Rickenbacker..... i just don't understand the hype.

[Spidey2112]

Actually that price is nearly $500 LESS than retail here in Australia. You obviously missed where i stated that it was on special and the quoted prices for the other basses in my OP didn't twig you to the fact that we're not talking US dollars?

I think the real question here is how much more a twig holds it's value in Australia, as opposed to the US...

 

[ezstep]

I honestly feel the same about a Ric as I do about a P. To get the full effect, you need to stand in the audience and listen. That exact sound you get on stage is not what the audience will hear. Both have distinct ways of "cutting through" and being heard out front. And, yes, a pick and a Ric go together more than any other bass I know.

Having said that, I sold my 4001 a couple of decades ago. Later I also sold my MIA Fender P.

 

[southpaw723]

I enjoy my chickenbacker, but I might get shot for saying that here on talkbass

 

[Bone]

Never really bonded with the first one I owned. Never really bonded with the second one I owned but kept it around for years to curb my RIC gas. I did bond with the third one that I owned, but not enough to keep it around. I'm now RICless and not even looking.

 

[Bass'd on a true story]

I owned a Rick for about a year. I could never bond with it. It was incredibly beautiful though and I still have a few pictures of me holding it! I ended up sell/trading it on the classifieds for another bass which I have also recently parted with for the exact same reason.

 

[Hillsidebass]

There really isn't much hype. I play a 79 4001 often both live and in the studio. The only thing I don't get is how much the colors seem to play a part.....I recently saw a post on here regarding neck girth.....the poster thought it important to list the color of each of the basses along with the measurements....I thought that odd.

 

[baileyboy]

I played a Ric for the first time yesterday and to say i was underwhelmed would be a massive understatement.

It was a brand new Jetglo 4003 which was on sale for $3549. To put this into perspective i also played a Fender Am Pro Jazz at $2629, an MIM Jazz at $1199 and a Squier VM PJ at $699.

The first thing i noticed was that it wasn't as uncomfortable as many have said other than the pickup cover getting in the way. I could quite easily physically play one without complaint.

Now for the negatives...... The second thing i noticed was that the single ply pick guard looked like it was made for a cheap Chinese toy. Really, really cheap looking. Then the finish, which when held up to the light, looked very thin and showed obvious ripples as though done by a beginner. It wasn't really bad as such but when it's one of the more expensive basses in the shop you should expect much better. Finally, the pickups output was very weak.

I can say with certainty that if i knew nothing about Rics and was handed one of these after playing the Squier VM PJ (which actually sounded better than all but the Am Pro) i would have guessed it would cost less than the Squier when taking into account the fit, finish and sound.

LET THE FLAMING BEGIN!!!

I'm not a fan of Rics either, but some love them. Each to his/her own.

 

[Anachronism]

If you've never listened to Sir Paul, or Geddy, or Lemmy, or Squire and thought they sounded great playing a Rick, well, there's not much I can do to help you.

 

[ajkula66]

I honestly feel the same about a Ric as I do about a P.

Funny enough, I feel about Rics very much like I feel about Gibson basses for two main reasons:

1) If you approach it in the same way that you'd approach a Fender, you're likely in for a rude awakening, albeit for different reasons.

2) The variations between different examples can be absolutely staggering. If you find one that you like and it happens to be for sale, grab it then and there.

Then there's the third reason - which is really not all that serious - and that is me being still absolutely stunned by the amount of hate and vitriol that these brands - Gibson worse than Ric - get here on TB.

 

[Korladis]

I played a Ric for the first time yesterday and to say i was underwhelmed would be a massive understatement.

It was a brand new Jetglo 4003 which was on sale for $3549. To put this into perspective i also played a Fender Am Pro Jazz at $2629, an MIM Jazz at $1199 and a Squier VM PJ at $699.

The first thing i noticed was that it wasn't as uncomfortable as many have said other than the pickup cover getting in the way. I could quite easily physically play one without complaint.

Now for the negatives...... The second thing i noticed was that the single ply pick guard looked like it was made for a cheap Chinese toy. Really, really cheap looking. Then the finish, which when held up to the light, looked very thin and showed obvious ripples as though done by a beginner. It wasn't really bad as such but when it's one of the more expensive basses in the shop you should expect much better. Finally, the pickups output was very weak.

I can say with certainty that if i knew nothing about Rics and was handed one of these after playing the Squier VM PJ (which actually sounded better than all but the Am Pro) i would have guessed it would cost less than the Squier when taking into account the fit, finish and sound.

LET THE FLAMING BEGIN!!!

Why do people post these bash threads? I've never understood it. If I try a bass and don't like it, I just put it back on the rack and move on.

I like the single ply pickguard. I use it as a thumbrest. I hate Fender style beveled pickguards because I can't use them in this way.

I've always loved Rickenbacker finishes, so I guess I disagree with you.

The pickups are actually pretty high output. Maybe whoever set it up adjusted them far away from the strings. My Rickenbackers are usually quite a bit louder than other basses I try.

The prices seem ridiculous to me, but that's probably because you're in Australia. Here, I could get a new 4003 for not much more than the American Standard Jazz Bass, and a new 4003S for less.

And the necks feel so much better to me than any other basses.

 

[Korladis]

Nah. You're safe.

If you were to trash a Precision, that would be a very different story.

Yep, Talkbass people hate Rickenbackers. So any negative comment about one is cheered.

Talk some smack about the Fender P-bass, though, and prepare to be burned at the stake.

 

[Korladis]

Actually that price is nearly $500 LESS than retail here in Australia. You obviously missed where i stated that it was on special and the quoted prices for the other basses in my OP didn't twig you to the fact that we're not talking US dollars?

It's a bass that costs about $1600 US.

 

[Paul Boyer]

...as for their sound, the 4003 is glorious when used in an auto-destruct finish, as the redundant and cheap plastic bits really make quite a clatter as they disperse.

View attachment 1167860

Fortunately (for some of us), that is not a real Rick. Several design/finish clues tell the tale.

 

[GIBrat51]

You seem to get a good Wi-fi signal under that bridge; I'm impressed...

 

[Paul Boyer]

There really isn't much hype. I play a 79 4001 often both live and in the studio. The only thing I don't get is how much the colors seem to play a part.....I recently saw a post on here regarding neck girth.....the poster thought it important to list the color of each of the basses along with the measurements....I thought that odd.

That was probably me. At the time I had made the measurements I had 20 Rick basses, so the color listing helped me sort the data. The color itself had nothing to do with the measurements.

 

[BAG]

Rickenbackers can sometimes be an acquired taste, I acquired the taste in 1977. I also own Fenders and Gibsons but still love my 4001 and my 4003FL. How much is 3549.00 in American dollars?

77 US cents to the Aussie dollar. So it is still very expensive!

Man! That's almost double what we pay.

We get ripped off on just about everything over here. Even software downloads can cost double.

I'm not a fan of Rics either, but some love them. Each to his/her own.

Why do people post these bash threads? I've never understood it. If I try a bass and don't like it, I just put it back on the rack and move on.

I like the single ply pickguard. I use it as a thumbrest. I hate Fender style beveled pickguards because I can't use them in this way.

I've always loved Rickenbacker finishes, so I guess I disagree with you.

The pickups are actually pretty high output. Maybe whoever set it up adjusted them far away from the strings. My Rickenbackers are usually quite a bit louder than other basses I try.

The prices seem ridiculous to me, but that's probably because you're in Australia. Here, I could get a new 4003 for not much more than the American Standard Jazz Bass, and a new 4003S for less.

And the necks feel so much better to me than any other basses.

I'm not bashing Rics. I actually want to get some insight as to why some people love them so much despite their high price and you at least have provided your reasons.

I actually picked it up with some negative preconceptions due to reading TB posts but was still surprised at the build quality.

I actually quite liked the neck. In regards to the sound, i will be trying another one next time I'm in the big smoke.

 

[AnthonyW]

I'll weigh in just for fun. Always been a ric man myself, probably because I learned to really play on one. I'd been playing for 5 years before I got mine, but I really learned my poopie on my ric. I still remember when the Downtown Music in Annandale (Sydney) rang me to say they had one (they knew I was looking for 2nd hand 4003). I drove in the next day and the guy sat me down in front of a Trace combo and let me go mad for an hour. This was 1993 and it was the black one in my profile pic. I've never bought another bass since, though I've tried to like a few. We learned to make beautiful music together and we've never been apart since (in fact I can hear her calling me now, "stop wasting your time on TB and come caress my steel strings, round, tapered neck and plastic pick guard.") I once made a serious effort to love a P bass but I found it tonally uninteresting. I don't think that's a criticism of the instrument, just that my playing evolved alongside one instrument, to the point where I think I'm as much a Rickenbacker player as I a bass player. It's an effort for me to make other basses sound good.

 

[bobyoung53]

We get ripped off on just about everything over here. Even software downloads can cost double.





I'm not bashing Rics. I actually want to get some insight as to why some people love them so much despite their high price and you at least have provided your reasons.

I actually picked it up with some negative preconceptions due to reading TB posts but was still surprised at the build quality.

I actually quite liked the neck. In regards to the sound, i will be trying another one next time I'm in the big smoke.

Rickenbackers are very responsive to the type of string you use even different brands of round wounds will sound very different, flat wounds also sound good on them, try backing off the neck pickup just a little bit it will give you more bite in the sound, they are usually very bassy with both pickups on full. A lot of times new ones come with high action, they sound better with the action a little on the low side to me anyway.

 

[Killed_by_Death]

forget everything you thought you know about Rickenbacker (pronounced like linebacker) & try a 4004:

I think this is a photo of Paul's

 

[BassFishingInAmerica]

I played a Ric for the first time yesterday and to say i was underwhelmed would be a massive understatement.

It was a brand new Jetglo 4003 which was on sale for $3549. To put this into perspective i also played a Fender Am Pro Jazz at $2629, an MIM Jazz at $1199 and a Squier VM PJ at $699.

The first thing i noticed was that it wasn't as uncomfortable as many have said other than the pickup cover getting in the way. I could quite easily physically play one without complaint.

Now for the negatives...... The second thing i noticed was that the single ply pick guard looked like it was made for a cheap Chinese toy. Really, really cheap looking. Then the finish, which when held up to the light, looked very thin and showed obvious ripples as though done by a beginner. It wasn't really bad as such but when it's one of the more expensive basses in the shop you should expect much better. Finally, the pickups output was very weak.

I can say with certainty that if i knew nothing about Rics and was handed one of these after playing the Squier VM PJ (which actually sounded better than all but the Am Pro) i would have guessed it would cost less than the Squier when taking into account the fit, finish and sound.

LET THE FLAMING BEGIN!!!

I can't comment on the thread topic. I'm trying to wrap my head around the idea that the VM P/J you played was $699.