Great price. Incidentally, lefties are back in production right now...

[Jools4001]

I love my '73 4001. I've had it since 1976 and it has been my main bass ever since.

I'm not elitist, I just worked my nads off when I was a kid to afford it. They always were more expensive, but at that time of day if you wanted a pro level bass you basically had a choice of a Fender P, a Fender J, perhaps a Gibson or a Ric if you wanted to be a bit more individual.

I'm not going to use it as my main bass anymore. Mostly becaue it has such sentimental value to me that it is priceless as far as I'm concerned, and it nearly got totalled at our last gig when it was on it's stand and a drunk fell on it.

But also because (although it's a very nice example of a well kept vintage Ric) the world has moved on and there are better basses

[afterimage]

Many years ago I picked one up. As a friend had one and a precision. Bass the fender was like playing a plank compared to the rickerbacker. So would love to try one out again. Saying that the fender might had needed setting up. Paul

[Musicman20]

[quote name='iiipopes' timestamp='1350309814' post='1837090']

Especially now that RIC has gone to CNC for most of its production and changed to a UV-cured finish instead of the older CV finish, QC at RIC is the best it has ever been, and continues to get even better.
If a player bashes a quality instrument in a thrash band, no guarantees. If it's treated well like the fine instrument it is, then as with my three instruments, all three now over 30 years old, a 320 JG, a 360-12WB FG ckbd, and a 4002, then I've had no problems except what I brought on myself.
[/quote]

Tail lift? Bad paintwork?

I love their basses but the necks and the fact they won't sort the bridge problem just seems crazy.

[jonsmith]

[quote name='Musicman20' timestamp='1351470626' post='1851638']


Tail lift? Bad paintwork?

I love their basses but the necks and the fact they won't sort the bridge problem just seems crazy.
[/quote]

My understanding is that genuine tail lift has not been a problem on Rickenbacker basses manufactured in recent years (although maybe someone will come aliong that has had a recent problem). Besides an issue with a batch of Midnight Blue around ten years ago, I'm not aware of any bad paint jobs recently either.

Out of interest, what is it about the necks that you are referring to?

A friend of mine who is a bit of a guitar collector thinks that my Ricks (at least the ones I've owned from new) have the best finishes he's ever seen on a guitar or bass.

They seem to be the bass everyone loves to hate, but I've never had problems with any of mine and three of them are my three favourite basses. Maybe I've been lucky.

[Musicman20]

[quote name='jonsmith' timestamp='1351491580' post='1851667']
My understanding is that genuine tail lift has not been a problem on Rickenbacker basses manufactured in recent years (although maybe someone will come aliong that has had a recent problem). Besides an issue with a batch of Midnight Blue around ten years ago, I'm not aware of any bad paint jobs recently either.

Out of interest, what is it about the necks that you are referring to?

A friend of mine who is a bit of a guitar collector thinks that my Ricks (at least the ones I've owned from new) have the best finishes he's ever seen on a guitar or bass.

They seem to be the bass everyone loves to hate, but I've never had problems with any of mine and three of them are my three favourite basses. Maybe I've been lucky.
[/quote]

I've played 3-4 over my 16-17 years as a bassist, (started when I was about 14).

I absolutely LOVE the style of the Ric basses. I also think the tone is unique and fantastic.

Everyone of them I played just seemed awkward. The neck seemed more guitar like to me, and I don't know why...weird. The last one I played was a new 2011 model in a store. Super cool looking bass, but the neck....totally weirded me out.

I am not that fussy with necks either, but something felt weird.

The tail lift seems to be very common. It would worry me enough not to get one...it depends on how good the UK supplier is with the warranty.

I can't comment on the paintwork, only that it seems quite fussy.

I'd still like one...

[Nodd]

I agree about the neck thing on Ricks.
I so wanted one, until I played one - a righty - at a jam.
I thought this feels weird in the neck department,
At jams I frequently flipped over right-handers to play.

Then I followed this thro years later to actually trying a lefty,
with the appropriate amount of tenners burning a hole in my trouser pocket.
As soon as I fretted, I thought "this is weird", I just couldn't get comfortable on it.
I was really disappointed but it just felt completely wrong...and that was that.

[KevB]

Necks on Rics do feel slightly odd, particularly those of us that often play Fenders and the like. Ric necks don't taper toward the headstock like Fenders, parallel width all the way down. I still like my Ric though in humid weather the amount of paint on the back of the necks can make it less smooth to play than my Fenders.

[4000]

[quote name='KevB' timestamp='1351517029' post='1852014']
Necks on Rics do feel slightly odd, particularly those of us that often play Fenders and the like. Ric necks don't taper toward the headstock like Fenders, parallel width all the way down.
[/quote]

Which is one of the things I like most about them. I never understood a neck that goes from nothing to huge, like a Jazz (one of my least favourite neck shapes ever), but then I learned to play on a Ric so I would think that. Pretty much all the basses I like have a similar width / string spacing to a Ric (Alembic spring to mind).

I can certainly imagine that if you're used to playing on something like a Fender a Ric would feel very strange in all sorts of ways, but it works the other way too.

[Jus Lukin]

-

Edited February 16, 2022 by Jus Lukin

[Highfox]

[quote name='andyjingram' timestamp='1351723977' post='1854784']

I'm sure a lot of people would cherish the opportunity to live with and gig a cheaper Ric for a time to see if it was worth forking out for the real deal for their own needs.
[/quote]

Add me to that list..serious Rick gas for me atm! (help) but Is getting a cheaper immation really worth it?
A mate of mine had a 4003 but that was a lefty version and he used very light guage strings, I never got a proper feel having to flip it with the strings upside down.

[Black Coffee]

I'd had GAS for a RIC since I first picked a bass up 25 yrs ago.
Three different Rics later I still have bad GAS for one but can't enjoy the playing because I find them awkward if you pluck as I do rather than pick.
It remains one bass I want the most because I loved Lemmy's playing and everything about the loud and proud ethic, and also they just look so cool. But sadly at the price I can't justify a £1500 piece of furniture, because that's what it would be.
Since I last owned one the idea of removing the rancid U-bend and placing the black little pickup surround in place has come about and I am very tempted, but my inner sensible compass says nothing will change. So I will continue to "GAS" after it and do nothing about it. If I could try one with the pickup surround set in place it would cure my curiousity; but till then looks like Alka Seltzer will have continue to sort the GAS.
MMMM

[mickthebass]

In 1991 when Robert Maxwell Died “At Sea” my band, contracted to mirror group video lost everything, music rights, fees, copyright and I lost all my guitars and amps which I found out belonged to the suits, not me, my guitars Gibsons, Fenders, Rickenbackers and Martins and my many Fender amps all went out the door taken by Crombie coated, gold teethed thugs. Much less of a loss you might say than the mirror pensioners who lost it all. But over the last few years I have made do with Squires and Epiphones, tangelwoods and transistor fenders, I had to go without a 12 string and 4000 series bass. But now things have got better and I have gradually replaced my collection, all but a ricky bass, the prices are outrageous and Rickenbacker are not to blame, all this talk about having to wait years for delivery for new stock, what a load of rubbish, its retailers with their false perception of value of both new and second user items that’s causing the problem’s and this has stagnated the second hand market to. I have spent an hour or so for about a year now looking for a fireglow 4003 on ebay and what do I see the same old basses, brand new being listed over and over again and never selling I checked the serial numbers of these so called new basses and some of them are five and six years old surely that must indicate to the shopkeepers that the market price is just to high! It’s just the same with the private sellers relisting the same bass month after month for £1500 second hand bye it now. Some get so embarrassed when their “investment probably never been out the box” doesn’t get a bid and they withdraw it saying sold else ware, only to relist change the photos etc a few weeks later. And if I have to read this particular passage again which they all cut and past as though no ones seen it before [color=#FF0000]“The 4003 Classic Rickenbacker bass - famous for its ringing sustain, treble punch and solid underlying bass. Rickenbacker 4003 in stunning finish. A bass famous for its ringing sustain, treble punch and solid underlying bass. A subtle strip of binding graces the elegantly curved body and the Rosewood fingerboard. Deluxe triangular inlays and stereo capability are standard features. Solid body 20 frets 84.5 cm (33 1/4'') scale Maple body Maple neck Rosewood fingerboard Neck Binding Triangle inlays RIC tailpiece and bridge Neck Through body 2 pickups Single Coil pickups Mono and Stereo output Schaller Deluxe machine heads.[/color] Blah Blah, we all no how good they are, they are not however linked to the gold standard. Anyway I probably have no friends left after this rant. Bye for now

[bassmachine2112]

I,ve had mine for almost 14 years now.
It,s great.
Either Ricky sounds better now or I sound better or we play as a unit now
I aint a fanboy I use a musicman,thunderbird and a p-bass they all have their thing.
It works for me and has given me years of pleasure/

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='mickthebass' timestamp='1352217418' post='1860266']
In 1991 when Robert Maxwell Died “At Sea” my band, contracted to mirror group video lost everything, music rights, fees, copyright and I lost all my guitars and amps which I found out belonged to the suits, not me, my guitars Gibsons, Fenders, Rickenbackers and Martins and my many Fender amps all went out the door taken by Crombie coated, gold teethed thugs. Much less of a loss you might say than the mirror pensioners who lost it all. But over the last few years I have made do with Squires and Epiphones, tangelwoods and transistor fenders, I had to go without a 12 string and 4000 series bass. But now things have got better and I have gradually replaced my collection, all but a ricky bass, the prices are outrageous and Rickenbacker are not to blame, all this talk about having to wait years for delivery for new stock, what a load of rubbish, its retailers with their false perception of value of both new and second user items that’s causing the problem’s and this has stagnated the second hand market to. I have spent an hour or so for about a year now looking for a fireglow 4003 on ebay and what do I see the same old basses, brand new being listed over and over again and never selling I checked the serial numbers of these so called new basses and some of them are five and six years old surely that must indicate to the shopkeepers that the market price is just to high! It’s just the same with the private sellers relisting the same bass month after month for £1500 second hand bye it now. Some get so embarrassed when their “investment probably never been out the box” doesn’t get a bid and they withdraw it saying sold else ware, only to relist change the photos etc a few weeks later.
[/quote]

This is because RIC control all their dealers, they don't make enough basses to supply demand, because it keeps the price artificially inflated. Sell at a discount and you lose the dealership. Keeps the brand mystique there so they can sell style because its cheaper to make than substance.

[gsgbass]

I just picked up a 2012, 4003. I never really took the time to play one, and really closely look one over until recently. My Fender Precision played well, but I liked the sounds, and the feel of the 4003 better. This was made the first week of Sept., 2012.

Edited November 10, 2012 by gsgbass

[mickthebass]

[quote name='gsgbass' timestamp='1352517799' post='1864210']
I just picked up a 2012, 4003. I never really took the time to play one, and really closely look one over until recently. My Fender Precision played well, but I liked the sounds, and the feel of the 4003 better. This was made the first week of Sept., 2012.


[/quote]
Looks absolutely fabulous, can I ask what you paid it? It was brand new at that age I take it? Hope you have as much joy as most owners say they have.
Mick The Bass A.K.A. The Tube Dude, That just in case you need help with a tube amp.

[Cairobill]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1352328653' post='1861913']
This is because RIC control all their dealers, they don't make enough basses to supply demand, because it keeps the price artificially inflated. Sell at a discount and you lose the dealership. Keeps the brand mystique there so they can sell style because its cheaper to make than substance.
[/quote]

So what exactly is a bass of substance?

[Mr. Foxen]

My main one is pretty much as good as could possibly be for the price.

[Norris]

I wish I could afford one, but prices are stupidly high and likely to stay that way. My first 'proper' bass was a lovely midnight blue 4001. Having part-exchanged it for next to nothing many decades ago, I'm still kicking myself now.