The Rickenbacker Club Part Seven

[shadven]

Originally Posted by OrphicTrench

Also, a collector that doesn't even play?? What the heck is that! A true commodity fetishist!

Yeah, he was a little out there. He is a guy who just collects stuff. He had 3 Corvettes and about 40 other guitars. Right now he is collecting African Masks and wants to sell some guitars so he can buy masks..

[RhynoRock]

lol sounds like a kooky fella, but congrats on your new basses man!

[62Jazzbass]

Originally Posted by Bongolation

It's trying to roughly accommodate the elliptical profile of a vibrating string.


It makes absolutely zero sense. None.

But....it works. When I read it, I went and tweaked my 4003 and the results were great. Lowest action and awesome playabilty, way better than the way I had it set up for years.

[Duke21]

Originally Posted by shadven

Yesterday I bought my first Ric. A 1995 4003 / Jetglo ($1400). It is in mint condition, really not a blemish or fret wear. I used it at a band practice last night and was amazed how easy it was to play and get a great tone out of it. I am a hardcore P-Bass guy, but I want to branch out
I also picked up a 1994 Rickenbacker 360/12 for $1000. It has been sitting in it's case since 1997. They were both owned by a collector who didn't play bass or guitar??? I got them both for $2400. So the 360/12 is for sale. Both have original cases in excellent shape. I am thrilled. IF I sell the guitar for around $1800, I'll have purchased the bass for only 6 or 7 hundred bucks!

the Ric shines in band mix, certainly the newer 4003 with the modern/ vintage switch. Easy to dial a tone on the fly, very versatile bass.

[Rockin Mike]

Originally Posted by 62Jazzbass

But....it works. When I read it, I went and tweaked my 4003 and the results were great. Lowest action and awesome playabilty, way better than the way I had it set up for years.

My Spector looks dead straight to the naked eye, but if you put a capo on the first fret and hold the string down at the last fret, then measure the space at the 12th fret, there actually 1/64" of relief.

So, how are you determining "dead straight" on a Ric neck?

It's possible the relief is built into the fret leveling, that would be different from other makers but it would work.

[Nick901]

Originally Posted by Basstreble

Attachment 312995 Hey I'm a huge McCartney fan! So I've got this British 4001S Fireglow! I'd be honored to be in this group!(P.S. I also have got a few other Ricks but they're guitars��.)

486

Welcome to the club!

[Nick901]

Originally Posted by Rockin Mike

My first Ric since 1979:
Blueburst was the 2005 color of the year but so many were back-ordered that they were still making them years later. Mine was made in 2007, has the push/pull tone knob and a fairly skinny neck. Hardly used, mint condition, the serial number is not even scratched on the jack plate! Paid $2295 with OSHC after talking the seller down $200 over a little tail lift. I'm happy!

It's not a great pic but hopefully I can get some better ones this weekend.
May I have a number for the club?

487

Welcome to the club!

[Nick901]

Originally Posted by OrphicTrench

Do you guys still give up numbers? Do you think you can give me a little one for my newly acquired '79 Ric? I ordered a black PG and then I sent it to my local luthier for a fret leveling and full calibration, so yeah, it's been almost a month since I got it but now that it's just like I wanted I feel like showing it to the world. Do you think I can join the club?

488

Welcome to the club!

[speak2planets]

So this is my newly acquired '74 4001 in Burgandyglo. I got her off a fellow TB'er and he took amazing care of her cause she is in fantastic shape. She even has the red side dots which I've never seen before. Could I get a number please???

[Turlu]

I am a big Rickenbacker fan and has been for years.

As a company with so much tradition and history, I will be honest that I have never seen a CEO of a company at a major trade show saying 'As a Rickenbacker tradition at the NAMM show we have absolutely nothing new' !!!! Any other company out there in any area ( except Heinz Ketchup maybe !!! ) would die fairly quickly by saying that ! It shows that the designs which have been produced for so many years have been well thought of and the the fans of these guitars have been there all of those years !!! Or, you can interpret it in a different way. No matter what, Ric is still alive and kicking and still manufactures his guitars and basses in the USA and is a debt-free company.

video here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-U6oUOjm29Q

[BassGen]

Originally Posted by speak2planets

So this is my newly acquired '74 4001 in Burgandyglo. I got her off a fellow TB'er and he took amazing care of her cause she is in fantastic shape. She even has the red side dots which I've never seen before. Could I get a number please???

Did you buy the bass to match the room or paint the room to match the bass? nice color btw. Our dining room is close to that colour.

[Jazz4]

Can I get a # please. Oct. '84 4003.

[speak2planets]

Originally Posted by BassGen

Did you buy the bass to match the room or paint the room to match the bass? nice color btw. Our dining room is close to that colour.

I think I just got lucky. Now the only place I play is in my kitchen

[shadven]

Man, this 4003 is messing with my head. I have been a loyal, hard working P-bass guy for decades. On a whim I bought this 1995 4003, and it is messing with my belief system. It is so easy to play, can cut through the mix (in my mid-tonie way) as good as my P-basses can. It is versatile like nobody's business. I was thinking when I got it I'd use for some of trebly Chris Squire pick oriented stuff, maybe some Beatles. But, no it works for everything and plays like a dream and feels as rugged and abuse-able as any of my vintage Fenders do. ***? My world has been turned upside down. Don't tell me there is no Santa Clause too?

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by shadven

Man, this 4003 is messing with my head. I have been a loyal, hard working P-bass guy for decades. On a whim I bought this 1995 4003, and it is messing with my belief system. It is so easy to play, can cut through the mix (in my mid-tonie way) as good as my P-basses can. It is versatile like nobody's business. I was thinking when I got it I'd use for some of trebly Chris Squire pick oriented stuff, maybe some Beatles. But, no it works for everything and plays like a dream and feels as rugged and abuse-able as any of my vintage Fenders do. ***? My world has been turned upside down. Don't tell me there is no Santa Clause too?

Ha-ha-ha-ha-ha! You can't fool me. There ain't no Sanity Clause!

What you are feeling is what a lot of us have known for decades, really. Enjoy (you obviously are) your Rick.

[Duke21]

Originally Posted by shadven

Man, this 4003 is messing with my head. I have been a loyal, hard working P-bass guy for decades. On a whim I bought this 1995 4003, and it is messing with my belief system. It is so easy to play, can cut through the mix (in my mid-tonie way) as good as my P-basses can. It is versatile like nobody's business. I was thinking when I got it I'd use for some of trebly Chris Squire pick oriented stuff, maybe some Beatles. But, no it works for everything and plays like a dream and feels as rugged and abuse-able as any of my vintage Fenders do. ***? My world has been turned upside down. Don't tell me there is no Santa Clause too?

Just relax and play the Ric. The P bass will hang on the wall and will become a vintage bass after a while...

[willsellout]

Do any of you drop tune your Ric? I'm looking to try to use my Ric in my current project which requires a low C. What gauge strings do you guys use, if you do drop tune? Advice?

[Sartori]

Drop tune or down tune?

Drop tuning refers specifically to tuning the lowest string a 5th below the next lowest, instead of the normal 4th.

I don't have my Rickenbacker in a low tuning, but I do have another bass tuned down to B. I just use the bottom four strings from a five string set, I can't remember off the top of my head what gauge the B is, probably .130 or something. What gauge you use really depends on how tight/floppy you want the strings. For low C I'd probably use .125 or so.

I've heard several people use Circle K strings on down tuned Rickenbackers.

[willsellout]

Originally Posted by Sartori

Drop tune or down tune?

Drop tuning refers specifically to tuning the lowest string a 5th below the next lowest, instead of the normal 4th.

I don't have my Rickenbacker in a low tuning, but I do have another bass tuned down to B. I just use the bottom four strings from a five string set, I can't remember off the top of my head what gauge the B is, probably .130 or something. What gauge you use really depends on how tight/floppy you want the strings. For low C I'd probably use .125 or so.

I've heard several people use Circle K strings on down tuned Rickenbackers.

I'd be looking at Drop C or tuning it BEAD. Probably BEAD. Circle K was my first choice as well.

[Sartori]

BEAD is pretty easy for me because it's just the bottom four strings of a five string set, so finding a starting point for gauges is simple.