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Rickenbacker pros/cons

#21
I got a new RIC in the August blowout. I have to say I really like it. It is my main gig player now. the sound is fantastic.

Pro: Deep powerful sound, great neck (between a Jazz and P, IMO), balances well for me, great looking bass

Cons: bridge (PITA to intonate), sharp edges when pickup cover removed, some grounding issues from single coil pickup (not a real big dis as I've had to go in on many of my Fenders and do a better job grounding the pickups)

Overall a killer bass.
 
#23
Out of my 4003 (2009), my Geddy Jazz and my CV60 p bass the Rick have the thickest neck. Luckily there is very little taper and string spacing is less then the Fenders, so the neck feels fast.
The Rick tone specially the newer 4003 model is very wide in range, from the sharp mids with only treble pup on (on vintage mode) to creamy lows with only front pup on. In between with the additional of the modern mode there is lots of tones to obtain.
It is by far the most versatile bass that I own. The Geddy is close behind, it can get a bit more treble and really sound nice with lots of OD. The Rick is very nice when the amp is sett to slight breakup, clean on soft strokes and it start to bark when you dig inn.
The Rick can sound more aggressive when the amp is set to clean and is REALLY singing through the mids.

The only issue with the 4003 is the body shape regarding the for-arm. Takes time to get use to. And that is the key point to the classic, it takes time to get use to after playing Fenders and other basses with slicker body.

At the end of the day (beautiful song btw by Mike Rutherford) I can live with all the minor issues Ricks have, the tone is THAT good, and they look like nothing else.
 
#26
Ric copy:

Pro - cheaper, but still more expensive than copies of other instruments

Con - everything else

Real Rick:

Pro - it's a Ric

Con - it's a Ric

People that play a Rickenbacker and then complain about it are like people that go see the Terminator and then complain about the violence. It's a Ric; if you don't like it then don't buy it. It is what it is.

bassplayer8953 said:
He seems to want the image of a Ric, without the sound, & without the cost. IMO, for others to validate his buying a knock-off.
Click to expand...

Commonly know as a poser.
 
#31
Foamy said:
Although I agree with your sentiment, Squier has some nice stuff, and so does Epiphone.
It can be done reasonably without whoring out.
Click to expand...

I actually own an Epi: a T-bird Pro. Very nice bass, well engineered, and pretty well executed. I really wish it wasn't made in China... ...I bought it as an alternative to my Gibson Tbird, which I don't necessarily want to drag to some of the dive 's bars we play in. But it wouldn't kill me to not own it, as the Gibson is the real deal. What I'd really like is the Epi model, MIA... Gibson could do this, they just choose not to... ...outsourcing, for manufacturers, is the easy way out.

Squier's have never done anything for me, although they are much better than they used to be, according to many here. They are, to me, the very definition of the generic equivalent...
 
#32
waleross said:
I bought a brand new 4003 Jetglo about a year ago and I paid top $$$ for it ($2,100 ) . Its not my everyday bass. I use Fenders. When I took the Ric into the studio for the first time I was glad I did. +1 as far as the price goes you do see them for a lot less and as instruments they are delicate you have to be careful with them. Fenders on the other hand are bass tools and can take more abuse than Ric's. IMO.......................:)
Click to expand...

Not in my experience. My old 4001 went through a decade of abuse and never sputtered once. It was my only bass at the time, and suffered things no bass should have to go. That included falling face first of stages and getting knocked over leaning against amps. It had more black Harley-Davidson touch up paint than original finish by the end. Like an idiot, I sold it. Luckily my 4003 is an even better bass and is even more sturdy. I couldn't (respectfully) disagree more with the "delicate" comment.

RickenBoogie said:
Not sure I understand the point of this thread. If the OP has had some play time on a Ric, and already made up his mind that it's NOT the bass for him, then what exactly are we talking about?
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It's all about balance. We had a reasonable, respectful discussion the other day that involved Rics. That MUST be balanced with a semi-troll controversial thread, or the astral plane of reality will be set out of balance. Our very survival depends on it.
 
#33
RickenBoogie said:
Not sure I understand the point of this thread. If the OP has had some play time on a Ric, and already made up his mind that it's NOT the bass for him, then what exactly are we talking about?
Click to expand...

I, too, have begun to wonder about the point of these posts. Yet every week or so, we have yet another......:roll no:


Let's change things up a bit and complain about the $10,000 Fodera for a little while!!! :D
 
#34
My 2 cents:

The con for the 4003s, with the single coil pickups, is the hum feedback through the amp, which, from what I understand, can be eliminated with some knowledgeable tweaking.

My favorite Rickenbacker is the 4004cii. The con with that is the wide neck.
 
#35
I'm not really getting the point of this thread either. If you want a Rick buy one...if you want a knock off, buy one. A Rick sounding thin? Huh? Not in my nearly 40 years of playing them. You can certainly make one sound that way but there's nothing in the design that makes them inherently thin sounding so don't blame the bass.
 
#36
This type of thread is starting to pop up here on TB almost daily. It's really tiring. I suspect some trolling. When I want to buy a bass, I just go an try it out. Or I buy one sight unseen and try it out. And then make an adult decision about whether to buy it or not.
 
#37
waleross said:
I bought a brand new 4003 Jetglo about a year ago and I paid top $$$ for it ($2,100 ) . Its not my everyday bass. I use Fenders. When I took the Ric into the studio for the first time I was glad I did. +1 as far as the price goes you do see them for a lot less and as instruments they are delicate you have to be careful with them. Fenders on the other hand are bass tools and can take more abuse than Ric's. IMO.......................:)
Click to expand...

I'm not sure where you get your info from, but obviously not from experience. I used a 4001 from '74 - '84 and beat the crap out of in hundreds on gigs from one-nighters to house band. I don't think I even had it set up the whole time. i never had a single issue with it.
 
#39
The no-taper neck, resulting in a tighter string spacing over the body, along with the previously-mentioned large edges of metal all around the pickups and sharp forearm non-contour, just added up to a bass that I WANTED to like (they look cool as heck) but ergonomically, they were very cramped and uncomfortable to me. Painfully so.

But I'd like to try a walnut Cheyenne sometime, seems to have a few of those painful parts eliminated...

I'd still like to have a Ric available for use in the studio sometime, but I think it would get the same percentage of use as a 6-string Danelectro, an acoustic fretless, or Hofner. Selective use for selective passages.
 
#40
Interesting. I went back and read the op. I don't see anything "troll" about. Maybe some difficulty in making his point clear. But he made sure to say his opinions were"his" opinions. I found some of the responses more revealing than the op. Like someone stated previously, you like them or you don't. You usually get what you pay for with anything. Just sayin..IMHO.
 

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