to the thread starter based on your signature i would guess ur looking to have a tone similar to cliff burton, his was a modified rick with a strat pickup INSIDE the body of the bass normal ricks sound much different
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.
Is a Rick worth the money?
- Thread starter Eric Albany
- Start date
- Status
Patrick61503 said:
Actually I was looking for a tone similar to Robert Trujillo with the look of the Bee Gees.
No problem! Hit me up if you have more Chicago questions, and definitely go to Lakland if you have time.
Ok, since you asked
. I gigged with a pair of ricks for about 10 years using various types of amps. Several were tube amps (I got to borrow a Bassman for a couple of gigs) and the others were SS. Far and away the SS amps gave me the best chance of being audible without ending up just drowning out the rest of the band with the wall 'o mud effect. Tube amps are just generally kind of miserable compared to a good SS amp even with a good bass (I got to use a Steinberger for a while and it sounded fantastic through almost anything I plugged it into), so if you do that + a rick, well, get ready for a lot of blisters on the plucking fingertips.
But you don't have to believe me - go try it for yourself and see what results you get. I prefer to simply tell the truth, especially because the cost of a mistake can be so high for us folks who don't have the deep pockets to absorb it. Especially if several kilobucks is involved, you want to try to and get it right the first time. And that's the truth as I see it.
LS
Unclejane
I am no fan of vintage instruments, nor am I crazy about Rickenbackers, but ease off man. I've seen you post stuff exactly like this in threads that had nothing to do with Ric's or Fenders, followed by something about the superiority of other basses (Carvins?). This thread also had nothing to do with Fenders, and the way you mercifully judge the 4003's as OK seems a little condescending. It might just be my impression but it feels like you are trying to convince everyone that your choices rule and that your opinion is rock solid fact. That attitude doesn't usually seem to work so well here.
Hope I'm wrong, no offence intended, just remember to respect other peoples opinions, even if that includes vintage-worship or a positive attitude towards neck dive.
If telling the truth about my experience is offensive, that's not my problem. Like I said, a mistake in this regard can be very expensive and musicians are notoriously unable to withstand expensive mistakes with their gear.
So I much prefer to be truthful about my experiences with the Rick rather than simply try not to ruffle sensitive feathers. If I can save some of us some very hard-earned money by steering them away from a bad mistake, I don't care if I pi$$ off a few fanbois in the process.
Neck dive on the Rick is not a strongly-held opinion, it's a fact of its design that anyone with a strap can verify. So a potential Rick owner needs to know it has that particular problem so they can decide if it's going to be suitable.
Same with the tone and the various problems the Rick has tonally.
But as I said, if your mind is just made up and you absolutely have to have one, go for it. I won't lie to you about your chances with it, but it's up to you.
LS
Rics don't have tone problems in my experience. It's usually the players that create those issues.
A lot of people would probably put the blame on ME for not getting a good sound out of a Jazz Bass most of the time. And maybe rightly so.
Should I take pics with all four of mine to show you that they don't do this?
You're stating your opinion as fact, maybe that's what someone took as offensive.
A lot of people would probably put the blame on ME for not getting a good sound out of a Jazz Bass most of the time. And maybe rightly so.
Should I take pics with all four of mine to show you that they don't do this?
You're stating your opinion as fact, maybe that's what someone took as offensive.
Is a Ric worth the money? My answer is obvious...
While I do love my Rics, they are not the only basses I play, and they are not for everyone. They have a unique tone, a unique look and they play great - but so do my Stingray, Jazz, Spector, Hamer and Ibanez basses. IMHO, no single bass can excell at every style of music, so I own several basses, and enjoy each one for the different aspects they posess.
While I do love my Rics, they are not the only basses I play, and they are not for everyone. They have a unique tone, a unique look and they play great - but so do my Stingray, Jazz, Spector, Hamer and Ibanez basses. IMHO, no single bass can excell at every style of music, so I own several basses, and enjoy each one for the different aspects they posess.
Before you do that, try what I suggested a little while ago:
- put the bass on
- put the neck in the 45 degree position
- let go
Watch what happens to the neck.
Then, walk around your house for a bit without holding onto the instrument. Note where the neck ends up (approx. parallel to the floor is where my gigging Ricks always stopped, my current 4003 just did the same thing a few minutes ago when I tried it).
Again, this is not an opinion. This is a fact that anyone can verify for themselves. And if neck dive is a problem for you, this is one of those things that needs to be on your checklist before you take grandma down to the pawnshop for the cash.
LS
Aside from maybe Bill Wyman I'm not sure many people play their bass at a 45 degree position.
And as the bass ends up,as you say, about parallel with the floor, then I would say it has neck levelling not neck dive..
As answering to the OP
I would pay about $1200 for one, not the $1500-1700 I've seen them go for.
I would pay about $1200 for one, not the $1500-1700 I've seen them go for.
Aside from maybe Bill Wyman I'm not sure many people play their bass at a 45 degree position.
And as the bass ends up,as you say, about parallel with the floor, then I would say it has neck levelling not neck dive..
I hope the day never comes when I accept or reject a bass based on neck dive. That will be a sad day indeed and I'll have to get rid of about half of my collection.
Not only is neck dive curable by several methods, most neck dive is so minimal that your normal hand/arm position holds the neck just fine with hardly any effort, certainly not nearly enough to render the bass useless or even inconvenient. I own three Rics and have been playing them for decades, it's not one of the basses I normally associate with excessive neck dive. My T-Birds and some of my hollowbodies, that's a different story.
I have to admit that as a Ric player of some 30 years, I don't get the neck dive reputation....
Just played mine for 3 1/2 hours last night and never had a problem. I mean, I HAVE noticed that as with any of the basses I own (4 Fenders and 2 Rics) if you use one of those damn worthless "slippy straps" - ANY bass will dive on you - I know from experience....
But I got away from those years ago and only use straps that "stay put" due to the material they are crafted from.
And, of course, as in all things.....YMMV and IMO
Just played mine for 3 1/2 hours last night and never had a problem. I mean, I HAVE noticed that as with any of the basses I own (4 Fenders and 2 Rics) if you use one of those damn worthless "slippy straps" - ANY bass will dive on you - I know from experience....
But I got away from those years ago and only use straps that "stay put" due to the material they are crafted from.
And, of course, as in all things.....YMMV and IMO
I love my Ric, but I know a lot of people can't stand them. I've owned Fenders, Ibanezes, Hofner, Yamaha, and Epiphone. The Ric is the first one that has felt right to me. I like the chunky neck profile of my 4003 (but I'm also a double bass player). As far as the sound goes these are not one trick ponies, I play everything from Gospel, to Country, Indy, and Jazz, and no one has ever told me the bass doesn't sound right. There is a lot of versatility, especially with the "vintage" push/pull knob (just because there are two pickups doesn't mean you have to have them both on full blast). Mine does not have a neck dive, but that might be a bass to bass situation. And for all the people that say Rics cost $2,000 you should do a little more research. I paid $1,600 for mine less than a year ago and that was at a mom and pop shop (and I didn't get any special deals). When you look at the construction of the bass (binding, neck thru, and the electronics) $1600 is a decent price, especially when you compare it to the US Vintage Reissue Fenders.
I aim for the headstock to line up with my shoulders, whatever that angle is. That's where my Rics rest comfortably whether I hold on or not. I tested this a few months ago with all of them after someone was griping about Rics neck diving, maybe it was you, and found that as I suspected nothing happened. I've only had a few basses neck dive on me, one was a Dingwall Combustion, the other was my Mexi Jazz. They're long since gone for other reasons entirely.
Sorry, not a fact, in my experience.
I am all for people having different opinions and preferences. Knowing how much people love the Jazz Bass, I willingly admit it's not my bag. Knowing also how much of a "standard" the Fender is I have to admit I find them nowhere NEAR as comfortable to play as many basses, especially Rics. That's just how I am and I'm not going to try to push that viewpoint on others.
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,638
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
my current two rics have NO neck dive issues whatsoever, and neither did the previous six of them that i've owned.
IMO, they are easily worth the money, especially if you buy them right ( i paid $1650 w/the factory hardshell case and overnite shipping for my new jetglo 4003 about a year ago and have never regretted that purchase. that bass is as good or better than any of the previous ones that i've owned and they were all excellent looking, playing and sounding basses.
IMO, they are easily worth the money, especially if you buy them right ( i paid $1650 w/the factory hardshell case and overnite shipping for my new jetglo 4003 about a year ago and have never regretted that purchase. that bass is as good or better than any of the previous ones that i've owned and they were all excellent looking, playing and sounding basses.
I don't get it either John......
Some here will extoll the virtues of high-end basses (and I do NOT consider the Ric to be high end) and then scream like scalded cats because a Ric is "expensive", which, in the overall scheme of things, they are not.
My latest Ric - a 2004 model cost me a clean $1,000. I paid $500 more for my MIA 75RI Jazz. The Ric was used (3 months old - not a scratch on it and the Jazz was ordered from Fender). I bought the Ric from a young dude who had bought it, put Waaayyyy too heavy strings on it, bowed the neck like a canoe and then labeled the bass as "junk". I swooped in and offered to "take it off his hands" for a grand. He JUMPED at the chance. I'm sure that somewhere in the MidWest, a bass player is kicked himself in the ass....
Never, in all my life, have I paid "retail" for a Rickenbacker. They are easy to find (contrary to Rics marketing) and they can be found all day and all night brand spanking new (a 2011 model) for $1,800 w/shipping.
Hell, to me, part of the fun of playing bass is hunting for bargains!!
- Feb 16, 2008
- 21,240
- 23,638
- Disclosures
- John K Custom Basses
- Status
