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Am I crazy? (Rick 4003/Fender Jazz question)

Am I crazy?

  • Yep

    Votes: 67 35.6%

  • Nope

    Votes: 63 33.5%

  • herp derp

    Votes: 58 30.9%
  • Total voters
    188
paganjack

paganjack

Dec 25, 2007
2,131
22
Los Angeles, CA
#1
Last year I got my long-time dream bass, a blue Rick 4003. It plays great, feels good in my hands and looks AMAZING. However I am constantly struggling with it sonically.

It just doesn't fit in the mix for anything but hard rock/metal. It's sonic footprint is just too big- it's always too muddy or too cutting. I love the top end but the mid balance just seems off, like it smothers the kick drum and guitar simultaneously (with the bridge pup) or it is a boomy inarticulate mess (with the neck). Even recorded it takes so much more finagling to get it to blend right, at least with fingerstyle playing. With a pick it's great but I hardly ever do that.

So...I am considering selling it this summer and getting a jazz bass again. I just played a jazz again and it sounded much more "right" to me- it sits above the kick drum, below the guitars with a nice little top-end sizzle.

Rick owners, is there a nice EQ setup that helps you? Ever felt the same way? Or am I just crazy?
 
#5
Not crazy at all, you like what you like and you know it...which is a good thing!

I'm a J bass guy too. For me for with a Ric, it's all about the strings. I go for a mean hard rock type of tone, so SS strings are the way to go. If I wanted to mellow it out a bit I'd lower the pickups a little and try some nickel strings or even flats.
 
#8
I used to own a 4003 and I had pretty much the same problem with its tonal character. I really loved that "signature" Ric tone, but it occupied too much of the mid-range territory in a band setting. I took it to practice exactly once... After that, I left the Ric at home and went back to the Jazz bass (everybody was much happier).

I tried different strings, every pickup setting you can imagine, different amp settings, etc. I couldn't get any other tone out of it that I found pleasing. If you have too much bridge pickup, it sounds weak and thin. Too much of the neck pickup and it's mud city...

I used to dime both of the pickups and then roll back just a bit on the neck pickup. That really made the tone open up. But if I deviated much from that, it sounded terrible (IMO). I eventually sold that Ric for that and a number of other reasons.
 
#10
I have never liked a ric in a recording (to my knowledge) and I have never found a sound I liked with them (within my limited time with them)

They may have sounds that 'fit' in plenty of genres, but I have yet to hear a ric that sounds anyway other than 'sounds just like a Rickenbacker'

I don't care for the sound, and you certainly are not crazy for feeling the same way. screw pretending strings and masturbatory EQ troubleshooting will magically just make it sound good to you
 
#16
I agree with the OP; I've picked up and tried to get Rick's to fit into the wide variety of styles I'll dabble/play but they seem to have their specific place. Ricks' are a well crafted and unique instruments, but to me the jazz bass is a more well rounded player. My vote is get the jazz, or keep the Rick and get a jazz if financially feasible!!!
 
#17
paganjack said:
Last year I got my long-time dream bass, a blue Rick 4003. It plays great, feels good in my hands and looks AMAZING. However I am constantly struggling with it sonically.

It just doesn't fit in the mix for anything but hard rock/metal. It's sonic footprint is just too big- it's always too muddy or too cutting. I love the top end but the mid balance just seems off, like it smothers the kick drum and guitar simultaneously (with the bridge pup) or it is a boomy inarticulate mess (with the neck). Even recorded it takes so much more finagling to get it to blend right, at least with fingerstyle playing. With a pick it's great but I hardly ever do that.

So...I am considering selling it this summer and getting a jazz bass again. I just played a jazz again and it sounded much more "right" to me- it sits above the kick drum, below the guitars with a nice little top-end sizzle.

Rick owners, is there a nice EQ setup that helps you? Ever felt the same way? Or am I just crazy?
Click to expand...

Nope, you nailed it. It's often a nasty surprise for guys who GAS and GAS for a Rick but when they get it home and start trying to actually use it.... well, you now know the rest of the story. I gigged for about a decade with 2 Ricks and spent the entire time trying to get rid of them for exactly the reasons you cite here lol (most of my gigging was in Austin, TX so I never made a dime).

Fortunately, unlike when I was gigging, their resale is very good so first order of business would be to get rid of it.

If you want to work with it a bit, there are some adjustments you can make that will help get a little better pop out of it and make it sit in a mix better. A couple things I've tried over the years:

- add a ramp right in front of the bridge and pluck there, right behind the bridge PU. The Rick is a 33" scale bass so the "tight spot" for plucking is actually a bit behind the bridge PU.
- raise the action just a hair bit
- turn the tone knob on the bridge PU all the way off to cut the treble.
- use lots of very agressive compression, like a Boss CS-3 with the attack knob all the way up and the sustain at 3 o'clock or higher.
- enable the mute (tho this can really aggravate a "washtub bass" tone so you'll have to play with it).

This can help get a better tone out of it and helps with the "runny" sound you normally get. If you can find a fretless model that should help even more (but good luck).

PS: here's a picture of my ramp added to my current 4003, one that I made a few years back and put on with velcro the other day just for grins. It helps a little bit. These are easy to make with spare lumber and a radius block or electric belt sander....

LS
 

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#18
To the Op,if you aren't satisfied with it after working with it for a year,it's time to move on. Personally,i think Ric's have a lot more sonic "personality" than a J-bass,and i have the opposite problem,i can't seem to find a j bass that i want to keep. (I have 3 Ric basses,none of them a 4003,btw). Ric basses are not at all hard to get a number of great sounds out of,and you don't mention what amp,effects,etc you are using. I use a markbass with all controls set flat,and a VT pedal with a bit of grind and drive dialed in. The good thing is you will probably not lose any money selling the Ric. I just sold 2 j basses on ebay and lost $$.
 
#19
Unclejane - Thanks for that post! I'll try using more compression. I play out of a tube amp so I get some on that end but I have the mxr comp (rarely use it though). I installed a bezel on the bridge pup so I usually play down there.

I appreciate the thoughts in this thread! I'm not ready to give up the Rick yet because of its many excellent attributes but if I can scrounge up $ for a jazz this summer I am probably going to.
 
#20
Ricks are good, but they might not be good for you.

I will make a clumsy analogy here. My father has always driven Volkswagen cars. I learned to drive on his Jetta a few years back. He loves them, they are solidly built and they get the job done. However, if I was sitting in city traffic my foot might get pretty cross sitting on that stiff clutch all the time. My teacher's car was a Ford with a feather-light clutch by comparison. So the VW was the right car, but it could be for the wrong job....
 

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