Rickenbacker stigma

[Smoove-Groove]

I have a '75 Ric 4000. I barely touch it.
Got it for a good price though. 200 british pounds at a pawn shop back in '92 when I went to England to visit family.
Thats around $400 CND give or take.
I still love it. Wish it had a neck PU though. Here she is.....

 

[Joe Kyle]

I think I'd prefer that model to my 4003.

 

[Jeff Scott]

I have a '75 Ric 4000. I barely touch it.
Got it for a good price though. 200 british pounds at a pawn shop back in '92 when I went to England to visit family.
Thats around $400 CND give or take.
I still love it. Wish it had a neck PU though. Here she is.....
View attachment 469399

Have you ever pulled the pickguard off of it? Many of them are already routed for a neck pickup.

 

[Smoove-Groove]

I think I'd prefer that model to my 4003.

I do really like it, but that big blank spot on the pick guard where the neck pu goes just doesn't look right to me.
Just plugged her in a few minutes ago.Even though it's a one trick pony tone wise............. Yeah.......im still lovin' it!

 

[Smoove-Groove]

Have you ever pulled the pickguard off of it? Many of them are already routed for a neck pickup.

It's actually pretty ugly under there. Looks like something was started at the factory.It looks like the start of a big cavity that never got finished. More of an outline cut into the wood.

 

[woodyng]

I have a '75 Ric 4000. I barely touch it.
Got it for a good price though. 200 british pounds at a pawn shop back in '92 when I went to England to visit family.
Thats around $400 CND give or take.
I still love it. Wish it had a neck PU though. Here she is.....
View attachment 469399

You love it and you barely touch it? That's not right! I have a '74 that i've had for over 10 years now,and it it my primary bass in one of the bands i'm in. (They think my 4004s sound too "polite"!)
Even with just the one pickup,and single vol/tone controls,i can get some tonal variety out of it. Mostly it just snarls!!

 

[woodyng]

It's actually pretty ugly under there. Looks like something was started at the factory.It looks like the start of a big cavity that never got finished. More of an outline cut into the wood.

View attachment 469433

Ummm,that cavity is for the neck insert,yours does not have the 2nd pickup routing. Actually that is a good thing,as it makes for a much better connection where the neck and body meet. (Mine is like that,too)

 

[woodyng]

I think I'd prefer that model to my 4003.

I know I do! The "S" models are the way to go,AFAIC......

 

[Jeff Scott]

It's actually pretty ugly under there. Looks like something was started at the factory.It looks like the start of a big cavity that never got finished. More of an outline cut into the wood.

View attachment 469433

That's normal, it is just the tongue part of the neck; as Woodrow mentioned above it is stronger without the route.

 

[Korladis]

First off JT its not the bass , its the player .....Its all personal taste man ,I grew up a Yes head had 3 4001's and 2 4005's over a 9 year period 70's- 80's , but today there's so many better instruments being built ...Rics really have 2 tones (to me ) very limited and unless you get a pre 74 with a nice wide flat neck , the necks are like pencils , the QC on their current builds is questionable and their customer service treats people like theyre doing you a favor by being there .just sayin ..kinda sux ,,,and really they play like a toy compared to many "new" basses and like ............ the 70's is so............... dead ................................

For one this is trolling, but... any two pickup bass has at least three tones. Neck pickup, both pickups, and bridge pickup. That's without even touching the volume and tone knobs. Just the selector switch.

Lots of people find their necks quite comfortable. You can say you don't like something without saying that it's bad. I don't like Fender P-basses, but I don't go around calling them "toys."

I have a '75 Ric 4000. I barely touch it.
Got it for a good price though. 200 british pounds at a pawn shop back in '92 when I went to England to visit family.
Thats around $400 CND give or take.
I still love it. Wish it had a neck PU though. Here she is.....
View attachment 469399

That bass is gorgeous. I'd love to have one like that.

 

[Gizmot]

Killer rig, billyapple! I love Rics but can't justify spending that kind of money right now.

In the big picture, what a Ric bass costs won't change your financial destiny one bit. Spend less on lunches or going out to eat, don't buy clothes, cut back on other things - but get that Ric. You'll love it - and if you buy wisely and hold on to it, you'll always be able to get your money back. But you'll absolutely love it

 

[eban3]

My next bass is a G&L Sb-2 Tribute. It will replace my Squier VM Jazz.

Cool ... G & L great bass ................. that dosent play like a toy

 

[Paul Boyer]

It's actually pretty ugly under there. Looks like something was started at the factory.It looks like the start of a big cavity that never got finished. More of an outline cut into the wood.

View attachment 469433

Nope, that's the typical construction of the set-neck 4000 of the era. No routing for a pickup there, just routing to create the pocket for the neck insert. The 4000 and 4001S between mid-1972 and the end of the lines in the early '80s were like this. The two slots are the ends of the truss-rod routes. Beautiful instrument.

 

[Titania]

Cool ... G & L great bass ................. that dosent play like a toy

Dunno about that. The G&L Tribute I played once had, hands-down, the worst fret job and workmanship I've ever seen on a bass.

I have basses from MM, Alembic, Fender, Brubaker and Ric. In no way do my Rics play like toys compared to those other basses. Actually, they're much more versatile than my MM, Fender or Brubaker. My 4003 and my Alembic have the most stable necks of any of my basses. Both never need anything other than very tiny tuning adjustments when I pull them out of their cases.

Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion, and no one bass is for everyone, but you certainly seem to have a trollish axe to grind.

 

[JMacBass65]

When I bought my '85 4003 I had 4 Ricks to choose from, and no knowledge of differences in models, as far as 4001 vs 4003, model years, etc. I was aware of the "S" model difference re: binding, dot inlays, mono output. This was back in '91, BTW.

I got to spend significant time with each, as they were all at my house and/or rehearsal space. My choices were:

- The '85 4003 in Ruby
- A 4003S in Ruby, don't know model year
- A Jet Glow, don't know if it was 4003 or 4001, or model year.
- A '78 4001 in Autumn Glow

Here are my recollections.

The two Ruby basses were "nearly" identical in terms of how they felt in my hands, and I don't remember if they sounded any different. The S model was a bit more comfortable as it had contours, it's neck was ever so slightly thicker, front to back, but nothing that put me off. The neck also felt a bit different due to the lack of binding. My decision between these two, the only real contenders for me, came down to looks - the binding and inlays look bada$$, so I chose the 4003.

The Jetglow was good, don't recall anything about the tone, the neck was a bit thicker still. If I really wanted black, I'd have bought it, but the Ruby was calling me.

The 78 Autumn Glow was not even in contention. The neck was the thickest of them all, by a long shot, and thick enough to make me not really want to play it. The others just felt so much "faster". The bass also felt sort of lifeless in my hands, I couldn't really feel the bass vibrate - which is a key deciding factor for me. Unplugged, a bass needs to feel alive to me, this felt dull and lifeless. Don't recall the sound really, other than I remember thinking it needed new strings to really get a sense for its sound, but since I didn't like the neck, I didn't bother with it.

Not sure if this really helps at all, best I can do considering the passing of time.

One more thing, a friend has a white on white 4001, from the mid 70s I think, not sure. I played that one night and thought it was OK. Neck was thicker than I am used too, bit didn't put me off. Tone was "honkier" than my 4003 (I have installed "the cap" in mine), but it still sounded good.

 

[DigitalMan]

I don't much care for asparagus.

 

[Somnambulance]

I don't much care for asparagus.

I love asparagus, what kind of communist are you?

 

[DigitalMan]

I love asparagus, what kind of communist are you?

I'm a vegetable troll.

 

[eban3]

Dunno about that. The G&L Tribute I played once had, hands-down, the worst fret job and workmanship I've ever seen on a bass.

I have basses from MM, Alembic, Fender, Brubaker and Ric. In no way do my Rics play like toys compared to those other basses. Actually, they're much more versatile than my MM, Fender or Brubaker. My 4003 and my Alembic have the most stable necks of any of my basses. Both never need anything other than very tiny tuning adjustments when I pull them out of their cases.

Everyone is certainly entitled to their opinion, and no one bass is for everyone, but you certainly seem to have a trollish axe to grind.

Well let me tell you my dealings with Rickenbacker as a company over the years , I had a 4001 i bought in 73 that a repair guy cracked the neck on Sent it to Rickenbacker for a rebuild and what i got back was no checkerboard binding , toaster pick ups gone and a pencil neck with small triangle inlay markers , when I called them on it there response was . well thats how were doing it now , In the 90's I was in a music store in Berkely California where I found a 4005 that had been stolen from me in New york in 1978...it had very bad damage to the neck at the headstock was all epoxied together a real mess , I called Rick and the response i got from some guy named Jeff was "well i don't know if there's anyone here that could repair and you know YOUR'E ONLY ONE CUSTOMER AND WE DEAL WITH HUNDREDS OF PEOPLE A DAY ".....i found that INCREDULOUS ............................SO YES I am not a RICKENBACKER FAN as a company they SUCK

 

[kcole4001]

One buys what one can afford.

And I'd add 'one plays what one likes' to that.
I buy and play what I like, and the price is the price if I want it bad enough.