NBD: My first ever Rickenbacker

[Maude]

21 minutes ago, luckman67 said:

The Greco & Fernandes  Ric clones have, their name in the Rickenbacker style script. The one annoying thing that the clones do as good as the real 4001 & 4003 basses, is the dreaded tail lift.

 

Mine had tail lift and I much prefer heavy strings so something had to be done. I figured as the bridge was 'knackered' and would need replacing to use heavy strings then there was no harm in butchering it. I drilled two holes through the big rear flat area (OK slightly curved for the pendants 😉), countersunk them and put a pair of stainless steel screws through and pulled the tail down flush. It's been perfect for five years now. 

Rickenbacker started doing this themselves I believe, although somewhat more elegantly. 

[BlueMoon]

40 minutes ago, Maude said:

Rickenbacker started doing this themselves I believe, although somewhat more elegantly.

And all the while Rickenbacker refused to admit that tail lift on the classic tail piece was a problem. Fast forward and you have the Version 2 tail piece that eliminates the problem, but gives you a higher achievable action!

[luckman67]

1 hour ago, prowla said:

I can see that’s a faker from the one photo, without taking the TRC off. 
The faker truss-rods had different adjusters, so having two wasn’t necessarily the tell anyway. 

The machineheads on the Greco stick out more than the original. Plus there is a small pinstripe by the bin ding as well.

[prowla]

2 hours ago, BlueMoon said:

And all the while Rickenbacker refused to admit that tail lift on the classic tail piece was a problem. Fast forward and you have the Version 2 tail piece that eliminates the problem, but gives you a higher achievable action!

Yep - I put one on a 2010 4003 and couldn't get it low enough, so I reverted to the original V1.

[prowla]

3 hours ago, Maude said:

 

Yes, I realise all of that. But you'll be the first to admit you'd rather see a genuine TRC on a faker rather than a Rickenbacker one. As it is definitely a Matsumoku build and all the information I have is that it was in originally branded Aria, and I have a Rickenbacker and Rickenbastard TRC to hand, what TRC would you opt for? There's a only one of those four that it could possibly left the factory with, or would you choose a different brand name that Matsumoku built for completely randomly. 

Leaving it off is not a an option either for aesthetic reasons. 

 

I completely understand that a brand name on most Japanese fakers is irrelevant as all you can be sure of, once the TRC is gone, is which factory made it but I've gotta to pick something. 

I'd give more creedence to one which had its original brand.

You could go with Aria, based on your info, but the identical bass could have left the factory with one of several other brands and we'll (sorry - royal "we" sounds pompus!) never know.

The Rickenbastard is an option for Lemmy fans.

Or you could choose one with anything you like on it!

I've had a couple with TRCs by GIG.INK...

 

[Norris]

I printed my own and laminated it

 

 

It's a genuine Ric too (as the trc says 😂). The original is in a drawer somewhere

[HeadlessBassist]

On 30/09/2025 at 12:53, Pow_22 said:

So I've been pretty much a full time P bass/flats player since i started in bands.  Ive had a few flirts with Jazzes and once upon a time a burns bison bass but always come back to the P.  Over the years I've had a few basses I've always loved the look of a few others (i still think a Spector Euro in Gloss Black and gold hardware is one of the best looking basses) and had mixed reactions when finally getting hold of them.  Now, my main 'always wanted' bass is an original Ric 4005 but finances just cant justify even the reissues but i developed a ric itch.  Fast forward to last week and my daily trawl of the usual sites took me to Bass Bros where the had a few ricks in.  I love fireglo but to me the newer ones have a sort of 'washed out' or 'bleached' look.  Then i saw it - a 1998 Ric 4003 with just the right mojo and for what i thought was a reasonable price - i had to have it!  Today, after being ordered late Friday evening she showed up in her rickenbacker hard case and she looks absolutely glorious.  After years of P's ill need time to adjust and ill need to get her off to the fixers for a set up with my usual strings when they are in stock but here's a few teaser pics in the meantime.

 

Congrats Pow - I remember talking to you in the status updates a few days ago re this bass. It really is lovely. Hope you're settling in well with it. You mentioned one thing that really is important when getting a new instrument. Always swap it to your usual favourite strings asap, as that always gives you a proper impression of how it plays and sounds. As I told you, I've been hanging my nose over Rickenbackers for a while now...  

[Skybone]

10 hours ago, HeadlessBassist said:

 

Congrats Pow - I remember talking to you in the status updates a few days ago re this bass. It really is lovely. Hope you're settling in well with it. You mentioned one thing that really is important when getting a new instrument. Always swap it to your usual favourite strings asap, as that always gives you a proper impression of how it plays and sounds. As I told you, I've been hanging my nose over Rickenbackers for a while now...  

 

Another thing I've noticed about mine (old & current), is that they seem to be quite finicky about strings.

 

I've had to try a few different brands before finding some that my bass seemed to sing with (D'Addario ProSteel), all the others just seemed a bit lacklustre in comparison. It may be a case of trying a bunch of different brands and finding the right set for your bass.