Please tell me why I should avoid getting a Rickenbacker!

[4000 576]

These are my old ‘91 CS, my old ‘73 4000 which I really wish I still had and my main ‘72, plus pics of my current 2 (the main ‘72 again and my Azure ‘72).

 

Edited October 30 by 4000

[mr zed 137]

1 hour ago, prowla said:

It had a zero-mod fitted, if you recall from a couple of years back. 

I'm thinking about getting a zero mod thumb rest thingy for my 2018 4003S. I stuck a post in the items wanted section a couple of days ago and it's had 6 views lol. Are they a worthwhile addition (I usually play my Pic aggressively with a pick as that is what they are for but it's nice to have the option). if anyone has one they no longer need please send me a PM. (sorry for the thread hijack but I did try to dress it up as a discussion point  😷

[Al Krow 2,764]

54 minutes ago, 4000 said:

I’ve had all 3. The Ric growl is IMO very different to the others IMO, but the construction and pickup placement are also very different. I’ve always found with the Ibbys and Warwicks I have to really boost the lows and mids to get what I want out of them, although it is a good sound. 

Interesting to get your thoughts on that. On an Ibby it's pretty easy to boost the lows (just a touch in my case) and mids using the on board 3 band EQ and mid-point-centre selector switch.

The Ibby, tbf, is IMO soooo much more comfortable to play than a Ric with its fast neck and lightweight body, but obviously less iconic!  

[4000 576]

2 hours ago, Al Krow said:

Interesting to get your thoughts on that. On an Ibby it's pretty easy to boost the lows (just a touch in my case) and mids using the on board 3 band EQ and mid-point-centre selector switch.

The Ibby, tbf, is IMO soooo much more comfortable to play than a Ric with its fast neck and lightweight body, but obviously less iconic!  

Yeah, the onboard eq is very useful for that. I play mainly with a plectrum and found I had to boost the onboard lows and mids almost fully to get any beef. Same with Warwicks. 

Actually, the reason I sold my Ibby SR (a Ltd edition buckeye Burl 5 string) was because I found the body shape uncomfortable! I keep toying with getting another SR but the truth is the body shape hurts my arm. I had the same problem with my Ric 4004. As I’ve said elsewhere, for me the Ric is the most comfortable bass out there. I have nerve problems in my right arm that are aggravated by almost everything else. 

FWIW my Rics have necks every bit as nice as the Ibbys IMO. The ‘72 necks are different than later necks, comparatively wide and flat feeling.

This was my 4004:

 

[4000 576]

My Ibby was the same as this, although this wasn’t mine:

 

[4000 576]

And this is me playing my main bass in the studio recently:

 

Edited October 30 by 4000

[Al Krow 2,764]

Handsome bass!

But 5 strings and 24 frets is defo more my cup of tea these days, which I'm fortunate that my herd largely offer. In fact, my Ibby Portamento offers 5 strings and a very accessible THIRTY fret range, which is ridiculous right?

Just reminded myself why I'm still lacking a Ric 😉

[4000 576]

The Ibby was my last dabble with more than 4 strings; because of my tonal requirements the only 5 I think I’d consider now is a Ric, although the 16.5mm spacing of the Ibby 5s matches two of my three 4 strings. I prefer 16.5mm spacing. 

I really, really like Ibby SRs though, comfort issues aside. I’d be quite happy to have a bunch of them, assuming I could get round the body shape thing. They’re great value for money, play well, sound good and look nice, and the low weight of most of them is a big plus (although to be fair my 5 wasn’t much different weight-wise than my Rics).

Edited October 30 by 4000

[Sarlscharisma 19]

Can't comment on Warwicks or Ibbys but the Jazz growl is often cited - the 4003 Ric growl is so different to that and I have not heard anything to compare it too.  I also have a Ric 3000 which doesn't have that growl at all.

[prowla 522]

4 hours ago, 4000 said:

Think it was advertised on eBay by the same seller. May not be the same bass but the fingerboard looks familiar. Is this yours?:

Nope, that’s not mine. The seller did have another one going not long after mine. Out Wiltshire way, I recall. 

[madshadows 54]

These recent posts are giving me Rickenbacker gas !!  😛

 

John 😎

[Meddle 363]

My 2009 Rickenbacker 4003 is blasphemous. The finish on the body, neck and fretboard is stripped and I've refinished it using a Danish Oil mix (and some light staining to make the figuring pop in the maple). The pickguard is matte acrylic, and I cut it myself using a design blended from the stock pickguard and a '70s pickguard. 

I built my own wiring harness for it, recycling the 'vintage' capacitor as a treble bleed on the bridge volume control. The pickups are JBE Joe Bardens (expensive...) and I fitted a Tubeampology bezel as well. The base of the bridge pickup is a Retrovibe unit.

The Bardens give it a solid, sure-footedness in the low mids that the stock pickups don't deliver. Mids seem to get absorbed by the maple. Rickenbackers sound great, but they make a sub-sonic rumble and a stinging treble sizzle, and both can go missing in a complex band mix unless you turn the bass up to 11 (ala Chris Squire). 

My Rick can just about keep up with my Fenders. It is less ergonomically friendly, arguably more fragile, less easy to work on, finicky, fiddly... but it is a Rick! Nothing sounds like a Rickenbacker. 

 

Lastly, I made my own brass nut for it from a block of brass.

[4000 576]

2 hours ago, prowla said:

Nope, that’s not mine. The seller did have another one going not long after mine. Out Wiltshire way, I recall. 

Nice bass either way (both of them)!

Edit: I’ve just looked again at yours and so far as I can tell the finger boards look identical, even down to the dark mark at the 12th fret. Weird!

Edited October 30 by 4000

[4000 576]

33 minutes ago, Meddle said:

My 2009 Rickenbacker 4003 is blasphemous. The finish on the body, neck and fretboard is stripped and I've refinished it using a Danish Oil mix (and some light staining to make the figuring pop in the maple). The pickguard is matte acrylic, and I cut it myself using a design blended from the stock pickguard and a '70s pickguard. 

I built my own wiring harness for it, recycling the 'vintage' capacitor as a treble bleed on the bridge volume control. The pickups are JBE Joe Bardens (expensive...) and I fitted a Tubeampology bezel as well. The base of the bridge pickup is a Retrovibe unit.

The Bardens give it a solid, sure-footedness in the low mids that the stock pickups don't deliver. Mids seem to get absorbed by the maple. Rickenbackers sound great, but they make a sub-sonic rumble and a stinging treble sizzle, and both can go missing in a complex band mix unless you turn the bass up to 11 (ala Chris Squire). 

My Rick can just about keep up with my Fenders. It is less ergonomically friendly, arguably more fragile, less easy to work on, finicky, fiddly... but it is a Rick! Nothing sounds like a Rickenbacker. 

 

Lastly, I made my own brass nut for it from a block of brass.

I’d quite like to try a set of Bardens, but it’s an expensive experiment if they don’t suit. My 2nd CS came with a SD bridge pickup (which I replaced) and I hated that pickup.

Of course one other way to add mids is to back off one or the other of the pickups slightly. Jazzes also have that mid scoop with both pickups full on.

Edited October 30 by 4000

[Jus Lukin 1,386]

I'd like to try the Bardens, too. Quite steep though, and I'd need another Ric to try them in as I like the stock sound enough to want that as well!

[4000 576]

Just now, Jus Lukin said:

I'd like to try the Bardens, too. Quite steep though, and I'd need another Ric to try them in as I like the stock sound enough to want that as well!

Oh, they wouldn’t go in my vintage basses, but I have a custom Ric that it’d be interesting to try them in. But I’m unlikely to buy any any time soon.

[Meddle 363]

3 minutes ago, Jus Lukin said:

I'd like to try the Bardens, too. Quite steep though, and I'd need another Ric to try them in as I like the stock sound enough to want that as well!

I scraped back a bit of the money by selling the stock pickups, so there is always that! 

[prowla 522]

1 hour ago, 4000 said:

Nice bass either way (both of them)!

Edit: I’ve just looked again at yours and so far as I can tell the finger boards look identical, even down to the dark mark at the 12th fret. Weird!

Mine's got the couple of battle scars from the (not-so-)zero-mod.

[4000 576]

20 hours ago, prowla said:

Mine's got the couple of battle scars from the (not-so-)zero-mod.

Ouch!

Serial number on the other is 12(?) 51021. How close is it to yours, given the fingerboard similarity? 

 

[prowla 522]

45 minutes ago, 4000 said:

Ouch!

Serial number on the other is 12(?) 51021. How close is it to yours, given the fingerboard similarity? 

 

Oh - that is it!

12 51021

11/10 for spotting that!!!

I bought it just over a year ago (Oct 2018).

Edited October 31 by prowla

[4000 576]

1 hour ago, prowla said:

Oh - that is it!

12 51021

11/10 for spotting that!!!

I bought it just over a year ago (Oct 2018).

Ah, what a coincidence! Must’ve been you beat me to it. I was dithering as a consequence of my anxiety, which was very bad at the time. 

Actually, that begs a question, on the pictures it looks like the rear upper bout has a slight forearm chamfer. Is that actually the case, or is it just an optical illusion? I have seen some Laredos with the chamfer, but most of the 4004s seem not to have it, they just have that very small chamfer round the edge of the body, which is the bit I didn’t get on with on mine, hence why I sold it.

[prowla 522]

There's the s/n.

The upper body edge.

And again...

It seems to give the impression of being a bit more substantial than a 4003, partly due to the quality and smoothness of that finish.

Due to the "zero-mod" holes (you can just see one above the treble pickup), I've been thinking about having it refinished; I might do something subtle, like have a two tone metallic which goes from that blue to black.

[4000 576]

Yep, it does seem to have a subtle chamfer. Interesting.

A two tone finish sounds cool, although I do love the colour as is, but I understand re the holes. Did you get it new or did it have the holes when you got it? If it did you must have bought it after I was looking at it because it didn’t have them then.

[artisan 161]

Just done my first gig with my Rickenbacker on Saturday night & am exceedingly happy with it,my P bass is now relegated to backup duties.

The Rick is so much easier to play & really fills out the band's low end with masses of punch,the whole band mentioned it.

I even had a couple of punters mention how good it sounds & also how cool it looked too.

[prowla 522]

On 01/11/2019 at 21:57, 4000 said:

Yep, it does seem to have a subtle chamfer. Interesting.

A two tone finish sounds cool, although I do love the colour as is, but I understand re the holes. Did you get it new or did it have the holes when you got it? If it did you must have bought it after I was looking at it because it didn’t have them then.

It was 3rd hand when I got it. 
I took off the zero-mod. (I tried it on a 4003 but didn’t like it.)