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Rickenbacker

#641
Fealach said:
Nice looking bass. I do like the look of them, but...

Seems to me that back in "the day" Ricks were WAY ahead of their time, advanced construction, great access to all frets, etc. Made some really adventurous models for a while, but ultimately became stuck producing basically the same bass for a very long time now. Some few changes along the way, attempts at more modern models that really to me just lost what made the old Rics great, rather than building on it.

I'd love to see a 24 fret Ric. An active Ric. A fretless Ric without dots on the 'board - dots look real silly on a fretless. Not a fan of dots in general, I'd have bought a five and/or an 8 if they had the sharkfin inlays, or even no inlays. When they have something as cool as the Lemmy bass - make more than 50 of them!!! Seems like they only want to appeal to people who are looking for a new "vintage" bass. This could, and should, be done without discontinuing the 4003.
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Understand.....there is a thriving Ric community at Link Removed that will agree and some will disagree. Everyone has an idea of what a Ric would do for them if it was "done like..." how they wanted it. Check out that forum, I think you will find you are not alone... :D
 
#646
First let me respond to the question posed 5 years ago...I played the 5 string (a friend's) for many weeks. It's great. The body is the rounded V63 style with elongated headstock. The neck is slightly wider than a four string. The string spacing is somewhat tighter than an average 5 string bass, but to the same proportions that the four string is slimmer than an average bass. It's awesome, and you get the Toaster pickup too!

Now to my bass. It's a 4001v63 purchased immediately when they started production in 1986. Over the years, I discovered that unlike the newer Horseshoe pickup reissues, my horseshoe magnets are actually magnets, and I have screw-type pole pieces. Also my faceplate is completely flush to the horseshoe pickup like the originals, newer reissues have a .25'' gap... which leads me to wonder I my bass was built from new-old-stock?

Over the 20 years, it's been rewired many times, but it's final configuration is this: SERIES! Yep, Danelectro style. You know how the middle position is always kind of lame? Not anymore.
That way you get great Toaster sound, great Horseshoe sound, and the middle is instant Close to the Edge sound. You don't need to change the EQ settings at all. It sounds so good, I wonder why the techs back in the 60's didn't discover it. All you have to do is replace the pickup selector switch with an ON-OFF-ON type (car parts stores everywhere have them in chrome). You may want a tech to do the rewiring. I just wanted to share my good fortune. Long live Ricks!
 
#648
This thread has been sitting idol for the past 5 months. I think it's time to get it going again.

To start things moving again, the question is:

With Rickenbacker International Corporation's (RIC) 75th anniversary just around the corner, what is on everyones wish list for a special anniversary instrument? :)

Lets hear what the people want. It can be a new creation or a classic re-issue. Be specific with the details and colour choices. :bassist:

The floor is yours !

TD
:cool:
 
#649
I would absolutly love to see a 4003S/8 in Burgundyglo with checkerboard binding. I also think that a burgundyburst finish would look great.

A personal favorite for me would be a solid green finish for all models.

And last but not least, I would love to see a baritone guitar(whole octave down) in the style of the 4003 with a skinnier neck.

There's so many possibilities.
 
#653
Thornton Davis said:
Lets hear what the people want. It can be a new creation or a classic re-issue. Be specific with the details and colour choices.
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I'd like it to be a 4003 in transparent white. Checkerboard binding and chrome hardware. Vermilion headstock wings (painted over in trans white) and a silver-colored pickguard and trussrod cover. Maybe a little '75' on the TRC as well.
 
#656
just thought i'd bump this thread back to the top by saying that i have an all origional 1970 jet glow rick that hasnt even had the mod done to it, and i dont think i'll ever have it done either. got it in '85 for like $300-$400 range. i'd love to hear what that mod does, but i dont want to mess with my origional set up. are there any recordings of ric's with the mod done? did geddy have it done? (i'd have to guess no...)
 
#657
shwashwa said:
just thought i'd bump this thread back to the top by saying that i have an all origional 1970 jet glow rick that hasnt even had the mod done to it, and i dont think i'll ever have it done either. got it in '85 for like $300-$400 range. i'd love to hear what that mod does, but i dont want to mess with my origional set up. are there any recordings of ric's with the mod done? did geddy have it done? (i'd have to guess no...)
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I have the mod on my '76 and I love it. It really give the Ric a great low end while still keeping the clarity and punch.

On the Rickenbacker forum John Hall makes the suggestion of putting a switch on the wire that connects the .0047 cap. That way you could easily change from one sound to the other. Mr. Hall is not in favor of any mods done to Rics and I think its a personal pride thing with him, I'd be the same way. But sound is sound and the mod makes a great sound.

I'm sure you've hear that the 4003 don't have the .0047 cap. And there is a pull pot that is new, you could install that and have both sounds.
 
#659
The 4001S model (no binding dot inlays) was mono and didn't have the cap. Paul McCartney's bass is 4001S so no cap. He does use flats though. I think Geddy's Rick still had the cap. When I did the bypass on my former 4001, it just increased the abss and the output. It also made balancing the Pickupos a bit harder (IMHO). If you use both pickups and blend them I don't think it makes that much of a difference, but if you solo the bridge PU alot, it will.

Personally, I did like the tone better without the cap. It's not a major mod, you don't have to remove anything, just solder a short wire to the posts the cap is wired to. You don't have to remove the cap as the signal will take the path of least resitance. Two minutes on, and two minutes off if you don't like it, or if you want to sell it.

Don't worry about the collectability, it's a bass not a Hummel. It should do what you want, not the other way 'round. I did the same thing with my former 4001 (worried about the collectability), that's why it's my "former" 4001. The previous owner, Willie Mosely (of Vintage Guitar Magazine), featured it in a guitar book he wrote. I wanted to put in new electronics and pickups, but the whole book thing made me feel aprehensive about it. I put it on consignment at a local shop where it sat for several months. I finnaly came to my sences and went to get it back, but it had sold just days earlier. It wasn't even that good a book... but it was a great bass...

I'm planning on getting a new 4003 soon, to make up for my stupidity. Collectabiliity be damned.

Sorry to ramble on there, it's late, I'm tired and I have a laptop, dangerous combination ;) Again its a bass, YOUR bass.

~Paul :)
 
#660
paul n said:
The 4001S model (no binding dot inlays) was mono and didn't have the cap. Paul McCartney's bass is 4001S so no cap. He does use flats though. I think Geddy's Rick still had the cap. When I did the bypass on my former 4001, it just increased the abss and the output. It also made balancing the Pickupos a bit harder (IMHO). If you use both pickups and blend them I don't think it makes that much of a difference, but if you solo the bridge PU alot, it will.

Personally, I did like the tone better without the cap. It's not a major mod, you don't have to remove anything, just solder a short wire to the posts the cap is wired to. You don't have to remove the cap as the signal will take the path of least resitance. Two minutes on, and two minutes off if you don't like it, or if you want to sell it.

Don't worry about the collectability, it's a bass not a Hummel. It should do what you want, not the other way 'round. I did the same thing with my former 4001 (worried about the collectability), that's why it's my "former" 4001. The previous owner, Willie Mosely (of Vintage Guitar Magazine), featured it in a guitar book he wrote. I wanted to put in new electronics and pickups, but the whole book thing made me feel aprehensive about it. I put it on consignment at a local shop where it sat for several months. I finnaly came to my sences and went to get it back, but it had sold just days earlier. It wasn't even that good a book... but it was a great bass...

I'm planning on getting a new 4003 soon, to make up for my stupidity. Collectabiliity be damned.

Sorry to ramble on there, it's late, I'm tired and I have a laptop, dangerous combination ;) Again its a bass, YOUR bass.

~Paul :)
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true, but i have other basses if i need other tones... i think i like the rick the way it is. besides, if the output of the bridge pickup is increased by the mod, cant the same affect be accomplished by turning down the neck pickup and increasing the over all volume at the amp or preamp?
 

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