Jump to content
Why become a member? ×

THIS IS GOING TO CAUSE MUCH HYSTERIA..


12stringbassist

Recommended Posts

Strange really, from my own point of view, as a friend of mine recorded a fantastic jazz/rock album in the 80's ( i still have it ) and he used a 4003 and the sound was ace. You'd think i would have one

I really hate the look, though. Not a fan of chunky necks either.  I sacked an ex girlfriend for the same problem

  • Haha 3
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, hiram.k.hackenbacker said:

I think they’ve lost the plot personally. 

They look like really bad (Ali-Baba) Chickenbackers.  I'm assuming they're not NAMM prototypes/vanity pieces or anything?

We're drawn to things visually, by association, by memory.  Those are horrific.  If I saw one of those hanging in a shop I think it would be difficult not to laugh out loud.  They look like toys.

I reckon there'll be some hardcore Rickenbacker nuts that'll buy these and retrofit them with stuff to at least make them look like their 4001/4003 brethren.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I'd be very tempted if my finances allowed (which they don't).  I like the look and sound of Rickenbackers, and the slim-bodied proportions (I started on an Ibanez faker), but the daft metalwork and lack of an effective 5-string put me off, and the 4004 loses too much of what I like about the looks IMO.  So this does tick all of the boxes, the walnut model especially. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

47 minutes ago, Jus Lukin said:

I know there's a lot of default Ric hatred here, but I thought that amount of vitriol over a shot of the headstock was pretty bloody minded!

Having now seen the whole thing, it's not my cup of tea- but then neither is the 4004. What they have done, to be fair, is split the difference between the 4003 and 4004 from a visual standpoint. That may be as close as Ric ever get to trying to appeal to a broader market!

Those pickups: Technically there is no reason to house a pickup in anything but the usual rectangle, beyond a bit of a gimmick. However, those ovular Delanos get a pretty good rap, presumably because people tried them and liked them. Visually and sonically, I like the normal Ric pickups, but I am intrigued as to what they've done here, and why. Certainly, I'll reserve judgement as to whether they're any good for when actual reviews start coming in, or even when I've had a chance to try one myself.

This particular model won't shift my desires away from a 4003, but then I like the look, sound, and anachronistic features.

For those who don't, it seems that even dealing with the big ones (pointless Ric O'sound, annoying bridge, annoying bridge pickup mount, uncomfortable binding) isn't enough.

Agree, and compared to the latest range from Fender, Ric are at least being a little different. It's been said before and it'll be said again, most of the people who talk about Rics being crap have either never played one, or only played one that had sat around a shop without being set up, with dead strings etc etc. Get a good Ric, set it up to your liking, learn its idiosyncrasies, and 9/10 you will be a very happy bass player. They've been played by a whole lot more players than is generally believed, and in a lot more genres than those we generally associate them with (watched TOTP from the late 70's the other day and pretty much everyone from punk through prog through disco was playing a 4003). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

These are prototypes (which they will sell for big $, I guess). I think they will see the feedback on the pickup shape and revert to a normal shape, then the world will be happy.

Thank God they have sorted the bridge out.
They need to start offering it on 4 strings, too.

It does amuse me though, when so many people say that Ric don't ever change anything.... and then when they actually DO... :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 minutes ago, 12stringbassist said:

These are prototypes (which they will sell for big $, I guess). I think they will see the feedback on the pickup shape and revert to a normal shape, then the world will be happy.

Thank God they have sorted the bridge out.
They need to start offering it on 4 strings, too.

It does amuse me though, when so many people say that Ric don't ever change anything.... and then when they actually DO... :)

Yep - I think they're kindof cool.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Pickups are a bit unusual, but so were the originals (imagine if they came to market with the horseshoe now). The key thing in this discussion is that as far as I'm aware none of the contributors have played one or even heard one, and they're really the more important factors when it comes to a bass. Those PUPS could be game changers?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

They do look like bad copies. I would also agree, if they had been different basses, not a 4003

7 minutes ago, Beedster said:

The key thing in this discussion is that as far as I'm aware none of the contributors have played one or even heard one, and they're really the more important factors when it comes to a bass. 

Are they? Is that why we all play the same bass?

Edited by Woodinblack
Link to comment
Share on other sites

To clarify my position on Rics why we need to be insulted as to say we've never tried a good one the shoddy frets, shoddy binding,shoddy body colour finish bleeding into the white binding (every blue one I've seen), the shoddy bridge, shoddy sharp body edges, shoddy neck dive, shoddy splits in the head between the laminates, shoddy pickups with shoddy sharp edges has almost put me off trying them but it didn't, I've actual gigged one a couple of times before giving back. 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

4 hours ago, BigRedX said:

Exactly. Surely the whole point of the Rickenbacker bass is that it isn't a clone of a P or J?

BTW before 1980 they'd have been playing a 4001...

I'm surprised you like them, the guy who said he wouldn't buy a 5 string bass that didn't have 2+3 tuners to keep the B and E on the same side giving more room for the smaller strings on the opposite side and a straight string lye, I'd be upset with that Ric5 layout if I'd made it in my shed, you're the first to poo poo Fenders but they've made a much better job of mine. 

20180125_205049.jpg

Edited by stingrayPete1977
Link to comment
Share on other sites

11 hours ago, jonsmith said:

A different bridge too, so they've obviously made an attempt to deal with some of the concerns people had (as voiced above).  Visually, it's not doing it for me though, in fact I think they would have been better doing this on the 4004.

 

ric 5.jpg

Are they trying to win the "ugliest bass ever made" competition contest at the Namm ?

  • Haha 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

I'm surprised you like them, the guy who said he wouldn't buy a 5 string bass that didn't have 2+3 tuners to keep the B and E on the same side giving more room for the smaller strings on the opposite side and a straight string lye, I'd be upset with that Ric5 layout if I'd made it in my shed, you're the first to poo poo Fenders but they've made a much better job of mine. 

20180125_205049.jpg

I think the ric headstock looks poor as that A string tuner is out of line with the others, but the 4/1 of a fender just looks like a last minute afterthought as it was going out the door 'Oh stinky poo guys, we haven't got enough room for the 5th tuner' - 'no worry, just throw it on the other side'.

Couldn't put up with that.

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

2 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

To clarify my position on Rics why we need to be insulted as to say we've never tried a good one the shoddy frets, shoddy binding,shoddy body colour finish bleeding into the white binding (every blue one I've seen), the shoddy bridge, shoddy sharp body edges, shoddy neck dive, shoddy splits in the head between the laminates, shoddy pickups with shoddy sharp edges has almost put me off trying them but it didn't, I've actual gigged one a couple of times before giving back. 

The Rics I've owned have been excellent, high quality instruments.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

20 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

I think the ric headstock looks poor as that A string tuner is out of line with the others, but the 4/1 of a fender just looks like a last minute afterthought as it was going out the door 'Oh stinky poo guys, we haven't got enough room for the 5th tuner' - 'no worry, just throw it on the other side'.

Couldn't put up with that.

 

Yep - I think the 4+1 headstock makes it look like the extra string was an afterthought, which it was.

That' just me, speaking as a Ric owner and other brand 3+2 and 4+1 5-strings too...

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I've got 4 4003's and the only issue i have ever had with mine is with the Midnight Blue finish bleeding into the binding. It stank of paint when I opened the case and while the paint felt fine at the time, it obviously wasn't and I got sticky hands a lot from it.

The discoloured binding wasn't the issue as much as the utter sh*t I got from John Hall for asking about it on forums, including his. The bleed was a known problem. The bass was a total keeper, though and the bleed is just a bit of mojo, I suppose.

I have never had tail lift, bad frets, poor action or anything. The neck pickup is normally set weaker on a 4003 and I wish it wasn't but them's the breaks. I always play with both on and everything set to 10 on the Rics and they just sound great. I'm not a snivelling Ric fanboy. They have made some right dogs, but fortunately, I haven't ever played one.

36869_138052459542469_2190788_n.jpg?oh=6

26814811_1932511053429925_84412236000153

 

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Restore formatting

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...