8 string ric

[sonic assassin]

http://cgi.ebay.com/1988-Rickenback...oryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

i had no idea this was ever made. amazing

 

[Wicked_Bassist7]

Me either, that's quite the find!

 

[lousybassplayer]

oh yes, Rick has a long history with 8s. They sound amazing. And if i could get it for the current bid id take my chances with the neck problems. They are pretty rare. Are you considerng it or just mentioning?

 

[jaywa]

Didn't John Entwistle used to have/play one of these back in the day? I know he did some stuff with 8-strings (more solo than with The Who), but just not sure if he used a Rick or I am thinking of someone else.

Not sure there are a lot of musical applications for an axe like this but it would be a great one "just to have".

 

[RickenBoogie]

I've always wanted one, never seen one up close. Rare indeed.

 

[Geddyfleaharris]

Rare for sure. I thought I remember reading something about neck problems with them though. Something along the lines of the fretboard actually separating from the neck. I might wrong on that....

 

[yodedude2]

it looks like each course (pair) of strings shares a saddle...i expect the intonation issues of that design would drive me nuts. later, ron

 

[rekesbass]

I used to own a 4008...Great soundong bass,the ric tone suits 8 strings very well.The neck is quite stable,never had a prob with mine(and thats before the 4003s8 w\the newer truss rods)..Problems usually come from people not knowing how to deal with the old truss rod system. As far as intonation goes,it's not bad...not perfect but,not bad.I used to tune the low strings open(with a tuner) and the octave string fretted(5th fret),that worked pretty well.Some notes were not perfect but not grossly out of tune,almost a chourus type effect that was kinda cool..It's the only bass I ever regret selling..

 

[jaywa]

You're never going to get all the strings of an 8-string bass in perfect tune, that's how you get the natural chorus effect that gives it its signature sound.

 

[RED5]

Didn't John Entwistle used to have/play one of these back in the day? I know he did some stuff with 8-strings (more solo than with The Who), but just not sure if he used a Rick or I am thinking of someone else.

Not sure there are a lot of musical applications for an axe like this but it would be a great one "just to have".[/Q

JE had one of two proto's in his collection. The other went to Chris Squire. They had possibly the ugliest headstock treatments known to man. See "Bass Culture" the book on his collection.

 

[jaywa]

IIRC a guy named Joey DiMaio from an 80s metal band called Manowar played 8s as well and I think they were Ricks.

That guy was a monster player, and with a pick.

 

[lousybassplayer]

Joey Dimaio played a bunch of stuff and pretty well IMO. Not sure about a Rick, but I believe this bears investigation. I hope so!

 

[Fealach]

Would it have killed them to base their 5 and 8 string basses on the regular 4001/4003 instead of the "S" version? Apparently.

 

[lousybassplayer]

Would it have killed them to base their 5 and 8 string basses on the regular 4001/4003 instead of the "S" version? Apparently.

The 4008 was I believe, but the 4003S8 came later on. Any uber rick experts that can verify?

 

[rekesbass]

The 4008 had no binding and dot's just like the 4003s8.

 

[lousybassplayer]

wasn't sure. don't have either

 

[hieronymous]

I know this is an old thread, but I wanted to clarify a couple of things about the 4008 (I have owned one, since sold).

Unlike the 4003S/8, which is basically an S model, the 4008 is somewhere in between - although the body has no binding, the neck does! But although the neck is bound, it has dots instead of shark fin inlays. The 4008 was also equipped with Ric-O-Sound. So it isn't really like a 4001/4003 or 4003S - it is somewhere in between.

Perhaps the most important difference between the 4003S/8 and the 4008 is that the 4008 had the octave string on top (like most 8-strings?), whereas the 4003S/8 has the bass string on top. One thing I have heard, though, is that the reason that all the tuning machines are the same size is so that one can reverse the string order without too much difficulty (requiring a new nut and bridge saddles of course).