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Rickenbacker buying advice, please

corinpills

corinpills

Nov 19, 2000
2,395
2,257
58
Boston, MA
www.corinashley.com
#1
I know the wisest thing would be to weait until i can try something out in person, but if I do end up buying a Rick bass on Craigslist or ebay, what are the "good years" to be looking for. I know people generally reckon the newer ones are pretty spot on, but how far back? 2003 or so? And what do you all think of 80s Rick basses?

I was borrowing my buddies 1972 4001 for a while and I really liked the neck on that. I tried another friend's newer c64 and I found that neck to be a bit thick and unwieldy. I'm a huge Beatles fan, but I don't think that would be the one for me. I'm looking for one in the $1500- $1900 range, so what are me best bets?

I know this is a pretty general question, but thanks in adavance for any advice you can offer.
 
#3
There really are no good years and bad years, just varying degrees of thickness on the necks over the years. You could hold 2 of the same year model and they'd be different. I can say, I've owned '76 and '77 4001's which were both awesome, an '85, '99, and '06 4003's, which were all great, but the '06 was the best of the bunch, and an '08 4004Cii which tops them all. None sucked.
 
#6
I<34080 said:
2006 was the first year with the vintage tone selector, if that is important to you.
Click to expand...

Yes, I really like that vintage tone on my 2007 4003. With the push/pull switch on vintage mode you get this classy Ric tone like Squire, Geddy, you name it. Push this switch to modern tone and you get this fatter tone with lots of lows! One more thing is that the newer 4003 truss rod can be adjusted the normal way, thus without the required manual neck bending. Big plus, for me.
 
#8
I would stay away from E-Bay , I see people spending way too much for brand new 4003s there, maybe because they are not in the US? Maybe because they dont want to wait?

I personally would go through a RIC distributer, buy new and get the factory warranty. They can be found from the high 15 hundreds to 16 hundreds.... If you search hard, you can find the color you like and not really wait at all.

The new ones are really fine instruments! I love mine!
 
#9
i got my '78 4001 from ebay, but i had a friend i trust who lived near where it was located so i had him check it out first. occasionally some good deals pop up on there(like mine), so if you either don't mind taking a chance or you have a way of checking it out it can really be a viable option.
 
#10
In general the 70s ricks were pretty slim neck thickness-wise. 80s they got thicker and didn't return to the slimmer necks until the last year or 2?

The neck on my 74 is paper thin, my 72 not as much but still more or less a jazz bass neck.
 
#11
Have you considered one of the 4004 series? I have owned a bunch of ric basses over the years,and these are my favorite basses these days. I have 2, a mg cii,and a fg customised laredo,also a '74 4000. I purchased every one of these via the internet,and have no regrets. There are small differences in the 3 i have,but they all are fantastic basses!
Edit i did own an '83 4002,which was a great bass,Btw. I briefly had a '92 V63,but decided not to keep it,it was a really nice bass, but i opted for keeping my cii and 4000 at the time instead.
 
#12
The most sought after Rics are 1968 and older. But these are also the ones with the weakest necks and weakest pickups. The least desired Rics are the ones from 1980 to 1985. 70s 4001 basses are good gigging basses. The 1986 and later 4003 basses have a better neck and hotter pickups. I prefer the Rics made in the 21st century.
 
#13
I have a 99 4003 and it has a slightly thicker neck to 4001 and the newer ones but you soon get used to it.
A fabulous bass.No issues with it at all ever.
It,s 12 years old now and sounding better than ever.It plays like a dream,rock solid.
I adjusted the neck when I got it and have never touched it since.
I have fitted a hipshot bridge a few years ago which to me is a big improvement as well as the vintage tone circuit and a black scratchplate.
 
#15
corinpills said:
Lots of helpful info here, keep it coming. I hadn't really considered buying a new one for budget reasons, but I suppose that is an option. What's the deal with the 2 piece necks versus 1piece? I've heard that some of the newer ones are 2piece and actually a little thinner.
Click to expand...

I'm not sure, but my main advise is buy 4003 that is newer than 1985 as these have the new truss rod system, the one that do not require manual neck bending when adjusting truss rod.
Here is a "must" link to read if you want to buy a Ric, specially a used one
Invalid Link Removed
 
#18
Ric5 said:
The most sought after Rics are 1968 and older. But these are also the ones with the weakest necks and weakest pickups. The least desired Rics are the ones from 1980 to 1985. 70s 4001 basses are good gigging basses. The 1986 and later 4003 basses have a better neck and hotter pickups. I prefer the Rics made in the 21st century.
Click to expand...

I have owned five Rickenbackers over the last 27 years. All were good, some were better than others. The best I had was a 90s 4001V63, number 2 was a late 70s 4001, number 3 was an early 80's, number 4 was a late 70's 4001, although the pickups were so weak they had to be rewound. The worst was an early 80's, and only because the neck was too wide for my taste.
If you purchase a Rickenbacker, you are going to get a good bass, but it may not be the best for you. Because no two were alike that I had, I would not buy one without being able to test it.:bassist:
 
#20
I forgot to mention that the 2 4004's i own are both 2004 models,and there are some slight variations in neck feel and weight on them. From what i have read,i would definitelyntry out some of the very latest models in the stores if you have the opportunity,seems like the newest ones are highly regarded.
 

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