I keep getting talked out of getting a Rickenbacker. Why??

[BASSDROID]

Disclaimer... My default instruments are a Precision or a Rickenbacker.

With that out of the way...

Yes, to everything most have said so far. A Ric can be exactly as sonically versatile as you need it to be. And yes, the ergonomics are not for everyone.

Neck dimensions can vary considerably decade to decade. 60s necks are very thin and fragile. Early 70s necks less so, and late 70s-80s necks even less so. They got stouter and more robust as time went by. In the late 90s and into the 00s they started to resemble baseball bats. Recently they have slimmed down again. Personally I can operate just fine with any of these but you may have a hard preference.. For me the "Goldilocks" neck is early 70s.

If you purchase one of these earlier bases (pre 1984) realize that the trussrods are not the standard type. They are expansion rods sometimes called hairpin rods. Spend some time learning about them before you buy. If you don't adjust them properly, you can seriously damage the rods or separate the fingerboard from the neck. But when they are properly adjusted, they are extremely stable, and should never need to be adjusted. As long as you use strings of the the same guage and tension.

I do prefer the unbound models with the dot fingerboard inlays. They just feel more comfortable to me. And the single pickup model 4000 is fantastic for both playability and sound if you can find one. I would love to see that model come back in Walnut.

If I had to recommend a new one I would suggest the 4003SW. Comfortable, no binding and with the new slimmer neck profile. But again, as many people have said, they can differ radically, even within the same model and the same year of manufacture.

 

[Medicine Man]

Love the sound when other people play them.

 

[Swerve]

I drooled after one of those midnight blue 4003's for years. I never actually got to try one in that color but the 3 tuxedo ones I've tried over the years I hated. I even had a coworker offer to let me borrow one of his as long as I wanted (he's rich), which probably meant he would have just given it to me eventually. I declined. Lol

At this point I'd only own one if it fell in my lap and played better than anyone I've tried before.

All my favorite bass designs I don't enjoy playing. Rick's, T-Birds, SG's & Les Pauls.

C'est la vie

 

[BowserGriff]

If you don't get one, it will always be on your mind.

I have a 2023 model 4003. Its awesome! It rarely gets played, but I don't regret buying it and when it does get played, it GETS PLAYED! I go through phases with my basses, I'll play my 5 string jazz for 3 months, fancy going to p bass with a pick for 3, turn into rock dad with my rick for 3. Variety is the spice of life!

 

[LowWay]

I'm a gen Xer. I got a great deal on one in 1989. Cherry burst. I was so excited. I sold my guild pilot to fund it.

I had buyers remorse so bad. I hated that bass. I could not bond with it. The sound didn't match my needs for one of my projects. I just couldn't get what I needed out of it. It was an ergonomic nightmare. i was stuck with it for 2 years, when I hit the jackpot. My GF bought me a pre-Gibson Tobias as a gift (she made more money than me). I dumped that Ric and never looked back.

But until you spend some time with it, you'll never know if it works for you.

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

I love the look and the sound of them. The ratio of people who say they are uncomfortable is gotta be like 25-1. Everything is a trade. Sometimes only the genuine thing will scratch the itch. But something hurting my forearm, and essential part of playing the bass, would be a no go.

 

[Pings Bass]

Sounds like you keep talking yourself out of one. I'd go with my gut if I were you; you're not missing much. Just to play devil's advocate

 

[Gilmourisgod]

It's true that Rics come with NO shielding whatsoever, which is ridiculous at this price point, but it's an easy afternoon's work to shield one , and it makes the inevitable single coil hum much less noticeable. The 4004 variants had humbuckers, rounded body edges, and a Schaller roller bridge, but were discontinued years ago for poor sales. Go figure

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

I'm a gen Xer. I got a great deal on one in 1989. Cherry burst. I was so excited. I sold my guild pilot to fund it.

I had buyers remorse so bad. I hated that bass. I could not bond with it. The sound didn't match my needs for one of my projects. I just couldn't get what I needed out of it. It was an ergonomic nightmare. i was stuck with it for 2 years, when I hit the jackpot. My GF bought me a pre-Gibson Tobias as a gift (she made more money than me). I dumped that Ric and never looked back.

But until you spend some time with it, you'll never know if it works for you.

those tobias' were bad ass

 

[LowWay]

those tobias' were bad ass

Yes they were. I got lucky as hell. Got a used one from a guy who never played at a steal. Paid for by a GF who never resented it. That was my #1 for about a decade.

 

[allanhearn]

If your in the states, Sweetwater has a 30 day return policy. Try it. Ship it back if it's not a good fit. I did that with a Spector a few months back. 4k bass, played it for 3 weeks, didn't gel sent it back. They were very nice about it.

 

[HubbardsFate]

You only live once. If you're that obsessed with Rics, and you can afford it, get one. If you end up hating it, as many people do (I'm one of them), you should at least be able to recoup the majority of what you spent on it (I think).

 

[_One//Man//Mutiny_]

Mine's my #1 I have a 2023 4003S which is the new modern iteration, I had a mid 80's 4003 for a long time as well. IMO the Rickenbackers they are making right now are the best they've ever been. These one's have a P bass width but are shallow front to back with a D shaped neck which is very similar to the Gibson Non Reverse Thunderbird. I love this Ric so much I sold my 4003. The pickups are great has the vintage/modern push-pull on the treble pickup tone knob, the bridge is updated, single truss rod, the newest ones even come with a treble bezel around the bridge pickup instead of the fake horse shoe cover.

 

[Swamp_Ronin]

This seems to summarize what i've heard for years. Seems to ring true. Yeah the old rock guys used them 55 years ago, but very few big/serious bass players with better options can be seen with one anymore. Only for nostalgia.

 

[Bob_Ross]

Problem is, I've never had the chance to try one.

It's worth waiting until you do get that chance; it could be eye-opening.

When I was a wee teen in the 1970s I too thought a Ric 4001 was the be-all/end-all of bass guitars, based on my fondness for Chris Squire and Jon Camp. So their sounds were what I expected a Ric 4001 to sound like.

But between 1976 and 1985, I played somewhere between 17 and 20 different Ric 4001 basses...and only one of them came even remotely close to sounding like Squire or Camp.

I eventually concluded that I didn't want a Ric per se; I just wanted a bass that could occasionally go "CLANK". Found plenty of options that achieved my sonic goals and that were demonstrably better-made basses than a Rick 4001. So I've made my peace.

But you won't know until you try one. Or 20.

 

[iiipopes]

I had a 1976 4001 from 1981 until the early 1990's. I sold it to get a 4002 (yes, "2," not "1" or "3") I loved the tone and playability of both of them. I found that on the 4001 I liked the way the neck stayed relatively narrow at the body end, unlike the taper of "Fender Standard" J-necks. My hands liked the slightly shorter scale, 33 1/4 inches, instead of "Fender Standard" 34 inches. The 4001 I had was wired with the traditional in-line .0047 capacitor to the bridge pickup. When I played it in college jazz band I would tend to dime the bridge pickup and roll off the neck pickup slightly for clarity. It liked just about every string I put on it.

I tend to be a picking hand thumb anchor person playing with my index and middle fingers. If you take the cover off a 4001/3, back then nobody made the aftermarket pickup surrounds, so I really had nowhere to put my thumb as I tended to pick just over the bridge pickup, or just to the neck side of it, kind of like a Fender player would anchor.

If I had a 4003 today I would purchase the surround so I had a thumb anchor, have it wired with the push-pull as the factory now does so you can have the .0047 capacitor either in or out as preferred.

The 4002 layout was actually modeled on a J-bass. Take a '60's J-bass, shorten the scale 3/8 inch at each end, keeping the pickups in the same place, and you have a 4002. There are several other threads on the 4002, with entries by me, so I don't need to repeat them here. The great thing about 4002 pickups is that they are end-to-end split coil humbuckers, much like DiMarzio Model J pickups or other split coil or end-to-end pickups. Great tone. A different kind of growl due to the different placement and pickup geometry. I would say the growl is between a 4001 with steel rounds, but without the clank, and a J-bass with bright pickups. It was my only bass for many years, because, frankly, I didn't need anything else for all the different genres I was playing at the time, including juggling as many as three different bands with completely different genres and repertoires simultaneously. After Mr. JH commented that 4002 basses are "...as rare as hen's teeth," which immediately added a zero to the end of the collector's value, I don't get it out much anymore (apologies to Duke Ellington).

Older basses had a bubinga fret boards, before falling afoul of CITES; newer basses have a chechen fretboard. Not really any difference in tone between the two.

Remember that essentially being solid maple (2-piece neck on the newer ones, shedua stripe Fender style on the neck of some of the older ones) and solid body wings, you are looking at close to ten pounds around your neck to play one, despite the body being thin by comparison.

I am not sure at this time I would get Rickenbacker bass, including a newer 4003, simply because of my personal picking preferences. But to me they are great basses.

 

[Bass Viking]

Can't judge, but I really explained that I never got to try one before and asked if it's ok if I try and don't like the feel and sound just not buy it. He blew me off and said to go try it elsewhere.

Sounds like when it comes to Rickenbacker it's a seller's market. He probably figured why should he accommodate you when someone else will probably come along and buy it no questions asked. I once saw an online ad for a used Rickenbacker with an asking price the same as a new one. I figured it was a clueless, greedy seller but who knows, maybe he got that price.

 

[BTL]

They're not for everybody, and they're not for me, but they're worth taking for a spin. Deals can be found and resale is a non-issue. If you have the cash, don't hesitate to buy one to try. It's a rite of passage for many Gen X bass players. It's worth the experience.

 

[LHbassist]

As a Luthier and repairman for fifty plus years, I've had plenty of issues with Rickenbacker basses. I can tell you this, It took them a very long time to listen and finally address the really bad design features that we, in the repair field have been wrestling with for decades. The new generation Rickenbacker basses FINALLY have one good truss rod, and a real bridge.
I've always wanted a left handed Gibson Thunderbird. I got one a while ago, and played it a few times, and it's been in my room in a very nice gig bag since. Thee neck is too small for me. I would recommend finding a NEW Rick, and buy it. Try it, and see how you like it. You will not lose money on it if you decide to sell it.

 

[SDC1-ClickClack]

This seems to summarize what i've heard for years. Seems to ring true. Yeah the old rock guys used them 55 years ago, but very few big/serious bass players with better options can be seen with one anymore. Only for nostalgia.

That video is a clickbait time-waster. I got halfway through it without hearing one reason why the reviewer dislikes Rickenbacker basses, and gave up after about the fourth time he just said he thinks they're "not very good."