• 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 free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Rickenbacker

#581
Yeah, the SD had a lot punch to it. The Barts have more low-mid growl to my ears though, and that's the sound I'm after.

As far as which pickup you should go with, I'm not sure since I'm not really too familiar with a lot of classic metal, but all the pickups all have a similar tonality to them (meaning, a Rick will still sound like a Rick with the Barts or SDs installed, but just a little different.)

Modern Rick "Hi Gain" single coils (that are stock on most of their basses these days) have a lot of midrange punch and are pretty powerful. Rickenbacker winds a lot of wire on them. Being single coils, they attract hum obviously. Rick also makes humbuckers that they install in their 4004 models. They are darker in tone in their default wiring mode (series) but sound pretty similar to their singlecoils otherwise. (They have 4-conductor wiring, allowing them to be wired for coil splitting, series/parallel, etc.)

The SDs sound similar, but the voicing sounds just a hair different. They sound a little more articulate and "modern" to my ears. Tons of punch. They also have 4-conductor wiring for endless wiring fun.

The Barts sound similar as well, but seem to have a more muscular low-mid growl to them. Like I said in my earlier post, it's kind of a cross between the classic Rick twang and the modern Bart sound. The bridge position pickup has 4-conductor wiring (the neck pickup is a split-coil humbucker, just 2-conductor.)

I don't know where you can get Seymour Duncan or Bart pickups in the Netherlands, but you can possibly get Rick pickups through a European Rick dealer: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
 
#582
could you record your bartolini?

ive been looking for stretford a while on internet but havent found anything either :(


i like the sound cliff burton achieves on "the four horsemen": i want strong lows, but very articulate sound and great punch.

my guitarists was always complainig about my warwick being too upfront in the mix and elbowing them away, he likes the rick sound more. I like it too, but it does not have much low end, less then with the stock pickup i think. that makes it unsuitable for some stuff we do.
 
#584
we played our first gig with my metal cover band saturday. my first gig on bass ever :) we played things like maiden, metallica and megadeth.

it went really great. people loved it (there were about a hundred). i got many compliments about the tone and looks of my rick, and my playing of course, hehe.



i put up an ad in a dutch classifieds section when i got the rick. i got called by some guy a couple of minutes ago. back in the seventies he had a 4001. the neck was bowed in a nice arc :) (i think he ****ed up adjusting the rods). anyway, instead of setting it up properly he decided to smash it up ala townsend (quote: "that was cool back then").

he saved some parts for 25 years: the pickguard, bridge, both pickups, tuners and the rick nameplate. i can get it all! how cool is that :D

off with the hideous bridge pickup.

noone knows about the swimming pool picture i posted earlier? still have no reply. Thornton D, youve got a pm on it :)
 
#585
AnTz0r said:
noone knows about the swimming pool picture i posted earlier? still have no reply. Thornton D, youve got a pm on it :)
Click to expand...

AnTzOr;

I just received your note and have emailed you back my response. Check your regular email, not the message board on this site.

Cheers,
TD
RIC:bassist:

PS - This is what happens to a RIC when someone decides to install a humbucking pickup in the neck position. The routing required to accomodate the humbucker is extensive and much larger than the original factory routing.

Invalid Link Removed
 
#587
Thanks for you reply T.D.

Blazer works at a luthier and has seen some other 4003's with a large hole. Maybe the early 4001's did not have the large hole because toasters are smaller?

I mailed John Hall to get a definitive answer, let's hope he will reply.

about the ****up picture above: it has binding to the edges. that makes it a 60's right? awwwwwwwwwwwwwww.... what a waste!
 
#588
does the bass still have the original jackplate? the serial# should be there-two letters and four numbers if you give me the letters I can date it for you,or you could go to the rickenbacker registration page. there is a wealth of info there with a discussion board (just like this one)http://personal.nbnet.nb.ca/mccorp/framespage.html[/URL]...for some reason I cant make a link but there is the adress
 
#592
From what I can gather, the 4004 5 strings have been delayed because the pickups RIC intended can't cover the string spacing... so I'd say the spacing is indeed wider... unless they decide to make it tighter, rather than design a new pickup for the bass. (Which I think is unlikely, the spacing on the old 4003S/5 models was a either love-it-or-hate-it thing, with far more people hating it and I think RIC knows this.)
 
#593
keb said:
From what I can gather, the 4004 5 strings have been delayed because the pickups RIC intended can't cover the string spacing... so I'd say the spacing is indeed wider... unless they decide to make it tighter, rather than design a new pickup for the bass. (Which I think is unlikely, the spacing on the old 4003S/5 models was a either love-it-or-hate-it thing, with far more people hating it and I think RIC knows this.)
Click to expand...
I am curious to see how they create this thing. The neck looks bigger if you check on the RIC site. Maybe it is time to rethink the pickups a little bit more and make them fit. If all the other replacement pickup houses can recreate something to retrofit the original, maybe the original on this bass could be done more effectively. This 5'er is still passive so it will be the sound of wood. I am curious to see one. Maybe at NAMM. I have played RICs off and on for the last 20 years and I don't intend to quit now!!! :hyper:
 
#594
So because of the pickup debacle, are they not in production right now? Maybe that explains why I can't find anyone, and I mean anyone, that has one in stock. My local dealer says they can order, but they have no idea when it will arrive.
 
#595
astar said:
So because of the pickup debacle, are they not in production right now? Maybe that explains why I can't find anyone, and I mean anyone, that has one in stock. My local dealer says they can order, but they have no idea when it will arrive.
Click to expand...


I dunno what 'debacle' you speak of...i must have missed that.(And am too lazy to search :D)
But if you order a Ric it could take anywhere between 3 months to a year for it to come in. Ric's staff isnt big so there is quite the wait and they sometimes fall back on orders.
I have another Ric on order now actually(fretless jetglo 4003)...it was ordered in March and here we are in June. They are 'expecting' August or September...but could be closer to Christmas even.(which i hope not :()
 
#596
I understand that the reason the 4004/5Cii model hasn't hit production todate is simply that RIC have made previous commitments to fill their orders for their new C-series instruments before they introduced the new 5 string. It's taken them a lot longer than they had originally planned to begin production and fill their orders for C-Series instruments. Todate, they have yet to deliver the 360/12C63. Because of this and the huge order backlog that they enjoy for all of their regular production models, they just haven't gotten to the new 4004/5Cii yet.
Only John Hall can say for sure but I heard something about production of the 4004/5Cii starting later this fall.

Anyone who has played a 4003S/5 will think the neck on the new 4004/5Cii is a 2x4. It's quite wide and thick which is very uncharacteristic of any previous RIC bass. Width at the nut is 2" and 2 11/16" at the twelfth fret.

Cheers,
TD
 
#597
Anyone who has ever owned or wanted to own a V-Series RIC will be interested in this.

Question asked on the Ric Forum: Has RIC ever said if the C series instruments are a limited run, or are they considered to be standard production models that will available for years?

Answered by John Hall: "They are not a limited production item and will be produced as long as there is a market for them. The "V" Series models, however, are to become more of a rotating series with different model representing various eras coming in and going out of the line-up".

This means your favourite "Vintage" Rickenbacker may end up as a part of the V-Series in the not to distant future.

Keep your fingers crossed.
Cheers
TD
:cool:
 
#598
I have owned a 1974 4001 going on 24 years now. I will admit that I no longer play it as much as I used to, as I have pretty much kicked over to five bangers, but nonetheless, everytime that I've played that thing in public I've received nothing but rave reviews on the tone of that bass. The neck is incredibly fast and just begs to be played, and I have found that it sounds great regardless of picking style, as long as it's going through a good amp. That is not to say that do not have some annoying idiosyncracies; they do. However, if Rickenbacker came out with a five banger with a 35" scale I would be on it like white on rice.
 
#599
bass_man86 said:
I have owned a 1974 4001 going on 24 years now. I will admit that I no longer play it as much as I used to, as I have pretty much kicked over to five bangers, but nonetheless, everytime that I've played that thing in public I've received nothing but rave reviews on the tone of that bass. The neck is incredibly fast and just begs to be played, and I have found that it sounds great regardless of picking style, as long as it's going through a good amp. That is not to say that do not have some annoying idiosyncracies; they do. However, if Rickenbacker came out with a five banger with a 35" scale I would be on it like white on rice.
Click to expand...
This is what I keep hearing. It's all about tone. The tone on a RIC stands out in a crowd of Fender clones and Musicman clones. I have one of each, Fender and Musicman...they do not compare to the RIC tone for uniqueness. Even the boutique basses do not have that kind of tone. They are all nice don't get me wrong, I think the RICs have a good track record and even for the idiosyncracies, they make a statement and people really get into the tone. I agree that a good amp is imperative otherwise, the RIC will sound horrid :eyebrow: and I have heard a few that sounded terrible. I remember being in college and having an old Sunn amp, a combo with a 1x15 and it was huge. I used that along with an old peavey and ran the RICs in stereo. It was quite a HUGE sound. I can't quite get that mojo with my Fenders or MM basses..... :rollno:
 
#600
Hey Everyone,

I just finished 3 new songs that were written on bass.
The first one
http://www.kineto.net/theorem.htm

The other 2 are at
http://www.kineto.net under the audio page.
These are the first mixes I've done
that I can honestly say I'm proud of.

Are influences include: Rush, Primus, Tool and Skeleton Key
I used a Rickenbacker 5 string Bass to record Theorem and a
Fender Jazz for Human Upgrade and Subject To Change
I modified the 5 string ric to allow wider string spacing
by cutting new slots in the bridge and filling in the old ones.

We also have a band forum for some feedback at
http://instantboard.com/users/Kineto/index.php

Thanks for listening guys. :bassist:
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back