• 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.

Playing a Rickenbacker made me hate Rickenbacker

#63
If I had $4,000 burning a hole in my pocket and needed a bass, I'd get a bass at Rondomusic and this:
mz.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: pappabass, scourgeofgod, The Funkapotamus and 3 others
#66
M.R. Ogle said:
Well, playing one for six months made ME hate 'em, too. It was that sharp top binding thing that hurt me after a few weeks, I took to wearing a wristband on my forearm. I've NEVER had a bass physically HURT to play before, that was it for me.

Tough thing is, I like the iconic look, many of my bass heroes played em (Squire, Geddy, Jon Camp, etc) and I really like that sound.

Now, the 4003's.... hmmmm....
Click to expand...

i have both 4003 and 4003S basses. the 4003 binding has never been a major issue for me, but i do admit it's a little bit uncomfortable. i didn't buy a 4003S for that reason but i have to agree that they're noticeably more ergonomic and comfortable ...and maybe a shade lighter as well. plus they're cheaper! thumbs up from me for the 4003S.
 
#68
Joe Nerve said:
You should write to Rickenbacker and be sure they know about your horrific experience! Your reason is as good as any to hate them.

By the way... If you know how to shop you can get a brand new one for around $1300. But you're never going to buy one so it doesn't really matter.

And oh yeah... My new Ric has become my #1 (for now at least), and I own 21 other basses of all types (most in the same price range of the Ric). Sorry you'll never get to experience owning one. No, actually.. I'm lying. I don't really care whether or not you ever own one :).
Click to expand...


where can you get a new Rick for $1300? Also - I HATE binding on anything. Is there a model with binding?
 
#69
Bassmaticmatt said:
Ok so I went into Sam Ash yesterday for the sole purpose of trying a Rick. Found the best looking one there (I love there look). Plugged it into a fender rumble and flattened the eq. Same thing I do every time I demo something. The thing played great and sounded better. But there was one problem. The white binding around the body was uneven and the wood color was bleeding through. Right then and there I decided that if there quality control didn't catch such a obvious flaw there is no telling what else they missed. Now if this was the case in a sub $600 bass I wouldn't really care that m much because it is superficial and does not effect the sound or playability. But on a nearly $2,000 bass? Unacceptable.
Click to expand...
You said there instead of "their." If this wasn't a forum based on communication through words, I wouldn't point out such an obvious flaw. But if we're both being nit-picky? Unacceptable.

I'm playin'. But seriously, that blemish could've gotten you a discount and would've set your bass apart from others. A birthmark!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Matthew_84, blastoff and Billybladez66
#71
Ric5 said:
I have a love hate relationship with Ricks

I hate the pickup cover and the tailpiece/bridge/mechanical mute assembly.
I hate that they don't make a 5 string bass, and when they did they got it wrong.

I love the look and the tone.

I have owned dozens of Ricks and worked on dozens more and I have found the overall quality to be very good, and some of the best playing basses were the ones with flaws.
Click to expand...

i agree with your list, and i'll add:

i hate that they don't shield the control cavity.
i hate that they don't wire the pickups RWRP for hum canceling.
i hate that they make cool stuff (e.g. checkerboard binding, different colors) for foreign markets but not the US market.
i hate that they don't offer a wider product range (i'd love to buy a brand new 4002 or 4080, or a regular 4003S in chris squire cream, or a regular 4003S with a toaster and horseshoe standard, or different colored pickguards and truss rod covers, for example).
i hate the preinstalled schaller straplocks (i prefer dimarzio cliplock straps).

i love the playability.
i love the dual truss rods.
i love the bridge pickup push/pull pot functionality.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Jools4001, Matthew_84, nixdad and 1 other person
#73
I had a beautiful Azure-glo 4001 that I really tried hard with and wanted to like. The neck was to die for, but it was the body that did the killing. I've gone down the Spector route now, but the NS2 owes more than a nod to the 4000. If I could get a 4003S with the same neck as my old 4001, then who knows?
 
  • Like
Reactions: diegom
#78
Bassmaticmatt said:
It's not like I said something racist or bashed a religion or something.
Click to expand...

Ummm, this is TB, Ric's are a religion, tort pickguards are a religion, P-basses are Catholicism, 5 strings are a religion, finger picking is a religion, slapping is a religion, belief in the tone wood fairy is a religion. And don't even get started on the effing prophets!

So yes, yes you did. The backlash should make that emphatically clear... And at this point, you're liable to get notified for the rest of your TB life about people posting vehement rebuttals to this regrettable thread. You may want to contact a moderator and request that this thread be locked, just so you don't end up in the fetal position every time your alerts notification goes off...
 
  • Like
Reactions: BlueAliceOasis, Fat Steve, audreycashin and 5 others
#79
I'd argue that even on a sub-$600 bass such problems on a brand new instrument - while purely cosmetic - are also unacceptable. I'm well aware that corners get cut, I know the reality of things, just my .02
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back