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Rickenbacker Whats the differnce?

#22
There was also a lot of changes to the design of the 4001 over the years too. I prefer the pre '75s with the pickup closer to the neck. Not sure what it does to the sound (if any) but to me it looks ....... righter.

The 2008 ones look fantastic- its like they've grabbed all the best aspects of all Ric designs and put them together- full width inlays, thinner neck, vintage cap...... but with the 4003 high gain PUP.
 
#23
Ric5 said:
Hey Bob ... they kicked me off the Rickresource forum permantly because I posted that my jazz bass was better than my Ric ... they considered that a negative comment ...

They have a new moderator who is a JH brown-noser and he couldn't wait to get me off of that forum.

But I prefer this forum ... here there are people who prefer all types of basses and we all seem to get along ... and nobody here seems to get mad if I say the jazz bass that I built in my basement is a better bass than my Rickenbackers.

Also over there they get really mad if you point out a flaw in a Rickenbacker design.
Click to expand...


They kicked you off Jeff?!?!
I haven't posted there in awhile....it's a bit too sycophantic for me at times, and I got barked at by one of the mods (and threatened with a forum ban) for what I thought was no reason at all.

Plus I'm paying my other basses more than my Ricks now anyway - shhhhhh.....
 
#24
Yep ... they banned be for making "Negative" comments ...

The negative comments include things like this ...

"I like my Jazz bass better than my Ric"
"Rickenbacker's 4004cii5 has a serious flaw in that the pickups only cover 3 or the 5 strings"

Then they blamed me for causing Rickenbacker to pull the 4004cii5 off the market.

and they got really upset when I said my 4 to 5 Rickenbacker conversions played better than the one that came from the factory ...
 
#26
BigBassBob said:
I don't like to gossip, but in regards to that I've got something I've been meaning to get off my chest for a while (I've always thought it would be tasteless to say as it's just a theory...)

I joined the Rickenbacker forum a while back... posted a few times. Anyway, I went on there one day to find that my account had been deleted. No problem, make a new account. I couldn't make a new account as the site said that my current email was already registered with the forum. After sending several emails to the webmaster, I didn't recieve a single reply, and my gut feeling was that it was because I said on Talkbass that I find John Halls attitude and mannerisms somewhat offensive at times.

Anyway, I apologise that I have nothing constructive to the original topic of this thread; everything that's needed to be said already has been.
Click to expand...

Yep if you make negative comments anywhere on the internet then you are in danger of getting booted off of the Rickresource forum ... That forum is only for those who want to brown nose John Hall and Rickenbacker ... too bad ... it used to be kinda cool in the old days ...

But they still let me post on the Rickenbacker web site forum ... go figure ...

I am the kind of person who likes to speak my mind ... I like to be honest and truthful ... I have no interest in slamming people but also have no interest in covering up mistakes with lies ...
 
#27
Ric5 said:
The real shame is Rickenbacker does not make a 5 string bass.
Click to expand...

I actually TRIED to play one of the 4003 fivers that they made for a brief period. That thing must've had 12mm string pitch. Horribly tight. I think it was meant for pick player guitarists. It seemed to be a four string with a five slot nut and a five saddle bridge. No kidding.
 
#28
Rickenbacker really did miss the boat twice when they made a try a 5 string basses ...

The 4003s5 can be fixed though ... a simple bridge mod and you can increase the spacing to 2 3/8" ... the 4004cii5 is a bigger problem ... you have to replace the pickups ... Ric basses use guitar pickups ... this works on a 4 string bass and a 5 string bass with a spacing up to 2 3/8", but when you go 2 3/4" you essentially get a 3 string bass ... that is what the 4004cii5 is.

You have to ask ... Gee didn't anybody plug this thing into an amp and test it before they shipped units out to customers!

Well talking like that here will pretty much prevent me from ever being allowed back on that forum. They cannot stand criticism.

The whole scenario is a shame because I really like Rickenbackes.
 
#31
bobyoung53 said:
My newest is a 2006 and I find the neck (on mine anyway) is a little thick, is that new thinner neck profile now on all their new basses? I had heard about it but have heard no definitive news, is it close to the late 70's 4001 width and thickness at all? Those are my favorite.
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So I've got a 1976 4001 and a 2006 4003. I tend to agree with the general comments made earlier regarding the tone, truss rods, etc between the 4001 and the 4003. But, despite the 06 and beyond necks having thinned down from the earlier 4003's, it still feels "thick" compared to my 4001. To me, nothing comes close to the 4001 thin neck which I've had, well, since 1976 and it continues to be my one true favorite bass...that being said I also love my 2007 GL Fender, whose neck is also gosh-darned thin and has a different tone, though a bit similar. And none of the necks are as thick as my 76 Gibson G-3, but happily, the tone on all 4 is different, and suitable for a wide variety of music and styles...which was the whole purpose anyway!

Also IMHO, even with the "vintage tone" adjustment to take the cap in/out of the bridge PU, the 4003 still does not sound like a 4001 to my ear. In my case, the 4001's bridge PU failed and was rewound by Lindy Fralin to be a little hotter...so my 4001 tone has been modded a tad.

Hmmm...based on the comments from others about getting booted off the "other" forums...the fact that my GL Jazz neck feels almost as good as a 4001, and that I modded (repaired) my PU, I wonder if my account there is still valid. :ninja:


Fultonequip17Jan07_1295.jpg
 
#33
rokkitt said:
I have a ric 4003 1988


this thread is interesting!

didn't know about the 5 string history of the ric



---uhm, ric5 , how do you change it to a 5er?, any details on that?---


al
Click to expand...

The 4003s5 was essentially a 4 string bass converted into a 5 string bass ... the mistake they made was to make the string spacing at the bridge 2 1/16" ... OUCH ... it is painful to play that fingerstyle ... but a simple mod and it can be played fingerstyle ...

So when I convert a 4003 4 string Ric to a 5 string Ric I add a 5th tuner to the headstock, I change the nut, I convert the 4 pole pickups to 5 pole pickups, and I modify the bridge and tailpiece ...

Bass5-0029.jpg


Bass5-0027.jpg


The 4004 is easier to convert ... I use an off the shelf bridge and I don't have to modify the pickups

4004ci5-0044.jpg


The 4004 is on ebay ...

http://cgi.ebay.com/1998-Rickenback...oryZ4713QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I like my 5 string Rics but they are not for those with big fingers ...
 
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#34
Ric5 said:
Rickenbacker really did miss the boat twice when they made a try a 5 string basses ...

The 4003s5 can be fixed though ... a simple bridge mod and you can increase the spacing to 2 3/8" ... the 4004cii5 is a bigger problem ... you have to replace the pickups ... Ric basses use guitar pickups ... this works on a 4 string bass and a 5 string bass with a spacing up to 2 3/8", but when you go 2 3/4" you essentially get a 3 string bass ... that is what the 4004cii5 is.

You have to ask ... Gee didn't anybody plug this thing into an amp and test it before they shipped units out to customers!

Well talking like that here will pretty much prevent me from ever being allowed back on that forum. They cannot stand criticism.

The whole scenario is a shame because I really like Rickenbackes.
Click to expand...

Well, I'm a fan, but I did trade off 2 Rics in the last year, so I do like OTHER stuff, but I'm sort of happy to hear that the 4004 5 string was a flop, I used to really want one bad, and had never seen one. I think that might have put me right off.
 
#35
mike_v_s said:
The last year or so I had my 4001 I popped in there a few times. I've never touched any of your work, but I was impressed with the pictures.

I'm also amazed that you were singlehandedly responsible for the removal of a product from their line.

Mike
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I was not single handed responsible for the removal of the 4004cii5 ... but John Hall implied that he withdrew the bass from production because of criticism. It was his ball so he took it home with him. Perhaps my criticism was a contributing factor ... I think it was their massive backlog that drove that decision. But some of the forum members and a couple moderators thought my criticism was a problem. John Hall is an intelligent businessman but he really dislikes criticism.
 
#36
Ric5 said:
I was not single handed responsible for the removal of the 4004cii5 ... but John Hall implied that he withdrew the bass from production because of criticism. It was his ball so he took it home with him. Perhaps my criticism was a contributing factor ... I think it was their massive backlog that drove that decision. But some of the forum members and a couple moderators thought my criticism was a problem. John Hall is an intelligent businessman but he really dislikes criticism.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I have met John Hall, and it seemed to me that he had a bit tougher skin than that. I too piped in on the 4004CII5 mess, as as soon as I got mine, I knew something had gone terribly wrong on that one. I personally call it a deign flaw. It really is just the factory pickups, The rest of the bass is awesome.

My guess is that since it didn't out sell the 4003 at the time, coupled with the perceived pickup issues, it was shelved in a fit of embaressment. If I had made it, I would have been embarrssed. I really dont understand how any could have made it out of the factory, I mean, did any one plug one into a bass amp? Wow, this is nice, posting on a forum, that wont kill you for saying the king has no cloths.
 
#37
Wow, Jeff, they really evicted you from Rickresource? Everything over there generally seemed pretty civil to me, very mild compared to, say, the DB side of this board!

I own 3 4003s5s and think they are great instruments, but the spacing is pretty tight if you want fingerstyle. Perhaps because of the lighter gauge stock string setup that they come with from the factory, I think when picked they sound even closer to that classic Rickenbacker clank than a modern 4003 4-string does.
 
#39
GregShadoan said:
Yeah, I have met John Hall, and it seemed to me that he had a bit tougher skin than that. I too piped in on the 4004CII5 mess, as as soon as I got mine, I knew something had gone terribly wrong on that one. I personally call it a deign flaw. It really is just the factory pickups, The rest of the bass is awesome.

My guess is that since it didn't out sell the 4003 at the time, coupled with the perceived pickup issues, it was shelved in a fit of embaressment. If I had made it, I would have been embarrssed. I really dont understand how any could have made it out of the factory, I mean, did any one plug one into a bass amp? Wow, this is nice, posting on a forum, that wont kill you for saying the king has no cloths.
Click to expand...

Yes the 4004cii5 is an excellent bass with one flaw ... the pickups ... I think a pair of Nordstrands and an audere 4 band active preamp would complete that bass nicely.

The 4003s5 and the 4004cii5 were both very good in most respects ... they just made a couple of small mistakes ... both basses can be modified to fix the small problems.
 
#40
The RickResource Forum has not seen a post from me in a long time since some people there are too fanatic ! Not all of them but in general, the posts on the forum became too personal at points.

Ric has not produced a good 5 String bass in my opinion and they are still research for a good Cheyenne 5 String bass that will do justice to their name, but it takes a lot of time. Now, with a waiting time of 2 years for a new Ric and prices that highly increased this year, I am definitely out for Ric basses for the next little while. And, God knows how much I praised for them and still will, but I just prefer my Lakland DJ4 so much over my Ric !!!!
 

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