I paid $1160 USD for mine 6 months ago. You'll find one you can afford eventually. It's slightly harder to find one that really speaks to you. This is the best I found of three I owned.
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Is buying a Rickenbacker even possible??
- Thread starter Felken
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- rickenbacker
Time for my rant, I've owned at least 30 of them since 1977 to the present time and I have had no problems and have not seen inconsistent quality control. Buy your Ric and enjoy it, they are different than a Fender but take the time to experiment with them. They're very versatile sounding and the slightly shorter scale (33 /4") makes them a little bit easier to play. I have bought plenty of them sight unseen and would not hesitate to buy one now. I just got done playing my 1979 4001 and didn't want to put it down. All day I was playing along with Steely Dan on YouTube and it sounded great and fit right in. I'm not a fanboy and own other brands and like other brands but this Ric bashing is getting ridiculous, no one can post a thread about wanting to buy a Rickenbacker without at least one person saying watch out! They're terrible, they're like playing a bass from Mars and they'll fall apart in two weeks. I have recorded with these basses with flatwounds and most people that heard the recording thought it was a P bass and the reason they thought it was was because that was the sound I was going after. My point is that if you work with one for a while, get strings you like on them for example I like regular 105 round wounds, I've used lighter strings and don't like them on a Ric, get the pickups set the way you like them, action, neck, etc etc, you can end with a bass you really love even if you don't like it at first. It took me a long time to really be able to realize the potential these basses have and to get comfortable with them but they're like old comfortable slippers now to me.
This 4001 is looking old and beat but she plays great and sounds unbelievable, I get more compliments on the sound of this bass when I play that with my Fenders.
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Man, you paid a lot, I bought a brand new 4001 in 1977 for $469.00 in Boston.
They may not be made all too well(judging by many accounts) , but I too have found myself thinking that a Rick would be quite a cool thing to have, not having heard that tone from anything else.
The one I'd be interested in is the 3000 however and, as far as I'm aware, no longer in production...
The one I'd be interested in is the 3000 however and, as far as I'm aware, no longer in production...
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30 years ago a used 4001 was 500CAD any day of the week. I'm pretty sure you could get a 'player' used one for 2000 CAD now. going rate!! Kijiji, FB marketplace, maybe even L&M...
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CAD 2000:
CAD 1850:
CAD 1650:
Incidentally.. You have played one, right??
I keep buying them... and have to sell them two days later as the edge binding is just totally non-ergonomic for me. Seems every couple of years I fall for the same trap. Checkerboard in particular suckers me in!!! I did have an awesome Model 3000 that I gigged for a decade, (no binding!!) but now on the lookout for a 4004 or 4003s (no binding!!). Good luck finding a 4004, 3001 or 3000 in your price range now... they are all in the rare and scarce unobtainium department
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This was my experience with Ric. I borrowed one a friend had for sale and after a month of trying I couldn't find a comfortable place for my right hand.
It's a beautiful bass but if you're used to playing Fenders they can be a bit challenging for the plucking arm/hand. The fireglo is my new one and the white one is an image of a similar one that I first bought.
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When I bought my '87, I paid about $850. That '87 makes me bring up another thing...
For the OP - if you have past experience playing an older 4003 but not a newer one, I highly recommend trying a newer one before you buy. As I mentioned, I owned an '87 Jetglo, which had a neck that was to die for. Very slim, easy to play, generally wonderful. I sold that one about 17 years ago, and in 2014 I bought a new 4003W online. I wasn't expecting the thick baseball bat neck, and it took some time for me to get used to that after having been spoiled by the older instrument. However - the 4003W's tone *stomped* all over the older one's, and the insane growl I get out of my 2014 (moreso even than Chris Squire's RM1999) forced me to get used to the new neck, because I wasn't about to let go of that tone. I still wish the neck was thinner, but all things considered I'm pretty happy with the newer one.
I bought mine early. I was 43.
I’m not in tune with the Canadian market, but support your fellow TBers and buy on the classifieds here. There are always Ricks, and IME you are usually guaranteed a fair deal with good comms and minimal bad vibes. Usually.
Good look in your quest. I bought a 4001 and I love it.
I’m not in tune with the Canadian market, but support your fellow TBers and buy on the classifieds here. There are always Ricks, and IME you are usually guaranteed a fair deal with good comms and minimal bad vibes. Usually.
Good look in your quest. I bought a 4001 and I love it.
Wow, you paid $750 for a 4001 in ‘74??? Where did you get it? I know inflation was out of control in the ‘70’s but that’s crazy! I bought one brand new in June of ‘73 for $350 from a music store (Bronin’s IIRC) a few doors down from the Sam Ash in White Plains, NY. I would have bought the one at Sam Ash for $335 but someone else bought it before I did. It was a Jetglo black bass that I got the day before I played out for the first time.
That $750 is over $4k in today’s money. Even your $350 is over $2k today, though only slightly. I’m sure it’s held its value, though.
I can’t imagine how a Rick cost $750 in ‘74 unless there was something very special about it.
I was a very spoiled 13 year old who conned his father into buying that Rick. I had been playing the one for $335 at Sam Ash for what seemed like forever. When it came time to actually buy it, it was gone! We went down the street to the other shop (imagine two pretty good sized music stores on the same street...and you’re not in Manhattan) and checked out the Jetglo bass they had hanging on the wall. It played as well as the one at Sam Ash so I got it. If I still had it today, I would imagine a 4001 with toasters and checkerboard binding would be worth a pretty penny.
I was a very spoiled 13 year old who conned his father into buying that Rick. I had been playing the one for $335 at Sam Ash for what seemed like forever. When it came time to actually buy it, it was gone! We went down the street to the other shop (imagine two pretty good sized music stores on the same street...and you’re not in Manhattan) and checked out the Jetglo bass they had hanging on the wall. It played as well as the one at Sam Ash so I got it. If I still had it today, I would imagine a 4001 with toasters and checkerboard binding would be worth a pretty penny.
You got robbed!! I bought one from Carl @ Union music in 76 for $275, LOL
Seriously check out Wildwood, they had the lowest prices and I was 100% happy with how it played.
D
I would strongly advice to try before you buy! For two reasons:
1) Rick warranty starts running from the moment the instrument is shipped from the factory. Even if you buy a new Rick the warranty may have expired before you ever lay your hands on it. If you decide to get one, inspect it CLOSELY and return it ASAP if there's even the slightest hint of any problems (it goes without saying that you need to buy from a store with a good return policy).
2) If you've never actually played one you really need to test one before spending this much money. Ricks look beautiful but they are also very quirky instruments.
-Palm muting? Forget about it.
-Plucking close to the bridge? Very uncomfortable unless you've got TINY hands.
-The built in foam mute? Don't expect it to work after the first month.
-Adjusting saddle height/intonation? Not really possible without removing the entire bridge.
-Rick-o-Sound? It can be fun in the studio but not worth the hassle for gigs IMO (unless you're at a level where you've got roadies to do all the lifting/setup).
A Rick also feels completely different than say a Fender and will require some adapting, especially for the plucking/picking hand. Some people never gets comfortable with a Rick. Personally I don't find this a huge problem but I play close to the neck. If you are used to playing close to the bridge, good luck, lol.
Then there's the sound... which is highly subjective of course. Personally I think a Rick has a very ideosyncratic sound that works best for certain genres. Definitely not the best choice as an allrounder IMO. I love how a Rick sounds in isolation and I also love it for some genres. But most of the time I struggle to fit it into the mix (I'm speaking as an engineer here, I'm really more of a studio engineer than a bass player these days). With a P-bass everything is just so much easier.
I got hung up on the whole Rick thing because some of my favourite bass players used Ricks. I used a 4003 as my main instrument for almost a decade. Then one day I decided I'd had enough and went back to a P-bass. Suddenly everyone could actually hear me at rehearsals! My stage sound improved massively. Engineers were happier. Recording/mixing went from an uphill struggle to (more or less) plug-n-play.
My 4003 has been gathering dust for years now. I hardly ever use it but I can't bring myself to sell it either. Once every couple of years I need THAT sound and when I do there's nothing else that compares. You just need to make sure THAT is the sound you actually need.
1) Rick warranty starts running from the moment the instrument is shipped from the factory. Even if you buy a new Rick the warranty may have expired before you ever lay your hands on it. If you decide to get one, inspect it CLOSELY and return it ASAP if there's even the slightest hint of any problems (it goes without saying that you need to buy from a store with a good return policy).
2) If you've never actually played one you really need to test one before spending this much money. Ricks look beautiful but they are also very quirky instruments.
-Palm muting? Forget about it.
-Plucking close to the bridge? Very uncomfortable unless you've got TINY hands.
-The built in foam mute? Don't expect it to work after the first month.
-Adjusting saddle height/intonation? Not really possible without removing the entire bridge.
-Rick-o-Sound? It can be fun in the studio but not worth the hassle for gigs IMO (unless you're at a level where you've got roadies to do all the lifting/setup).
A Rick also feels completely different than say a Fender and will require some adapting, especially for the plucking/picking hand. Some people never gets comfortable with a Rick. Personally I don't find this a huge problem but I play close to the neck. If you are used to playing close to the bridge, good luck, lol.
Then there's the sound... which is highly subjective of course. Personally I think a Rick has a very ideosyncratic sound that works best for certain genres. Definitely not the best choice as an allrounder IMO. I love how a Rick sounds in isolation and I also love it for some genres. But most of the time I struggle to fit it into the mix (I'm speaking as an engineer here, I'm really more of a studio engineer than a bass player these days). With a P-bass everything is just so much easier.
I got hung up on the whole Rick thing because some of my favourite bass players used Ricks. I used a 4003 as my main instrument for almost a decade. Then one day I decided I'd had enough and went back to a P-bass. Suddenly everyone could actually hear me at rehearsals! My stage sound improved massively. Engineers were happier. Recording/mixing went from an uphill struggle to (more or less) plug-n-play.
My 4003 has been gathering dust for years now. I hardly ever use it but I can't bring myself to sell it either. Once every couple of years I need THAT sound and when I do there's nothing else that compares. You just need to make sure THAT is the sound you actually need.
L&M sometimes do 0% finance so just wait for that to come round if you’re a bit short of the new prices ($2200-2500).
I’ve been keeping an eye out for a used one locally in Ottawa but as you say the used prices are near enough the same or higher than new. So I’ll probably never buy one.
