Fretless Rickenbacker 4003fl

[lowregister]

Hey all, I was wondering if any has encountered, played, or owns a Rickenbacker 4003fl. My next bass is definitely going to be fretless and I'm kind of starstruck by the looks of the Ricks.

Some of the descriptions the site gives describes it as having a nice upright bass sound, which I would like.

I played a decent 1994 Japanese made Fender P that was fretless. Are there other aspects one should look for in a fretless, aside from the usual things one looks for in a new bass?

 

[RickenBoogie]

I don't own one, but I have played a couple. If it has a Toaster pup at the neck, and some sweet flats, it's a glorious sounding fretless. Still has the signature Ric sound, but very smooth and warm. I was less impressed with the standard HiGain pup in the neck position. Great bass, for sure, but then, I'm already a bit of a Ric fan-boy.

 

[NWB]

There is one at BassNW that looks awful sweet.

 

[lowregister]

There is one at BassNW that looks awful sweet.

I only see a fretted one there, do you have a link?

 

[cassius987]

How do you link a video?

Anyway here's my playing "Spain" by Chick Corea with a couple of pals on my 4003FL. Also, the sax player asked me to start off with some bits of "Portrait of Tracy" to lead in to my portion of the melody.



It has TI flats in those videos, however I've come to prefer D'A Chromes because I think they sound much better after being worn in...

Also, here are some pics.

 

[Iroquoi]

AWESOME bass and AWESOME playing!

 

[pringlw]

My 4001FL:

Here's a youtube link to some playing;



After 20+ years with this bass its still my favorite. You'll notice in the youtube video that I put a toaster in the neck position and put the bridge cover back in place. It is true that the bass sounds nicer with a toaster.

 

[pringlw]

How do you link a video?

Anyway here's my playing "Spain" by Chick Corea with a couple of pals on my 4003FL. Also, the sax player asked me to start off with some bits of "Portrait of Tracy" to lead in to my portion of the melody.



It has TI flats in those videos, however I've come to prefer D'A Chromes because I think they sound much better after being worn in...

I love these links. Outstanding performances and tone.

 

[drmckool]

Man these are nice looking basses and the videos are pretty cool as well

 

[lowregister]

Cassius and Pring, those are gorgeous, I am quite envious actually. Nice job both of you, and btw Cassius, you kind of look like me. Strange...

 

[cassius987]

Cassius and Pring, those are gorgeous, I am quite envious actually. Nice job both of you, and btw Cassius, you kind of look like me. Strange...

Thanks for the compliment (and thanks for everyone else's nice comments too). I enjoy getting the "word out" about the 4003FL. I think they have a wonderful tone, and as fretless electrics go, get closer to an upright sound than many others. I think this is because of 1. the maple construction complemented by the dense fingerboard wood (bubinga) and 2. because the pickups are placed a little further back so you get a deeper, warmer sound from each. My particular bass has a "Toaster" pickup in both positions.

As for looking alike, I'm a healthy mix of Welsh, Scots, English, and Native American... so if you're any of those things I guess it's probable enough! I actually have a few other ethnic backgrounds in my heritage but they're too diluted to list. It gets exhaustive. America, the ethnic assimilation machine...

 

[cassius987]

I love these links. Outstanding performances and tone.

You too, thanks for shedding more sonic light on how good the fretless Ric bass can sound.

 

[RickenBoogie]

Awesome playing guys. And that tone, that's what I'm talkin' about. Nice stuff, thanks.

 

[Gibenbackerbass]

I had a fretless Fender Precision with a maple cap neck. Didn't like so I traded it. I've not heard a fretless rick bout would think it would have a crisper, clearer tone, unlike the P-bass.

But then I'm probably a tad biased toward Ricks.

 

[hankazoid]

In 1996 a friend of mine had 2 Rics for sale. A '79 4001 that he was selling for $350 (in rough shape), which I bought, and an 80's fretless 4003 in Natural Glo which I'm pretty sure had an ebony fretboard and no markers. He was selling that one for $600. I had just started playing at that point and didn't know how to play the fretless, but play it I did. Wish I had more money at the time.

 

[christw]

Add a fretless Ric to my GAS list.

 

[cassius987]

I had a fretless Fender Precision with a maple cap neck. Didn't like so I traded it. I've not heard a fretless rick bout would think it would have a crisper, clearer tone, unlike the P-bass.

But then I'm probably a tad biased toward Ricks.

Crisper and clearer? I think that's based in style more than construction--after all the attack of your plucking hand and the strings are certainly a factor, and your left hand has a little more say in the tone on fretless as well. If anything I think fretless Rics are warmer and fuller than others and come closer to "upright tone" by a LOT.

You can (obviously) feel free to check out the links above to get an idea of the sound.

 

[Rickenbrother]

Cassius987 told me about this thread and suggested I post this song there. I'm using my '75 Rickenbacker 4001FL.

I used only the hi-gain neck pickup. The toaster pickup you see in the picture is now in a 4001S. I had raised the mute, lightly touching the strings to take out most of the mwah that just didn't sound right in the song. After I recorded it, then listened to it, the mwah sounded really cool, but was very distracting to the mellow mood of the song. That 4001FL is strung with a set of D'Addario ECB-80 Chromes. I played fingerstyle. Did nothing special to it in the recording. That's the sound of that 4001FL. Just a little compression to make it fit in the song better is all.
This is an arrangement of "Georgia On My Mind" by my very good and very talented friend, Brian Medway who performs the vocals and all the other instruments as well as the drum machine programming on this song.
If there are any guitarists reading this thread, or bassists who were wondering anyway FYI that guitar used in the solo towards the end of the song, is a Rickenbacker 360V64.

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I hope you enjoy it.

 

[phxlbrmpf]

That indeed sounded pretty good but anyone got sound clips of a fretless Ric strung with rounds?

 

[cassius987]

Good question! I've never used a Ric 4003FL with rounds. Apparently the bubinga is tougher than most wood (not as tough as ebony though) so it could likely stand up to rounds in a way other woods like Indian rosewood might not.

Rickenbrother, that's a really great recording of "Georgia On My Mind", and your fretless tone is marvelous--as I've said elsewhere. Really glad to hear a recording using the Ric foam mute too.