Advice on custom Rickenbacker bolt on style build

[Gilmourisgod]

I’ve built two, but they are traditional Ric shaped bodies, not Jazz. The builds are in LC under The Hossenfeffer Build and the Hossenfeffer II Build. Just started a Lemmy 4004LK tribute build under The Hossenfeffer IV Build. Also check out builds by @ctmullins and @mapleglo.

 

[smtp4me]

I would build a hard maple neck-thru neck blank at 33.25" scale, use authentic Ric pickups and controls, Ric string spacing, mount the pickups in the Ric locations and then just shape the neck profile and body wings to what feels comfortable.
I would also do a single DA truss rod and add a volute.

^^^ This. Exactly this.

 

[Jay2U]

I fully understand that the sound of a rick has a lot to do with the wood and design

The tone of a solid body bass is in the pickups, their placement and the quality of the construction.

 

[RichterScale]

The tone of a solid body bass is in the pickups, their placement and the quality of the construction.

This is very true.
The physical characteristics of the frame between the anchor points of the strings plays a big role too. Stiffness, density, etc.
Just like strings would vibrate/sound different if you anchored them to either end of a steel pole, than they would if you anchored them to either end of a willow pole of the same dimensions. It's the physical characteristics of the frame and not so much simply due to the species or color of the wood.
I think that's where the confusion lies with what types of wood affect "tone". There's no inherent sound ascribed to any species.
The finished product and how it's constructed is what determines how the strings behave and what the pickup tranduces.

 

[Jay2U]

This is very true.
The physical characteristics of the frame between the anchor points of the strings plays a big role too. Stiffness, density, etc.
Just like strings would vibrate/sound different if you anchored them to either end of a steel pole, than they would if you anchored them to either end of a willow pole of the same dimensions. It's the physical characteristics of the frame and not so much simply due to the species or color of the wood.
I think that's where the confusion lies with what types of wood affect "tone". There's no inherent sound ascribed to any species.
The finished product and how it's constructed is what determines how the strings behave and what the pickup tranduces.

So true!

 

[RichterScale]

That's how I've come to understand it.
And until someone proves otherwise, that's the story I'm sticking with.

 

[selmerzodiac]

Im looking at the basses you all are building and im just totally blown away at what you are doing. Its so much for me to digest, but im getting lots of great ideas, and realizing how much I dont know! I can see how building basses can turn into an obsession/addiction!

I cant stop thinking about how I have a bass that just feels dead on perfect in my hands and that it might actually be possible to duplicate the feel of that bass in another one with something closer to the rick sound. This is a very exciting prospect for me! In the meantime I will be checking in on the new 4003sw even though my pickups have already been paid for.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

The challenge with Rics is actually finding one for sale, in stock, that you can play in person. There’s only one store in the Boston area, for instance, that ever has any in the store. Most are pre-sold from a waiting list before they ever make it to the floor. I saw one in GC about a year ago, which was mysterious, since Ric dropped GC as an authorized dealer several years ago.

 

[Max Bogosity]

I don't think I've ever actually seen a Rickenbacker in a store. Closest was an El Degas 'Degasrocker'.

 

[selmerzodiac]

Ok, you weren't kidding! impossible to find them around here. 2 at mr. music, but not the ones I would want to buy. Such a bummer!