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New Rickenbacker 5 String Reviews
- Thread starter ZiggyDude
- Start date
A Very Fair Evaluation...... especially from someone who openly states that he doesn't like 5-strings. 
I Love 5 Strings and My Mapleglo is Bassilicious in every way. I was quite pleasantly surprised when I played it ...... especially since I'd gone in to purchase a different brand. Don't have one yet? Don't wait.
I Love 5 Strings and My Mapleglo is Bassilicious in every way. I was quite pleasantly surprised when I played it ...... especially since I'd gone in to purchase a different brand. Don't have one yet? Don't wait.
I just bought a new one and have had it for a week now and been playing it every day. I completely agree on how the B and E strings sound like they are from a different bass than the G and D strings. And the middle string sounds so wimpy to me. When I play my 4 string 4003 after playing the 5 string. The 4 string just blows it out of the water. Also these new pick ups feedback. My 4 string has never given me feedback.
If your bass is feeding back, it's broken and in need of repair. Neither of mine feedback, and I've played them pretty loud over the past couple of years.
And therein lies the rub with Rickenbacker Inc. If you have any warranty claim issues like microphonic pickups, You own shipping it back to CA on your own nickel, or just returning it for a refund to wherever you got it. Ric has NO regional authorized service centers, which is a highly effective technique for discouraging warranty claims. A nice looking and playing bass by all accounts, but like all Rics, if anything is wrong with it out of the box, you are effectively on your own. Ive never had a strong desire for a 5, but if I did, I'd probably buy a Ric 5, but not sight unseen/unp!ayed. I have yet to see one in stock in a store, so playing before buying may be impossible for most players.
The one I played a couple years ago at my local SA sounded great, but the neck was too fat for my liking.
I also played one at a local SA a couple of years ago. I liked the neck, narrow string spacing (like my G&L five), and the feel overall even though I would prefer a flatter fretboard of at least 12" radius. I liked the tone a lot during the test, but thought the E and B strings could use a little more definition. I liked the thickness, but wasn't sure how it would work for me over the long haul. Need to try one again, because I want a passive five.
. Here’s a Beauty and it’s right down the street from you.
I wish, because I love Northampton! I like that shop, which I visited when my daughter toured Smith College. They had a fantastic selection.
Have you found a string source? I use the DR Hi-Beams .40 - .120 set and that seems to work well.
Stephen Pretti writes: " Also I don’t enjoy tearing my hands up playing over that horseshoe pickup mess after it’s been removed."
It always brings me GREAT Amounts of Pleasure when I read ANYTHING about Regret, Emergency Room visits, Shredded Skin or Physical and Mental Anguish concerning or related to the Removal of PUP Covers. For these and other Realizations and the Bassilicious Rewards of putting the PUP Cover BACK ON, Stephen is the Recipient of my Personal "TalkBass Marching Band Award!" Congratulations Stephen! True Happiness can ONLY be found when PUP Covers are left EXACTLY where they belong! 
It always brings me GREAT Amounts of Pleasure when I read ANYTHING about Regret, Emergency Room visits, Shredded Skin or Physical and Mental Anguish concerning or related to the Removal of PUP Covers.
For these and other Realizations and the Bassilicious Rewards of putting the PUP Cover BACK ON, Stephen is the Recipient of my Personal "TalkBass Marching Band Award!" Congratulations Stephen! True Happiness can ONLY be found when PUP Covers are left EXACTLY where they belong! I did not write that.Stephen Pretti writes: " Also I don’t enjoy tearing my hands up playing over that horseshoe pickup mess after it’s been removed."
It always brings me GREAT Amounts of Pleasure when I read ANYTHING about Regret, Emergency Room visits, Shredded Skin or Physical and Mental Anguish concerning or related to the Removal of PUP Covers.
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My Mistake...... LOLOL....... RealJeffJenkins seems to have written it.....No Marching Band for Stephen! Real Jeff..... The Band will arrive at YOUR Home just in time for Dinner.
Ha! I bought my Steinberger at Downtown Sound! Glad to see they didn’t succumb to the great GC apocalypse of mom n’ pop guitar stores. I used to work right around the corner, went in there a couple times a week on lunch hours. Used to be one in downtown Amherst too, don’t remember the name.
I had asked about the neck a couple times and hadn't gotten a satisfactory answer.
My 95 FG 4003 is my convertable 5 string. I liked the neck and spacing as a 5 string and seriously doubt I would flourish with a wider neck.
I just converted her back to a 4, but have all the parts in the case to quickly convert her back to a 5 should the need arise.
I've forever wished that "Replies" could take place directly on or under a Comment......but as that's not to be, it's always nice to hear from "Homies".
Northampton now has 3 or 4 M.I. shops...far too many for a small town. As for GC, I'll NEVER understand why anyone would buy an instrument of any kind from a GC. ....but that's just me. There are about a dozen "Second Tier" dealers who are absolutely Amazing scattered across the Country...I highly recommend supporting them.
I was blessed (in a musical way) by being born EXACTLY when I was....in Northampton.....going Gonzo when the Beatles appeared, playing Gigs when they paid money and then going on to Work with the guys who used to be my Heroes. Unfortunately those days are gone and won't be coming back.....but I'm Grateful. I'll be sure to tell David you said hello.
I went to college at UMASS Amherst and then worked in Northampton 1986-87. I bought my Steinberger XP-2 from Dave (older guy, longish hair, glasses?) At the time it was a choice between the XP-2 and a Kubicki ExFactor, which was a couple hundred more. I still have the XP, kinda wish I bought the Kubicki! Saw a lot of great bands at the Iron Horse, including Alan Holdsworth with Jimmy Johnson and Chad Wackerman, the most aptly named drummer of all time. He was LOUD! Haven’t been out that way in at least 25 years, they tell me UMASS is nearly unrecognizable.
Actually, Western Mass is nearly unrecognizable. Just yesterday after leaving a Doc appointment where he told me in no uncertain terms that I need to get out more, and without Google Maps to help me, (I Often leave my phone at home as ANY addiction is a bad addiction) I hit unfamiliar back roads to get home rather than simply jump on 91. I became lost several times and spent 5 hours seeing places I'd never seen before. I was shocked at how many businesses have closed; many due to Covid, others due to Amazon, SuperStores and Malls. Life has changed my Friend...... and it's not going to ever become the way it was. I've been very fortunate in being able to work with many of the Bands that influenced me so much when I was much younger. As for basses, I've owned over a hundred (Silly Boy) and still to this day kick myself in the butt for parting with each that I let go. You need a Kubicki.
It's a very interesting phenomenon to me that Rics in general have lots of 'quirks' that the company is glacially slow to address in a timely fashion, and enough players routinely complain here about their barely there Customer Support and attitude that I know it's far more than a disgruntled few hardheads, and yet at their nosebleed MSRP's and backorder times, they continue to sell.
I've played fives since the 80's, and these would never be on my list, mostly for what I listed above, which is what I pick up as constant background noise about Ric in general here on TB that never seems to go away, even amid the many likes these things receive.
I've played fives since the 80's, and these would never be on my list, mostly for what I listed above, which is what I pick up as constant background noise about Ric in general here on TB that never seems to go away, even amid the many likes these things receive.
