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I guess I'm eccentric too... I ride Buell's, Moto Guzzi's, old Triumphs and BMW's... that must be why I need this Rick despite the irritation...
I hadn't spent enough time with this particular Ric to bond with it, which is why I didn't have any real qualms about sending it back. But I could tell I was gonna like it...
Well, a bad neck versus a malfunctioning switch are distinguishable. A trained monkey can replace a switch. EBMM needed to make a new neck for your bass. GC screwed with you too.
I sent a brand new Sabre back for a ski jump. I would have kept it if the switch had been bad.
And again I'm not bagging on the OP for sending it back.
So, to sum everything up, everyone knows Rickenbacker QC is terrible, but people keep buying them despite the terrible QC. If I'm Rickenbacker, I'm thinking, so what?
I have a 4003S that I bought "NOS" here on TB, and I'm quite fond of it. I took the pickup cover off (which is the correct thing to do) and found the bridge pickup is angled slightly off parallel to the neck. It bothered me for about a day. I like Rickenbackers, but they certainly have their quirks out of the box. I'm not excusing or apologizing for them, it's just their business model. Until people stop buying them, they won't change. And no, returning them won't help because they generally don't accept returns, and their warranties don't transfer. It's like the anti-EBMM company. Not a fan of the company, but they do make a distinct and desirable instrument.
I am a bit mystified as to some of the rationalizations that has occurred in this thread as to why this should be considered ok. Namely the flat tire analogy.
I have a 4003S that I bought "NOS" here on TB, and I'm quite fond of it. I took the pickup cover off (which is the correct thing to do) and found the bridge pickup is angled slightly off parallel to the neck. It bothered me for about a day. I like Rickenbackers, but they certainly have their quirks out of the box. I'm not excusing or apologizing for them, it's just their business model. Until people stop buying them, they won't change. And no, returning them won't help because they generally don't accept returns, and their warranties don't transfer. It's like the anti-EBMM company. Not a fan of the company, but they do make a distinct and desirable instrument.
I am a bit mystified as to some of the rationalizations that has occurred in this thread as to why this should be considered ok. Namely the flat tire analogy.
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You will fit right in. If I wanted Perfection and reliability I would play an Ibanez and ride a Honda. Screw that. I play a Ric and ride a Guzzi.
Thing is, there aren't any alternatives to a Rick so you have no choice but to take your chances when ordering one. It's not like a Jazz or Precision style bass where there are plenty of options.
This, I would love to have a Rickenbacker but their crappy warranty that starts when the bass was produced and not when was actually sold to the customer stop me to buy one, I dont support that crap, good thing is that John does not need my money and I dont need his basses.
As to the rationalization, I give Ric a pass on this because I love the bass and a switch is more like a wiper blade, to me. I don't give Fender a pass because there are functionally equivalent basses that are better. See G&L, Sadowsky, Lull. Ric is also a small company that is sort of nutty. I like that. It's a musical instrument not an appliance. If my dishwasher had a bad switch I'd be mad, but an otherwise incredible, unique instrument? Not mad at all.
Huh? Why is that a good thing? Is it the charm? Does it give the instrument "soul"? Enlighten me.
It is very gut-wrenching whenever someone has a terrible QC experience with Rics. As much as I would like to own one, as the sound is just unique and beautiful (IMO), this joke of a QC procedure is inexcusable, really. I bought an LTD from Indonesia, set up perfectly, no defects, everything works beautifully as expected, maybe even more, the fact there is even a modicum of chance I don't get that (minus the set-up, I dont mind that) with a $2000 instrument is ridiculous.
I say that as someone who absolutely love Rickenbackers...
I say that as someone who absolutely love Rickenbackers...
I purchased a brand new Fender Artist Jazz a couple years ago which bridge buzzed like mad. Fixed it and moved on. My brand new Ampeg SVT 410 LF had a rattle. Fixed it and moved on. Numerous products (not just musical instruments) I have purchased over the years have had random QC issues which I fixed and moved on. I've come to expect damn near everything nowadays has, can have minor issues. Life I guess.
We understand you are a RIC hater (based upon previous threads), but please don't imply that RIC fans are simply taking care of business because RIC will not.
Lets not blow this "joke of a QC" thing out of proportion. This is a bad switch. And no one is paying $2k.
That is not to say that it's OK that the switch was bad. But it is a switch, not a twisted neck.
Not a rick hater just like my instruments to work and be reliable and based on previous threads they aren't and if you happen to purchase one(which is pretty expensive) with a fault RIC don't treat you very well.
These are just my views and it's purely my opinion.
My Fender Am. Standard Jazz had a buzzy bridge. My Tony Franklin's nut was cut too deep on the D. I fixed both with scraps of paper. I stll have two Fenders and love them to death.
Rickenbacker does not manufacture the switch. They install it. If the switch works when shipped out the door from Ric, they are satisfied. If it stops working after shipping it becomes a separate problem. If MF is making good on it and paying the shipping on a replacement I would call it good. That is not to say I would be happy about it, but I wouldn't lose sleep over it. I have also purchased basses and amps that had a defective part. If they are fixed at the sellers or manufactures expense, I don't know what else can be expected.
I played a Ric exclusivly for eight years when I was touring. No backup. No problems. They are reliable, is my point. My last one had a bad pot and Ric hooked me up to my satisfaction.
You kind of missed my point. What if it wasn't a switch? Maybe it was a bad pickup. Not likely but possible. I owned one 4003. It had a bad pickup. Ric didn't give a poopie either. Awful CS on that one. But if the OP messed with the bass and it had a bad pickup, where would the responsibility then fall - the OP for messing with it or Ric for letting a P.O.S. out the door? I messed with my EBMM and it almost cost me $500. The OP was smart for not playing with the switch or whatever was wrong with the Ric. Let Ric fix it. It's THEIR baby. That was my point.
