• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join freeLog in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Rickenbacker - Why do you love/hate it?

Compared to what bass?
I find mine very light. But I don't have much experience with other basses. So, now you made me curious :D

My P-bass is 7.5 lbs, the Ric is 10.

ATTACH]
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Michael Schreiber
My Fender Jazz is 10 lbs. (It has a mudbucker added up by the neck, hence the weight.)

My Rick is 9.8 lbs. (It has a reissue horseshoe pickup, which adds weight.)

Somehow, the Rick feels a lot lighter. Dunno why. Maybe the psychological effect of looking down and seeing the thinner body?
 
  • Like
Reactions: Michael Schreiber
My Fender Jazz is 10 lbs. (It has a mudbucker added up by the neck, hence the weight.)

My Rick is 9.8 lbs. (It has a reissue horseshoe pickup, which adds weight.)

Somehow, the Rick feels a lot lighter. Dunno why. Maybe the psychological effect of looking down and seeing the thinner body?

I get that feeling too. Maybe it's balance? For years I thought my J was heavier than my R. A scale disproved that. I stand for hours while playing.
 
My first bass (1969) was a Japanese knock-off of the Höfner and it was pretty neck heavy. The first time I ever strapped on a genuine Höfner was while sitting in on bass with a Vietnamese band in Saigon (1972). I couldn't believe how light it was. It felt like a toy. Then when I got my first Rick (1975), man was it an adjustment! I had to deal with more weight (about double), longer scale, round-wound strings, and totally different feel!:wideyed:
 
Back in time, I could not afford anything. Barely, managed to get me an Aria Jazz Bass copy with mini humbuckers. 300 German Marks (it was about 300 USD). I tried and tried to make something of it. And it was piece of crap. I hated that thing. Today, I think it was great wood work and bad electronics. Who knew, back then, what we know today?
When I saw Glenn Hughes with Deep Purple, I was sold out. Nothing but Ric! Got to get one. So, I did. Brand new, not even thinking to try it. I just grab it. It was Jetglo. Not like Glenn. More likely Roger Glover...
Than things started to happen. I could not get used to non-Fender Neck, It was heavy. Ergonomics? What is that?
I did not know how (and I don't know, even today) how to adjust neck, tried to adjust strings. That did not work either. "OK. Definitively, I am idiot", I said. "I was sold to it by Hughes, that's what companies do... I will just sold it to the first guy who wants to buy it, stop playing and finish this miserable part of life as musician... There is no place to play, everything is D.I.S.C.O. or pop. "
So, I sold it after about year to the first interested guy for about 1/3 as much as I payed. And, I never looked back.
Until.
I moved to USA at the age of 40 and my new wife said: "Here is your birthday gift, It's time for you to go back tou the things you love. I've got you bass guitar."
It was Yamaha BB200, she got on ebay for $100.
I have 7 different bass guitars today, bunch of vintage Acoustic amps and cabs, a new Acoustic stuff, Fender amp, bla, bla, bla...
Do I hate Ric? No.
Would I buy one again? Yeah. Except. I would not pay the price as they were asking. It's not worth. $500 or max. $600. Not a dime more. Just to have memories refreshed to pay $2K? No.
Would I play it these days? Probably not. It's hassle.
I just got Allan Woody Epiphone. 7 lb, 30". After I change some things, I hope to enjoy it more then other guitars.
Ric would be just hanged on the wall for the memory, when I was young and idiot.
 
Hello, I hope all is well. I have a question for you all and I apologize if this thread has already been made in the past. Just trying to gather some input from everyone on Rickenbackers. There seems to be no medium and people fall on one end of the spectrum only.

Why do you love/hate Rickenbackers?
I never believed Rics to be worth th price. But until you have played one ONSTAGE in a gig where you needed a performance guitar you can simply never truly get it. I make a comparison to a performance race car. It’s cool to coast around a track, but until you push it to extremes in a race you can never see what it can do. My Ric is like that exactly. I play original extreme metal and my Ric wins the race every time. I do not use a pick, and only a Ric allows for the super crisp sound of every note at 300plus BPm with fingers.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Mantis Tobaggan