• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Do Rics suck?

#41
No they definitely do NOT. Suck, that is. My 4003 Jetglo is my pride and joy, my baby, my soulmate (and yes, you can play soul on a Rick). Wouldn't change a thing.

...except the bridge/tailpiece. What a weird monster. Designed by a lunatic. Once you get your intonation set up, it's as solid as a rock, but getting there is no picnic. Mindbendingly infuriating to adjust. RIC have been making noises about bringing out an improved design for years now, but we're still waiting. :rolleyes: There's always the Hipshot replacement of course, but somehow I can't bring myself to do it.
 
#43
Ricks most definitely do not suck. Stock or modded.

I have a love/hate relationship with them though. For studio recording, the best tones that I've ever gotten have been w/ a Rick. For live shows however, mine have very often sounded like a fart through a fuzz box.
My opinion here only and others may feel differently of course, but about 90% of magic behind a Rick is in the WAY it's played and not necessarily what mods are done to it. They're at their best when played aggressively with fingers or pick - dig in and pluck hard. It's hard to explain but they almost get this "rattling, snarling" type of tone going on that's just downright badassed.

If you scoop out your EQ almost excessively (no compression either) you can also get a neat effect where if you pick lightly you get a full boomy thick tone, you pick hard you get that distorted tebley snarl. Of course that EQ is also why I've rarely been able to make them sound good live..
damn damn damn now I want a Rick again...nice...
 
#44
The whole "it is not versatile" type statement is rediculous. I use mine for everything I play and it sounds great. I've seen them in country, funk, fusion, pop, punk, metal, church music, rock and jazz and I'd imagine they are used in just about anything else. The only limits are that people think certain styles of music require an exact specific tone....how creative (think outside of the jazz bass tone for a change). I've been able to cover whatever tonal spectrums I need with some adjustments to my technique and tweaking of controls. When that fails I'll just use a stomp box....like I would for any other bass I've had.

They certainly aren't for everybody and that's great but to say it is because they are one trick ponies is just wrong. Just because they have a unique tonal character doesn't make them any less versatile than anything else.
 
#45
Mine's bone stock. I even use the stock strings. I bought it for the sound it had in the store. I've heard and seen the mods... pickgaurdians, toasters, etc... I'll get to them eventually.

I've decided to train my ear and my muscle memory to learn it as it is out of the box. It is my main bass. It is part of me.

It's kind of funny how some folks who go for a thousand variations on the JB theme are amazed that we leave or Rics predominately stock. Don't get me wrong. I love stock passive MIA and MIJ JBs too. Between my Ric and a stock JB, I feel I can cover the gamut.

As I become a better player, my sound on either axe is coming through. It's not the mods, it's me.
 
#46
Dude I played on a 1982 Ric 4001 unmodded I could get the very same sound as Cliff and Geddy, not to mention some other tones that I hadn't heard since, piont and case Rics are great unmmodded or not, the choice would be play style, for me I would think of putting down a Baddass II knowing it wouldn't change the character of the bass, but it has a fimilar feel to it.
 
#47
I have a new 2006 Rick 4003, it has all the new features. I love the tone, the feel, the look. There's nothing to dislike. I plan to take full advantage of the stereo output, have the neck pickup for effects and the bridge for clean. It'll be so badass.

I love the tone, it sounds good no matter what. Drop-D sounds great too. It's basicly a dream come true.

In my opinion, Rick 4003s are the best single-coil basses out there.


I also love it stock. i dont know why people change anything.. the bridge is so unique, the pickups are powerful, and the weight and feel is perfect.
 
#49
I have 3 4003's - all recent vintage and no mods made - and none of them suck as far as I'm concerned. I respect someone else's right to say they don't like them that much, as they aren't for sale.

No brand of bass really sucks, it's just that some people don't get on with them. I don't get on with Fender Jazz basses at all. Never played one that I liked the feel of, or the sound of (except a 5 string that I later sold). I wouldn't say that Jazz basses suck, as the world clearly loves them.

Horses for courses. ;)
 
#51
I can't believe over a thousand dollars isn't a lot of money to you guys. That's nuts!

I still don't get the point of paying that much money (even if it's spare change for you guys) if you are going to completely change it. All the famous Ric tones I've heard over the years have been modded from what I've heard... I want(ed) a Ric because of Lemmy and Chris Squire... but I heard they both completely changed their Rics.

I love the way they look... that's all I know. There is nowhere around here to try a Ric, so I don't even know what a stock Ric sounds like.
 
#52
Matt Till said:
I don't even know what a stock Ric sounds like.
Click to expand...

Listen to Paul D'Amour.

He played a 4001CS, which was a Chris Squire edition(they aren't shaved nearly like Chris Squire's actual bass, just have a thinner neck profile and no binding...some people who have played Chris Squire's actual bass say his bass wasn't even shaved as much as Chris suggests anyway)

Paul D'Amour did modify his Ric, but it was a backwards modifacation - from the photos I've seen, he removed the classic "Horseshoe" pickup from the bridge position, and put in a "Hi-Gain" pickup(they are normally found in any Ric 4003), making it more like a stock 4003.

...plus, if you go to Rickresource, you can find plenty of guys on there who know lots more than me...some even say that their stock 4001's or 4003's sound more "Squire-like" than their 4001CS..


First response of my old bandmates when I played my 4003 at practice the first time(through a crappy Hartke, no less):

"Holy ****, that bass sounds like Tool."
 
#54
I absolutely love my 4003 JG. Worth every penny. Looks great, and sounds even better.

If you've ever seen one up close, it's an absolutely beautiful piece of work. It did take some getting used to. I was playing a J up until the Ric arrived, and the Ric was initially quite hard to play. After a week or so, I got used to it, and and it now feels very natural. Very playable, and an absolutely killer tone!

Yes, intonation's a real chore, but I've only had to do it once. I've also heard rumors that slapping is difficult on one, but I've seen Ric owners do it; and I don't care anyway because I hate slapping.

I have other basses, but I just keep coming back to the Ric.

In other words, Rics do not suck.
 
#55
I'm gonna agree with a couple other posters and say that the quality is top notch. The tone is definately unmistakeable and they look remarkable. BUT to me a Ric is one of the most akward basses I've ever tried to play. I wish they were more comfortable to me, but stuff like that is what makes things interesting. If everything was perfect for everyone, then we'd all get pretty bored. ;)
 
#58
I just bought a 1990 4003 and the thing is stock with the exception of the strings. It sounds amazing. The neck is perfect, the action is perfect and it's probably one of the best basses I'd played in a while considering I found it on CL. Seriously for the cost (or what I paid), you can't beat the sound. The feel takes some time to get used to, considering all I'd played was Fenders for the last few years.

I love this Ric more then the one I owned as a kid, which was an 80 or 81 4003. The previous (original) owner kept it in mint condition and it really plays like a dream. I am debating putting the bridge pickup guard back on, but I doubt I will. I play all over the place for different tones so I dunno.

I love Rics though. It's true what folks say though. Love it or hate it.
 
#59
Till, I believe the mods those guys made were less extensive than you may think (OK, Cliff Burton's were pretty major). Over a grand IS a lot of money, but the fundamental Ric tone is obvious even when not plugged in- the head of the Rickenbacker company calls the pickups the least essential component of the way Rics sound. Lemmy, Chris Squire and Geddy Lee all have tones very close in essence to what an average bass player like me can get his stock Ric bass to sound like. Some of Geddy's Rickenbackers (he has many) are almost completely stock, he prefers essentially stock Rics nowadays in particular. His sound has barely changed. It's about the player and it's very much about the bass as it comes out of the box.
 
#60
I love Rickenbacker basses! I have three, A C64, V63, and a 4003. All are totally stock except the 4003. I had a vintage pickguard and the neck pick-up moved to the 1/2" vintage spacing. They are all wonderful basses. I can't imagine not having a Rick bass.:cool:
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back