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Rickenbacker stigma
- Thread starter Somnambulance
- Start date
No. They may not be for everybody, and like anything, you can get a wacky one, but I have one sitting right next to me and it's great.
Edit: It's not a Midnight blue, it's just a Jetglo 4004, but still.
Edit: It's not a Midnight blue, it's just a Jetglo 4004, but still.
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I would have loved to get a Ric 4001...until I played one 
Sounds great, but I don't find them comfortable at all, so I had to pass.
Sounds great, but I don't find them comfortable at all, so I had to pass.
I would have loved to get a Ric 4001...until I played one
Same here. I've tried to like them but just don't feel right. Had a chance to buy new one a while back for an incredible price, but ended up passing because I knew I'd never play it.
I had great 69 4001. Jet glow, checker board binding, the whole nine yards. I TRIED SO HARD to love that bass.
When I was forced to sell it, I wasn't really all that sad.
When I was forced to sell it, I wasn't really all that sad.
BassHappy
Supporting Member
I would have loved to get a Ric 4001...until I played one
After the band asked me to get rid of that lemon of a dead spot Jazz Bass I had purchased at the PX in Germany - the Rick was a welcome relief. Didn't have any idea that the scale length was shorter - only knew the neck was much more comfortable for me. Wasn't in love with the body shape - like Jimmy I found it a little awkward - but I could play blazes on that shorter scale neck.
BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
PX in Germany? Ramstein Air base perhaps? I was stationed in Baumholder Germany when I was in the Army.
I loved my 4001.....It was a blue 1 too.
I recently got my first 32" medium scale and it feels just a touch short - some time on it would obviously get me past that - so the 33" Rick scale sounds very interesting to me, but I just can't get past the look and feel of them.
If that's the stigma that you mean, then I guess I perceive the same. No experience with the quality issues, but any instrument can have them. The design looks ill conceived to my eye, but that has nothing to do with QC issues.
If that's the stigma that you mean, then I guess I perceive the same. No experience with the quality issues, but any instrument can have them. The design looks ill conceived to my eye, but that has nothing to do with QC issues.
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BassHappy
Supporting Member
Actually Kaiserslautern, 94th MP Battalion HQ - but I can't tell you how many times we ended up in the middle of the night at Ramstein for some of that notorious midnight chow! Air Force food always seemed so much better than the army food.
We had companies in Baumholder, Bad Kreuznach, Mainz, Wiesbaden.... This would have been summer of '72 through December '73. Don't want to hijack the thread but you?
BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
BassHappy
Supporting Member
Makes perfect sense to me Marko, you have to play what fits you. When you finally find it - it will be like coming home, and as we all know - there is no place like home.
If the medium scaler is a touch short, keep searching. You will find it!
BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
It's my thread, I'll do what I want lol. I was 4/70 Armor. 2010-2012 ish but with a year in Afghanistan.
I had a '72 4001, in Jetglo, in really great shape. Loved the tone, loved the look. But, the neck was uncomfortable for me, it weighed more then any bass I have ever had before or since, and for some reason the neck laminate would split around the 10th fret, about a half inch from the fretboard. It did that 3 times, and I could slip a quarter in the crack and lose it. The repairs started to add up, and I wasn't playing it that much live since it was killing my back and hands, so I sold it. I was kinda bummed, but I got over it quickly. That was 1996.
Didn't play a Ric again until a couple of years ago. A guitarist I was jamming with at the time was also a bassist for a long time, and has a late 80's 4003 in Jetglo. I played it and it was a completely different experience. The neck profile wasn't massive, the bass was lighter then my Jazz bass, and all around much more comfortable to play. One of these days I might pick a new one up, if I find one that plays as well as my friend's Ric.
Didn't play a Ric again until a couple of years ago. A guitarist I was jamming with at the time was also a bassist for a long time, and has a late 80's 4003 in Jetglo. I played it and it was a completely different experience. The neck profile wasn't massive, the bass was lighter then my Jazz bass, and all around much more comfortable to play. One of these days I might pick a new one up, if I find one that plays as well as my friend's Ric.
Rics are like Stingrays for me - I think they look awesome, but not a huge fan of the tone or ergonomics.
BassHappy
Supporting Member
Thanks so much for your service!
Ahhhh, so we have a bit of an age difference. I fell in love with Germany and try to get back at least for a week every two years. Back then, Baumholder was a town of 10,000 civilians with like 60,000 American troops. Needless to say, Baumholder kept the MP's pretty busy!
I bought my Rick at Washington Music Center and they were kind enough to drag the dozen or so 4001's they had in the warehouse out for me to try. I settled on a mapleglo with the widest, thinnest neck of all of them. What amazed me, not sure if it is the same these days - every neck at that time (had to be 1976) had a totally different feel. I was AMAZED at the difference from bass to bass.
Here is mine:
Hard to tell from the photo, but I replaced the cheap looking plastic pick guard with a nice mahogany one that I made.
BassHappy
www.innertainment.net
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To the OP's question: Get one used and flip it if you find it's not your cup of tea. They hold their value incredibly well.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I took up bass because of Chris Squire so naturally, my first real bass was a Ric. I know many people find them uncomfortable but I never had that issue. Maybe because I didn't know any better as I was learning?
Having owned and played many basses now over the years, I still love my Rics and nothing sounds like them. BUT - their iconic bridge/tailpiece is primitive at best and is among the most difficult to set up of any bass I've ever worked on. On my '77, the dual truss rods don't actually move the neck. You have to loosen them, move the neck where you want it to be by hand or in a jig and then tighten the rods again. Many owners didn't know this and wailed away on the truss rods until they damaged the neck. This is no longer an issue in the later and current models though.
I have read on here that quality control is inconsistent though I have never played a bad one in a store.
So to answer your question, yes they can require a bit more effort than some other basses. However, once I got my '77 dialed in, it has been rock solid. The neck hasn't moved in years and it holds its tuning extremely well. In contrast, my Stingray is extremely friendly and easy to adjust but I've had it over a month now and I still haven't got the neck exactly where I want it.
Having owned and played many basses now over the years, I still love my Rics and nothing sounds like them. BUT - their iconic bridge/tailpiece is primitive at best and is among the most difficult to set up of any bass I've ever worked on. On my '77, the dual truss rods don't actually move the neck. You have to loosen them, move the neck where you want it to be by hand or in a jig and then tighten the rods again. Many owners didn't know this and wailed away on the truss rods until they damaged the neck. This is no longer an issue in the later and current models though.
I have read on here that quality control is inconsistent though I have never played a bad one in a store.
So to answer your question, yes they can require a bit more effort than some other basses. However, once I got my '77 dialed in, it has been rock solid. The neck hasn't moved in years and it holds its tuning extremely well. In contrast, my Stingray is extremely friendly and easy to adjust but I've had it over a month now and I still haven't got the neck exactly where I want it.
A month is nothing
Takes me a good 3 months, sometimes more, before I get comfortable with a new bass.
