NBD: Mapleglo Ric 4003

[northstar9]

I feel like I should've known this. Maybe if my 4003 didn't sound so satisfying in mono, I'd have taken time to explore stereo. Thanks.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I ran my bass in Ric-O-Sound a few times back in the Lead Sled era, and it sounded like the Hammer of Thor, but I got sick of lugging two setups. With class D amps and neodymium lightweight cabs, the whole thing gets more viable.

 

[bobyoung53]

I just had a visceral reaction when I saw your Ric fretless! What a beautiful instrument - I've always loved playing fretless basses but don't currently own one. Obviously there's no fret noise - are those flatwounds on it? And does it still have that Rickenbacker sound? That neck is the most gorgeous piece of wood. Any other comments on playing it - especially its sound?

They're DR sunbeams, I think the fretless Rics actually sound better with flats though, this one has a nice thin neck. I superglued this one about 5 years ago for round wounds. The original finish on these will wear with round wounds which is why I superglued it although I wish I had known about Sunbeams before I did it. Sunbeams seem to be a lot easier on fretless necks than most round wounds.
They still have the Ric sound, I really like Fender flats on Rics, they're bright enough to still have that sound if you want but also deep enough to have plenty of bottom. You can get anywhere from an upright sound with these to the grindy sound.

 

[northstar9]

I ran my bass in Ric-O-Sound a few times back in the Lead Sled era, and it sounded like the Hammer of Thor, but I got sick of lugging two setups. With class D amps and neodymium lightweight cabs, the whole thing gets more viable.

Been wondering about Class D for bass

 

[northstar9]

They're DR sunbeams, I think the fretless Rics actually sound better with flats though, this one has a nice thin neck. I superglued this one about 5 years ago for round wounds. The original finish on these will wear with round wounds which is why I superglued it although I wish I had known about Sunbeams before I did it. Sunbeams seem to be a lot easier on fretless necks than most round wounds.
They still have the Ric sound, I really like Fender flats on Rics, they're bright enough to still have that sound if you want but also deep enough to have plenty of bottom. You can get anywhere from an upright sound with these to the grindy sound.

I went to flatwound strings awhile back and would never go back to roundwound - but that's just me. I love the sound of roundwounds when I hear other people play them, but I love the smooth feel of flats, especially when sliding - and I like the balanced tone. I've had TI Jazz flats on mine (1993 4003), but keep hearing about Fender Flats - will have to try them.

 

[Jeff Scott]

Been wondering about Class D for bass

I've been using "Class D for Bass" since 2001. What are you waiting for?

 

[bobyoung53]

I went to flatwound strings awhile back and would never go back to roundwound - but that's just me. I love the sound of roundwounds when I hear other people play them, but I love the smooth feel of flats, especially when sliding - and I like the balanced tone. I've had TI Jazz flats on mine (1993 4003), but keep hearing about Fender Flats - will have to try them.

Another good flat I like is La Bella DTF's. I have them on two Fenders. I have the extra light's on my TF fretless (.096) E but even though they're light they still have some stiffness to them because of the core.

 

[GreggBummer]

Finally had the opportunity to play the Ric through two amps. Using my nifty Rattlesnake splitter box for "Rick-O-Sound" I put the bass pickup through my Ampeg SVT 3PRO with a 410 cab. The treble pickup went to my Ashdown RM800 with a 210. I had some effects on the treble side too.

Holy smokes. This set up is diabolical. It is a massive sound. Just small tweaks to volume or tone knobs on the Ric has wild results. We were just playing some classic rock stuff... but the night turned into some kind of proggy metal jam.