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Best Year Rickenbacker bass?

lfmn16

lfmn16

Inactive
Sep 21, 2011
15,462
35,794
charles town, wv
#1
I'm looking at buying a Rickenbacker bass and would like to know if there are any years to stay away from. I've done a little research, but it seems like there are some issues with the newer models. I want to use rotosounds so I'm guessing I should stick to the years with a truss rod.

Thanks!
 
#2
The newest models are said by some to be the best ever. Rotosounds aren't an issue on 4003/4004 basses, I have them on my '72 4001 in fact. Rickenbackers have had dual truss rods since they first started making basses in '57 afaik so your research is a little off. As to which years to stay away from, none that I'm aware of, the neck thickness seem to be biggest variable year to year so try before you buy if possible.
 
#7
The newest ones are among the best ever. In '06 the 4003 got a couple of nifty upgrades, like the vintage tone circuit, and my '06 4003 is the best 4001 or 4003 of the many I've owned. And, as far as 4004's, my '08 4004Cii is the best bass of any brand that I've ever owned. Like any brand, there can be issues with one, but overall, buying a brand new Ric is usually the best plan.
 
#8
I have a late 2010 4003, and it is very well constructed, aside from the minute amount of tail lift which all 3 and 5 screw bridge Rics have (or so i understand). It has dual truss rods which are easy to adjust.

Good Luck!
 
#9
Different opinions of course. Some swear that the early 70s 4001s (with the checkerboard binding) are among the best ever. I've heard it said that the "end of line" 4001s (ie: 1980 or so) are also the best. That later one would make sense to me as the best Rick I've personally ever played was a 1980 4001. Fabulous fabulous bass.
 
#10
I have owned Rics from the 60s, 70s, 80s, 90s, 2000s, and a 2011.

I prefer the newer ones 1986 and later. The oldest Ric I currently own is 1993. My new 2011 is a really nice bass.

All Rics have 2 truss rods. The old ones have an old style truss rod system where you loosen the rods and move the neck by hand and then tighten the rods to hold it in place. Many people had the fretboard pop off of their 70s 4001 from improper truss rod adjustmants. But the newer Rics have a modern truss rod system that works quite nicely.

A lot of the threads here that complain about Rickenbacker quality are populated by posts from Ric bashers. Hey this is a free and open forum where people have a right to their opinion but sometimes when you see Rics being bashed consider the source. There are 3 groups here. On one extreem you have the Ric hater who will always have something bad to say about Rics. Then on the other extreem you have Ric lovers, they will only ever say nice things about Rickenbackers, John Hall, and ths company that makes them. Then there are those who are in-between and like me. I really like the look and feel and tone that a Ric bass makes. But I am upset with the company for not making a 5 string bass and discontinuing popular options. Also I don't get along the the Ric fan-boy web sites where no oposing opinions are welcome.
 
#12
lfmn16 said:
I'm looking at buying a Rickenbacker bass and would like to know if there are any years to stay away from. I've done a little research, but it seems like there are some issues with the newer models. I want to use rotosounds so I'm guessing I should stick to the years with a truss rod.

Thanks!
Click to expand...

The old 60s and 70s basses were designed for low tensioned flatwound strings. Stringing them with rotosound strings stressed them beyound their design specs. The new 4003 basses can take any strings yoiu want to put on them.

The 4003 is the newer improved version of the 4001. You cannot crack your neck and detach your fretboard on a 4003 no matter how hard you turn the trussrods.
 
#13
Ric5 said:
There are 3 groups here. On one extreem you have the Ric hater who will always have something bad to say about Rics. Then on the other extreem you have Ric lovers, they will only ever say nice things about Rickenbackers, John Hall, and ths company that makes them. Then there are those who are in-between and like me.
Click to expand...

And then your have Ric5. Whose user name has Ric and 5 in it. He owns a bunch of Rics, so obviously he loves them. He mods the hell out of his Rics, so obviously he feels that they have flaws. It is also obvious that he quite literally puts his money and effort where his mouth is, because those mods aren't cheap or easy to do. How's that for a source of an opinion?
 
#14
Older 4001s had softer frets and were made for flatwounds. I put roundwounds on my late-70s 4001 and wore out the frets in a year. That is fixable, but costs a few hundred dollars.

I wouldn't buy any bass without a truss rod and I haven't heard of any quality bass being made without one. Truss rod is to prevent warpage. That relates to tension on the neck, i.e. string diameter and tuning. No relation to flatwound/roundwound differences.
 
#16
I played a 68 4001 for many years ... many people considered it the "holy grail" of Ric basses.

Rimg1312.jpg


But those 60s Rics have weak pickups and weak necks.

Then years later I got a 73 4001 and I rewired it with all 250k ohm pots and removed the .0047 capacitor. It was a better gigging bass than the 68. Then I got an 89 4003s5 and I really liked it. It was better than the 73.

Rimg1080.jpg


I like the 90s Rics ever batter than the 80s. and the ones built in the last few years are the best of the bunch.

Bass5-0031.jpg


4003%20001.jpg
 
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#18
My '72 4001 was a great bass but in the end I could only really use TI strings on it because of the thin/weak neck.

My '74 was no problem with any strings, though the frets did get eaten quickly with SS rounds; oh, but the sound through my Hiwatt 100 head and Hiwatt 2x15 cab back in '74.... :-)
 
#19
RickenBoogie said:
The newest ones are among the best ever. In '06 the 4003 got a couple of nifty upgrades, like the vintage tone circuit, and my '06 4003 is the best 4001 or 4003 of the many I've owned. And, as far as 4004's, my '08 4004Cii is the best bass of any brand that I've ever owned. Like any brand, there can be issues with one, but overall, buying a brand new Ric is usually the best plan.
Click to expand...

I've heard this from you and other long time Ric players. Before I bought my 4003 in 2008 I hadn't bought a new Ric and my only other was my '72 that I bought used in 1985. So I don't have your frame of reference, but I can say my 2008 sure is nice!
 
#20
There will always be 2 schools of thought ...

One is the old 50s, 60s, and 70s instruments are better than what they make now.

The other is the newer ones are better.

The reality is if you but a new or old Ric you are getting a good bass either way.

Buy one of each and take some time to figure out which is the best.
 

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