I played for several years before owning a Ric. I had some health problems such as sever halitosis, boils, stenosing tenosynovitis, and dandruff. Buying a Ric cured all these ailments and the fairer sex flocked to me. I say you need a Ric.
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please tell me i don't need a RIC
- Thread starter TAOspeedwagon
- Start date
This whole "one trick pony" argument amuses me. No matter what bass I play on a gig, I MAYBE tweek the tone knobs a bit here and there, but I essentially plug and play. If I really feel the need for a 'different tone' I bring and entirely different bass. So with the Ric, I'm only looking for a Ric tone, which I think sounds incredible. If I need a 'jazz' or a 'P' or a 'MM' tone, I'll just grab my actual J, P, or MM. I cannot , nor would I want to, make my Ric sound like anything else than a Ric.
So my suggestion is get the Ric if you are looking for the Ric sound.
So my suggestion is get the Ric if you are looking for the Ric sound.
Man, I always wanted one. Until I realized how much it cost for a bass with that many flaws that had had no significant improvements since its inception. (ever set the intonation on a Ric?)
My first real bass was a '78 4001. I bought it new on 48th street from Sam Ash for $369 w/case. Still remember the day and still kicking myself for letting in the mid-80's. It ruined me, since nothing feels, plays or sounds like a Ric, but a Ric.
That doesn't mean it's for everyone and when I got back into playing recently, the first thing I looked for was a Ric. After cleaning the spewed coffee off the keyboard when I found out the price of them now I knew I wasn't getting one, way too much IMO.
If you have the disposable cash, give them a shot, but certainly sit down with one for a good amount of time before deciding.
That doesn't mean it's for everyone and when I got back into playing recently, the first thing I looked for was a Ric. After cleaning the spewed coffee off the keyboard when I found out the price of them now I knew I wasn't getting one, way too much IMO.
If you have the disposable cash, give them a shot, but certainly sit down with one for a good amount of time before deciding.
Rics are great- think Chris Squire tone or Lemmy. or early Geddy to name a few reasons you might want one... and IMHO a Ric through a big Marshall rig or SVT may very well be the voice of God-
Had one I had played for 10 years on the road, cruelly it was stolen- like losing a piece of my life, it was 25 years ago and it still hurts to think about it now.
Not necessarily a one trick pony, but it has a distinctive voice- if you like that and have the money, I say get the damn thing- life's too short not to.
Had one I had played for 10 years on the road, cruelly it was stolen- like losing a piece of my life, it was 25 years ago and it still hurts to think about it now.
Not necessarily a one trick pony, but it has a distinctive voice- if you like that and have the money, I say get the damn thing- life's too short not to.
Face it, you need one!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I'll be buried with mine. I would never sell it no matter what.
My '87 4003 has been my main bass for 11 or 12 years now. I just can't say enough about the playability and YES, I play fingerstyle 99.9% of the time.
I couldn't agree more with Sufenta's one trick pony comment. I feel exactly the same way. I bought my Ric because I needed to have that Ric sound. I bought my Jazz, fretless, PJ, acoustic, and other basses for the same reason.
Buy a bass because it's the bass that YOU need and not the bass that others think you do or don't. The nice thing about the Ric is that if you find that it's not the right axe for you, you can always sell it at little to no loss.
Here is a couple of porn shots of mine if you don't mind.......... She doesn't look too bad for a 21 year old. lol
I'll be buried with mine. I would never sell it no matter what.
My '87 4003 has been my main bass for 11 or 12 years now. I just can't say enough about the playability and YES, I play fingerstyle 99.9% of the time.
I couldn't agree more with Sufenta's one trick pony comment. I feel exactly the same way. I bought my Ric because I needed to have that Ric sound. I bought my Jazz, fretless, PJ, acoustic, and other basses for the same reason.
Buy a bass because it's the bass that YOU need and not the bass that others think you do or don't. The nice thing about the Ric is that if you find that it's not the right axe for you, you can always sell it at little to no loss.
Here is a couple of porn shots of mine if you don't mind.......... She doesn't look too bad for a 21 year old. lol
+1. The whole overpriced, awkward to play, one trick pony argument doesn't hold water with me. Sorry. I have 3 - 4003s and they are all I use. No GAS for anything else. Seems to be a love 'em or hate 'em thing with Rics. Try one out first.
P.S. I have used and owned a Sterling, a Geddy Lee jazz and a couple of Shecters in the last year that just didn't do it for me.
You don't need a Ric. All you really need is a wash tub, a stick and a bit of rope.
As far as them being too expensive goes, I call BS on that! To date my Ric has cost me $1.02 per week, and has earned me far more money than that on a per weekly basis.
As far as them being too expensive goes, I call BS on that! To date my Ric has cost me $1.02 per week, and has earned me far more money than that on a per weekly basis.
When I was a kid, a Rick 4001 was my DREAM bass. I wanted a natural one, like McCartney's from Wings Over America. In 1988, one just fell into my lap. It was supremely cool. I was supremely proud of it, I knew how cool it was, but I didn't like it. I figured I just needed to grow into it. I had that bass for 6 years, waiting for myself to like it. I never did. I hated the way it felt, I hated the way the body binding dug into my forearm, I hated the way it sounded when I played it. I sold it and don't really miss it.
I still think they're awesome looking basses, I still love a lot of the sounds people have gotten with them. Every few years I get some goofy urge to try to find another one- that usually lasts until I pick one up and remember why and how much I hated mine.
Ill tell you that you don't need a Ric. But then I'd be lying to you. 
As far as the reasons mentioned in this thread why you shouldn't get one:
Expensive.... well obviously, there's quite a demand; meaning people like them.
Digs into your forearm. Well, mine did too. 99 cents for a wristband cured that problem.
One-trick tone pony? Hmmm. I don't know about anyone else, but I can play fingerstyle or with a pick, play near the bridge or fretboard, solo either pickup, or decide whether or not to cut the .0047 uf cap. Each pickup has its own volume and tone control. My amp has an EQ as well. That's lots of tones right there. As mentioned before, if I want to sound like a P with flats, i'll use my P with flats. Now what were we talking about again?
Pickup guard gets in the way? Take it off. That's what the screws are for.
Intonation a pain? Yep, but you really only have to do it once if you use the same brand/gauge of strings consistently. If that's too daunting, drop in a Hipshot bridge. people put Badasses on their Ps or Js all the time, so none of that "Why spend all that money on a Ric just to swap out parts?" crap.
As far as the reasons mentioned in this thread why you shouldn't get one:
Expensive.... well obviously, there's quite a demand; meaning people like them.
Digs into your forearm. Well, mine did too. 99 cents for a wristband cured that problem.
One-trick tone pony? Hmmm. I don't know about anyone else, but I can play fingerstyle or with a pick, play near the bridge or fretboard, solo either pickup, or decide whether or not to cut the .0047 uf cap. Each pickup has its own volume and tone control. My amp has an EQ as well. That's lots of tones right there. As mentioned before, if I want to sound like a P with flats, i'll use my P with flats. Now what were we talking about again?
Pickup guard gets in the way? Take it off. That's what the screws are for.
Intonation a pain? Yep, but you really only have to do it once if you use the same brand/gauge of strings consistently. If that's too daunting, drop in a Hipshot bridge. people put Badasses on their Ps or Js all the time, so none of that "Why spend all that money on a Ric just to swap out parts?" crap.
You may want a Ric, but you do not 'need' a Ric.
Spend a few days looking at all the other stuff you could do with that money.
Spend a few days looking at all the other stuff you could do with that money.
Ok, lots of reasons you don't need a Ric... let me count the ways:
Bridge pickup cover gets in the way of fingerstyle playing. If you remove it, the edges are real sharp and you'll have to deal with it, or get a Pickguardian setup.
Bridge itself is kinda hokey, you'll probably need to find another replacement, such as the discontinued Ric-looking Hipshot.
The G string is too close to the fingerboard and it sometimes rolls off the edge during play... you'll probably need to make (or have a luthier make) another nut to fix the string spacing.
If you're listening to old 70s recordings of a Ric, your Ric bass won't sound like what you're expecting... so you'll have to unwind the pickups from 12k ohms down to a vintage 8.5k ohms.
If it doesn't have the "vintage" tone selector (pre-2006 Rics) you'll have to wire in the .0047 cap.
It's hella-noisy... you'll need to shield those cavities and the back of the pickguard like the lunar module to cut out the buzz.
Wait... that's all the stuff I did to my 2002 Ric!! Doh!
Yea, they've got probs, but I like me enough! (see sig)
Bridge pickup cover gets in the way of fingerstyle playing. If you remove it, the edges are real sharp and you'll have to deal with it, or get a Pickguardian setup. Bridge itself is kinda hokey, you'll probably need to find another replacement, such as the discontinued Ric-looking Hipshot. The G string is too close to the fingerboard and it sometimes rolls off the edge during play... you'll probably need to make (or have a luthier make) another nut to fix the string spacing. If you're listening to old 70s recordings of a Ric, your Ric bass won't sound like what you're expecting... so you'll have to unwind the pickups from 12k ohms down to a vintage 8.5k ohms. If it doesn't have the "vintage" tone selector (pre-2006 Rics) you'll have to wire in the .0047 cap. It's hella-noisy... you'll need to shield those cavities and the back of the pickguard like the lunar module to cut out the buzz.Wait... that's all the stuff I did to my 2002 Ric!! Doh!
Yea, they've got probs, but I like me enough! (see sig)
Well I guess you don't "need" a Rick.....
but I happen to love the 5 I have:
'72 4001
'86 4003
'98 4004C
'00 4004Cii
'00 4001CS
but I happen to love the 5 I have:
'72 4001
'86 4003
'98 4004C
'00 4004Cii
'00 4001CS
Need? who cares, if you want it and you can efford it, get it and stop winning about.
Go to guitar center and borrow one for a few days. You can keep the guitar up to 30 days before you have to return it. Play that thing like a mad man. Get it out of your system.
