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An issue with Rickenbacker
- Thread starter jazzman64
- Start date
So, to summarize this thread, Rickenbackers are bad because:
1) the finish warranty is a joke;
2) they retain their resale price;
3) some people got kicked out of their FB page for being opinionated;
4) they cost about the same as a US Fender;
5) Rick owners are all elitists and/or collectors;
6) they don't offer an overseas model;
7) John Hall likes polo and is grumpy;
8) Glenn Hughes or Geezer Butler don't like Rickenbackers (?);
9) they built Al Cisneros a limited run signature model;
10) they wouldn't build undermine the value of the Chris Squier limited run by reissuing the lactationglo finish;
11) they changed some features;
12) they left some features the same;
13) the poster heard some unsubstantiated bad things;
14) they come with stickers, which make the instrument bad if you take them off and bad if you leave them on.
15) oil finished ones can develop fret sprout in dry climates.
Am I missing anything?
1) the finish warranty is a joke;
2) they retain their resale price;
3) some people got kicked out of their FB page for being opinionated;
4) they cost about the same as a US Fender;
5) Rick owners are all elitists and/or collectors;
6) they don't offer an overseas model;
7) John Hall likes polo and is grumpy;
8) Glenn Hughes or Geezer Butler don't like Rickenbackers (?);
9) they built Al Cisneros a limited run signature model;
10) they wouldn't build undermine the value of the Chris Squier limited run by reissuing the lactationglo finish;
11) they changed some features;
12) they left some features the same;
13) the poster heard some unsubstantiated bad things;
14) they come with stickers, which make the instrument bad if you take them off and bad if you leave them on.
15) oil finished ones can develop fret sprout in dry climates.
Am I missing anything?
I am pretty sure that the major issue is with customer service.. their entire warranty is a joke btw,,, but, I still love my Ric.. I bought mine knowing that
“Youshouldgetthatcheckedglo”
Nonetheless, I still would want a Chris Squire cream Ric.
Lactation glo. I think this post wins the internet… today at least.
so much of this post is so spot on.
I only ever played one Ric, it was probably a 4003 from what I can recall, and it was at least 30 years ago. I remember that I liked the slim neck but wasn't crazy about the sound. At the time I bought a Hofner 'Beatle bass' instead. So what am I saying? I'm saying that I am not qualified to comment in this thread!
I was offered one of the ac4003’s when I bought my 4003w, but I didn’t know anything about the band or the model, it wasn’t much more than the one I got. maybe $200-300 more
I would have voided the warranty on any one of the models I ended up with.
I would have voided the warranty on any one of the models I ended up with.
It is big brother when they are in bed with the government, which they all are. You don't just earn billions of dollars in media without the gov coming for a chat.
Best line the fallout shelter ceiling with aluminum foil in case Elon Musk's NSA low orbit x ray satellites take pictures of you drinking that 27th Coors light and sends an email to the wife
FWIW, when these AC's were available, there was maybe a $300 price premium over a new 4003W if you knew where to shop (hint - the answer is Westwood). And the pickup configuration does give it a rather different voice. I have one, and I have a 4003SW. I have flats on the SW and left the factory rounds on the AC. Sure there's some overlap in the voicing but they do cover plenty of different ground.
And I love the green inlays because they're so weird and different. I didn't even know who Al Cisneros was until this bass came out. I did make an effort to listen to Sleep and his playing. Not really my thing, but that's ok.
Best line the fallout shelter ceiling with aluminum foil in case Elon Musk's NSA low orbit x ray satellites take pictures of you drinking that 27th Coors light and sends an email to the wife
uh, yea.
Allusions to the Hammer of Thor in a thread about Rics?
Yes, brothers and sisters, and I ask: Who among you can ascend that mountain and take this from the hand of Lemmy who stands in Glory? No one, for it is not the mountain that pierces the heavens, but His uplifted hand!
...and now reflected in polished breastplate the teeming horde yearning toward the One who stands alone!
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This post is not for people that name their bass and sleep with it lol.
16) People name their basses and sleep with them.
Ric basses have a unique sound and they certainly look cool. Thats a given. That doesnt mean that because John Hall sells every bass he makes every year that it doesn't need to be improved. I've owned 7 ric basses so far and have gotten rid of all of them. The tone was pretty good, but not the best. I mainly bought the bass for the looks and pickup placement. Basically, I've had to constantly adjust them to make them play and sound the way i wanted them to. First of all, everyone is aware of the crappy bridges, but you can buy replacements. Second, the neck pickup seemed to always be underpowered, especially on the older rics i've owned, and you could only raise them so far before the pickup plate hit the bottom of the pickguard. However, the main problem I've always had was with the necks. I could never get a smooth arc when adjusting the truss rods. The necks on most of the ones that I've owned always seemed to kink at about the 10th fret. Now, you don't need two truss rods on a neck that thin. I've had several with twisted necks and I couldn't get the twist out even with two truss rods. They make bi-flex rods now that work great and if John Hall doesn't think it provides enough stability, they now have graphite stiffening rods available. Not sure what the point of two truss rods is, but it doesn't work, for me at least. So, yes, ric basses sell out every year, but that doesn't mean the company should be living in the 60s. If John Hall says he can get more money for his basses because of the high demand and the low supply, think how much more he could get if they actually were player friendly. And this also goes for their guitars with the skinny frets, fat necks and narrow string spacing. To be honest, i've modified one of the new Jackson x basses that kind of look Ric-ish to look more like a Ric and it plays and sounds great.
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