Just bought my first Rickenbacker. What now?

[Wilmingtonian]

Not a mod but a departure from the norm: be one of those weirdos who has Ric-O-Sound and actually uses it.

 

[Wilmingtonian]

...I now see a little bit of evidence of tail-lift...

"A little bit of evidence of tail-lift" and needing to replace the bridge because of actual tail lift are two completely different things.

 

[facetsquared]

"A little bit of evidence of tail-lift" and needing to replace the bridge because of actual tail lift are two completely different things.

Yes - in my case I may or may not change the bridge. I'm keeping an eye on it.

 

[21Pastorius12]

Owned one.....sold it! enough said.....never meet your hero! Make sure you have some super glue on your hands to keep the bass where you want it haha! its centre of balance is non existent it dives towards the headstock as soon as you let go.

 

[ToddB1963]

I've always liked the way they look and sound, but for me they'll always be a bass suited to someone who plays standing. The ergonomics just don't do it for me in a seated position (how I do most of my playing these days)

 

[Michedelic]

 

[Parzival]

Here it is:

View attachment 5192630

Was going to be upset if it wasn't Jetglo.

 

[TexasEdition]

First thing you should do is find a set up guy... And I mean a GOOD set up guy that knows Rick Basses. Being you are buying an 18 year old one, most of the QC issues with the bridge, truss rods, neck and nut have probably already been worked out.... That being said, this one looks pretty clean... If it;s because it hasnt been played much, well there ya go.

 

[kbakerde]

Congrats on your new Ric OP! Here's what you should do:

1. Come join The Rickenbacker Club
2. Figure out which strings work best with it. I use Rotosound 55s and La Bella White Nylon Tapes on my 2 4003s.
3. Have fun and play it in good health.

This

Perosnally, do a treble bezel, and I would look for a Hipshot Ric replacement bridge. More comfortable and better intimation than the stock bridge.

As for the ergonomics, never bothered me. I love the way they play and how they feel in my hands.

 

[Dabndug]

I just did a comparison and my alder bodied Fender J has substantially more neck dive than any of my four 4000 series basses, so we can put that canard to bed.

The only mods I have performed were:

- Hipshot bridge on my 4000 - this was the first readily available no-mod replacement bridge and I wanted to see if it was a big improvement. Palm muting and adjusting intonation are easier, but the other Rickenbackers remain stock;
- Lollar horse shoe pickup on my V63. The original RIHS was too hot. I prefer the clarity of relatively underwound pickups, so I would be tempted to either replace the pickups on a recent 4003 or have the existing pickups rewound to '70s spec. You may find the hotter pickups to be fine.

 

[msb]

Rics are different , some can't accept that.
Put some time on it , enjoy.
I love a nice Ric.

 

[Buster Brown]

I've had Rics since the middle 60s. Here's the simple deal about them: You either LOVE them or you HATE them. There really is no in-between. I dunno, sort of like White Castles..........I personally LOVE 'em! (Rics and White Castles) Cheers!!

 

[D.M.N.]

My "Ricks" are currently two Greco PMB-800s, essentially clones of a 4001S, so no binding and dot inlays. I get on with them better than the 4001v63 I had, though that was an excellent bass. One has been modded with a new wiring harness, with a push/pull for the bridge tone cap and a push/pull to switch to stereo output (4001S only having a mono output by default). I also swapped the neck pickup on the maple one to a Lollar Thunderbird pickup, and the white one has been converted to a 4000 with a Classic Amplification bridge pickup and Hipshot bridge. Personally I like the cover on the bridge pickup in order to rest my palm on while playing with a pick, but obviously many prefer to remove that.

I'd say the only "thing" to look out for is the dual truss rod system in yours, certainly not your standard, but also not a problem if you know how they work. The other thing would be finish bubbling/flaking, IIRC there were some basses in the mid-2000s that had some issues with the finish coming off, though I would think by this point there would already be evidence of that on the bass, so likely not a problem on the one you have on the way.

 

[eastcoasteddie]

I heard that owning a Ric is like owning a boat.
The two best days are the day you buy it and the day you sell it…

 

[MrAB4003]

This

Perosnally, do a treble bezel, and I would look for a Hipshot Ric replacement bridge. More comfortable and better intimation than the stock bridge.

As for the ergonomics, never bothered me. I love the way they play and how they feel in my hands.

I couldn't agree more about the ergonomics. Treble bezels are optional (one of my 4003s has one while the other doesn't), but I forgot to recommend getting a Zero Mod thumbrest if you play with your fingers.

I heard that owning a Ric is like owning a boat.
The two best days are the day you buy it and the day you sell it…

Not sure where you heard that one about Rics. But I can certainly say that about Gibsons and Epiphones.

 

[Rojd]

I've never owned a Ric but I played one in a shop a few years back. It was very well made and sounded great, but the ergonomics were a little off for me. I could have gotten used to that, but it was way out of my price range.

 

[Auspuff]

Hey TB. Been playing for 30+ years, owned probably over 100 basses throughout that time. Currently have 12. Never owned a Rick. In fact I'm not sure if I've ever played one. I had a friend about 30 years ago who played one but I can't recall if I ever tried it. I always wanted one, but have never seen one in a shop. Just pulled the trigger on a 2005, should arrive this week. I've done some research today, seems that Ricks are sooooo divisive. Play terrible, QC issues, intonation, funky bridge, dual trussrod, no shielding, etc.

So TB, where does one start? Any tricks or helpful advice? Specifically from RICK PLAYERS WHO MODDED THEIR BASS. Not really helpful to tell me how much you hated yours and sold it. Or to tell me to keep it stock. I'm a DIY guy, I'm going to "upgrade".

1) First, play the snot, out of it.

2) Then, modify, to taste.

3) Repeat #1

The only things I have done to mine were a Cove Bezel, a Hipshot Bridge, and round-wounds.

 

[prowla]

Welcome to Ric ownership - you now have an example of the best bass money can buy.

I've modded a couple of my Rics over the years, including this one:

• Kahler bridge.
• Seymour Duncan Treble pickup.
  
• I've got a Nordstrand pickup to fit in the Bass (neck) position.
• Hipshot drop-D eXtender tuner.
• 6-position Freeway selector switch.
• Allparts two-piece pickguard.
• I think the pickup & control routings are shielded.

Generally I don't tend to go that far and like the basses pretty much stock, but there are a couple of reversible mods I tend to do:

• take off the Treble pickup cover and sometimes put in a bezel,
• fit a Hipshot drop-D eXtender tuner (on the larger headstock models).

A couple of tips for a Ric newbie:

• You only plug in one jack at a time: either a mono one into the "Standard" output or a stereo (TRS) one into the "Rick-O-Sound" one; if you plug a mono jack into the stereo socket you will only get the Treble pickup and if you plug a jack into both you may get no sound.
• The Treble tone is a push-pull pot, which enables a bass-cut cap when pulled for the "Vintage" tone (think Chris Squire) or bypasses it for the "Modern" sound when pushed in (think Geddy Lee).

Strings-wise I use Rotosound Swing Bass (of course!) 40-60-80-100 gauge.

 

[farace]

• The Treble tone is a push-pull pot, which enables a bass-cut cap when pulled for the "Vintage" tone (think Chris Squire) or bypasses it for the "Modern" sound when pushed in (think Geddy Lee).

Not if OP's bass is an '05. The push-pull pot started in '06. Easily retrofitted, though.

 

[prowla]

Not if OP's bass is an '05. The push-pull pot started in '06. Easily retrofitted, though.

Thanks - got my vintages wrong!
Yep - an easy mod, so that's one to add to the list!