I listed after one, played one for years because of Yes, Deep Purple, and all of the top local bands.
Then Leo made the Stingray.
Then Leo made the Stingray.
Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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.
I know Rics are junk and all...
- Thread starter Lesfunk
- Start date
Ricky threads are always going to come down to Geddy Lee.
The truth is we may never know what all was used and when. Even Geddy Lee himself, recollects sometimes about what he did what with, when, and where. We're relying mostly on his, bandmates, or roadies /techs memories, which like the rest of us, isn't 100% perfect at times, and gets worse with age.
Even in this video where he's talking about the '72, he "thinks" it was Moving Pictures he decided to try a different bass and grabbed the '72 Jazz that he had bought in a pawn shop a few years before for $200 bucks.
And to be fair, as many basses as the guy has in his collection, and as many times as he's been in the studio and live on stage with them, there's no way he can remember everything about them all.
I've owned 4 basses over the last 42 years. And the very first one, a tobacco sunburst, P bass copy, is about all I can tell you about that bass. I can't even remember what rig I used to play it through or what eventually happened to that bass. My 2nd bass & rig, a Carvin LB 70, and a 400 watt Peavey MegaBass head and 1820 cab I remember quite well, but still can't definitely say which year I got those in, all I can say is it was the mid 90s. And my two current basses and rig I own of course will eventually fall into memory lapses as well over time.
Last edited:
I owned a 4001 and a 4003. It was never a comfort issue with me. It was all the hassles from truly bizarre design decisions. That bridge/tail assembly should be declared a war crime. The neck pup was weaksauce (I've heard the Bartolini replacement helps), the double truss rod in the 4003 is good at doubly messing you up assuming the access cavity isn't borked where you can't get the wrench on it to begin with. The Ric-O-Sound input feature I think was added on a drunk dare. I had to chop about a foot off normal strings because of its inexplicable 33" scale and I'd still have about ten wraps around the World's Smallest Tuning Peg. The frets are thin and soft and covered in gobs of shellac that has to be taken off for serious fret work and the frets are underneath the neck binding, so have fun rematching that after busting it up. The bridge pup cover is plastic...wait, what? Srsly? People gotta mortgage the house to buy one of these things and you are putting a crappy plastic pup cover on it?
Finally, and this is just second hand, but I've heard Rickenbacker deliberately limits the supply of these things to drive the price up. I can believe this. Just go online and try to buy one. A normal guitar company you find the instrument and there's the price, you click, you buy. But not Rickenbacker. Noooooooo. It's always "email for price" like you are ordering lobster at a four-star restaurant.
That's enough ranting. I still liked the basses in spite of the insanity. It's got one the coolest body shapes out there and while its sound is a one-trick pony, it's a good trick. If money was no object and I had a luthier on 24/7 retainer to futz with it, I'd pay the extortionist price for one. Otherwise, just do this:
Rics are junk. You don't want one. They are bad for business, and bad for the ecosystem. Rics are junk. You don't want one. They are bad for business, and bad for the ecosystem. Rics are junk. You don't want one. They are bad for business, and bad for the ecosystem. Rics are junk. You don't want one. They are bad for business, and bad for the ecosystem. Rics are junk. You don't want one. They are bad for business, and bad for the ecosystem. Rics are junk. You don't want one. They are bad for business, and bad for the ecosystem. Rics are junk. You don't want one. They are bad for business, and bad for the ecosystem.*
*we can't ALL play them!
*we can't ALL play them!
Worked for me for over 10 years.....Put a tort pickguard on it and you'll be in bass heaven!
Actually,Flea made them famous,and shot the price of used ones way up,at least here in the U.S.
That's right........And before him Deacon, Edwards and others which I cannot think of at present.They all used them for a short time before changing to another brand.
Haha I feel the opposite - it's missing everything that I think make Rics ugly and overwrought as sin.
Right!...
I'm not a hater. Really, I'm not. I've got 4 of the darned things to prove it. Definitely an acquired taste...... and a touch of insanity.
Last edited:
I have flown two different 4001's back and forth to S America, never had a problem with either one (until one went to Chile by accident for a week).
A guy in the Rickenbacker forum owns that bass now, first name is Andy, forgot his last name. transplanted Brit. Maurice Gibb played Rickenbackers for his whole career.
I've heard those got hot as hell after a while, maybe that's why he doesn't look very happy
.
Going back to the first post by Lesfunk that Rickenbacker looks beautiful........I am tempted to buy one!
Louis Johnson. He gave the Stingray the reputation of being a slap monster.
To me, the Ric was really defined by Chris Squire and Paul McCartney in terms of the sound, not long after, Geddy Lee.
