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Rickenbacker basses
- Thread starter One_Dude
- Start date
This is my story, as well. When I was in high school (late '70s), I was a huge fan of Chris and Geddy. I saved money from my grocery store job after school and bought a brand new blue Rick in 1978. I loved the sound, but the ergonomics were horrible for me. In college, I started getting more into reggae, fusion and jazz. I ended up trading my Rick for a Fender Jazz and I've never had the urge to buy another.
Did you mean mystique?
If you want mystic, here is a "Mystic Jam" featuring a July 1973 4001.
Sounds similar to my experience, I worked summer jobs, mowed lawns etc. to save up for my first "real" bass, a 1978 4001 Jetglo, $450 with HSC at E.U. Wurlitzer, the biggest guitar store in Boston at the time. I was infatuated with that bass, but most of my college bandmates were not, "only makes one sound" (which wasn't true) but I was young and stupidly sold it after only three years, and instantly regretted it. Fast forward 47 years, now I've built three Ric clones, including a recent "Lemmy" 4004 LK tribute bass, with most of the inherent design issues fixed. The hard binding still chafes a bit, but I'm a sucker for the look. And I'm still a Squire/Geddy fan, so the tone just does it for me still. No doubt Rics are a bit "ergonomically challenged", they either fit you hands and body or they don't, in my case they still fit like a glove. They are polarizing basses, a lot of techs hated the double "hairpin" trussrods, and the later more standard ones, which were equally fragile. Every tech I ever took mine to adjusted them for equal tension on both rods. Introducing variable relief on the E and G strings has another name: "neck twist". They finally switched to a simple single modern DA trussrod that everyone knows how to adjust. the need or utility for double rods was always questionable at best, good riddance. In my case I had picked my 4001 out of a STACK of 5-6 basses, and picked the one with the thinnest neck. That may have been part of the problem, it never was particularly stable. They had really chunky baseball bat necks for a while, now they've gone back to the skinnier 70's profile. You might be pleasantly surprised if you picked one up now.... or not.
They’re Iconic. They arguably have an unsurpassed cool factor. They’re somewhat unique tone wise and the newer 4003s with the switchable tone cap are pretty versatile.
They’re ergonomically challenged, especially if you’re used to a Fender like bass. They can vary tremendously from bass to bass in terms of neck profile, weight, pickups and quality control over the years. Geddy Lee and Chris Squire will sound more like themselves on a J bass than you will sound like them on a Ric.
I’ve owned a 4001 and 4003 over the course of 40+ years. I sold them both. I still want one. My personal take on the 4003 was that I could get used to the ergonomic issues, but it wasn’t worth it to me. Why bother when a J or a Stingray suits me better.
For you, the only way you’ll know is to have one. Then you can join in for the rest of your life on threads like this one. The urge to have one and then praise or bash them is seemingly inescapable.
If at all possible, play one you’re going to buy before you buy it.
They’re ergonomically challenged, especially if you’re used to a Fender like bass. They can vary tremendously from bass to bass in terms of neck profile, weight, pickups and quality control over the years. Geddy Lee and Chris Squire will sound more like themselves on a J bass than you will sound like them on a Ric.
I’ve owned a 4001 and 4003 over the course of 40+ years. I sold them both. I still want one. My personal take on the 4003 was that I could get used to the ergonomic issues, but it wasn’t worth it to me. Why bother when a J or a Stingray suits me better.
For you, the only way you’ll know is to have one. Then you can join in for the rest of your life on threads like this one. The urge to have one and then praise or bash them is seemingly inescapable.
If at all possible, play one you’re going to buy before you buy it.
That's interesting - i had a beautiful 4001 with a pretty thin 2-truss neck, and i wanted to love it so much, but i had a hard time getting comfortable playing with fingers. It felt better playing with a pick, but i didn't want to play everything with a pick, and that's the main reason i sold it on. I like the looks of the 4005, but haven't really tried one out.
This! The 4003S is a great alternative to the regular 4003 if you want extra comfort. You will also save $250 off the list price if you buy one new. The 4003S is $2,250 and the 4003 is $2,500 on Sweetwater. Sweetwater got their prices from the Rickenbacker website, which has their official price list.
You're right about this! But I had to think about my moment before posting. This is my Rickenbacker "origin story":
A combination of teenage GAS, the stunning aesthetics, and getting the Sam Ash (RIP) catalog in the mail every month made me want to try one out at a music store. It wasn't hearing a certain Ric bassist or anything like that. Paul McCartney was my biggest bass hero at that time in my life and he only played a Ric part of the time in The Beatles (and for most of Wings). I remember thinking about the possibility of not liking one after experiencing some bad basses back then, so I kept my hopes in check.
Fast forward to June 2012. I got to try a mapleglo model in Sam Ash for the first time. I couldn't put it down. It was in that moment... when I realized that I wanted one of these basses in my life. I didn't think the 4003 would become my main bass at that time. But I loved what I was playing!
A month later, I found the Craigslist deal of a lifetime for a 1980 Ric 4001. I met the seller and I acquired it with my first paycheck after high school graduation. It cost me only $800 because my Dad helped me negotiate with the seller who just wanted to get rid of it.
Unfortunately, my first Ric ended up having pickup issues and it wasn't the same after I put in new pickups. So I traded it for a 1972 Fender Jazz Bass (and I regretted it for the 5 years I had that bass). But I later traded the Fender for my 2022 Satin Autumnglo Ric 4003 that I still own. My 4003 is way better than my old 4001, so I no longer regret this long trade cycle. This 4003 is one of my two main basses, splitting duties with the next 4003 that I almost forgot to mention.While I had my 4001, I also wanted a new 4003. So I acquired the Ruby Red one in my avatar in 2013. It has been my main bass since ever since.
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Every bassist should own at least 1 Rickenbacker. Very distinct sound/tone that can't be done by any other bass, IMO.
I love my Ric, it sounds like nothing else.
I have some stunning basses in my fleet, and they mostly go unnoticed at gigs. But when I bring out my 4003, so many folks come up and chat about it.
I have some stunning basses in my fleet, and they mostly go unnoticed at gigs. But when I bring out my 4003, so many folks come up and chat about it.
The first time I heard "Rubber Soul" I knew something was different. The bass had more "something". I didn't know what it was but I could hear it. Later I learned this was the first album where Paul used his Ric bass. Around that same time I saw picture of Chris Squire with his Ric and I said to myself, "someday I'm gonna get one of those."
Oddly enough, it always seemed to me like Macca was trying to make his Ric sound like a Hofner, flats with all the treble rolled off, but it goes to show that the “one trick pony” thing is complete BS. Rics are as versatile as any 2 pup bass, but only a Ric sounds like a Ric with rounds and treble cranked. It’s very much a Bass Guitar, which is what hooked me in the first place.
I agree, but Paul failed to get it to sound like a Hofner, imo. The Rickenbacker has its own thing going on.
And, that was a good thing, too.
I don't know much about Paul's early musical influences, but to my ears, that thumpy, no-sustain Hofner bass sounded a bit like a marching band tuba. The Ric had that smooth tone, but way more sustain ( and accurate intonation). It's one of my favorite Ric tones, and having that on tap in addition to a Squire/Geddy tone is what makes them so unique. My G&L L2k can do a half decent Ric emulation in single coil/treble boost mode, but it's... never.... quite... there. You can get close with a lot of basses, particularly geddy tones, but if you want to nail that classic Ric tone... get a Ric. Yeah, they are expensive, so are high-end Fenders nobody seems to blink an eye at. Some of his stuff i assumed was a 4001 was actually a Jazz, but Geddy just always sounds like Geddy, whatever the bass in his hands.
If Tim Curry played a bass in The Rocky Horror Picture Show it would've been a Rickenbacker. It just has that look.
