...... I remember when I first started playing bass (around 1980), the pro bassists all either had a Fender or a Rickenbacker (maybe the odd Gibson). Now you hardly ever see a Rickenbacker played. I teach bass at a high school 2 days a week, and I ask the young bassists there about Rickenbacker, and almost none of them have even heard of them. It's a shame. Maybe Ric needs to advertise more.......
Why oh why would they? Rickenbacker pretty much sells every guitar they make, every year. And out of production models fetch big prices if someone sells one in good shape.
You are correct though, late 70's and early 80's,these were the must have basses. But then you figure some of the most iconic bass players were in the height of their popularity then.
Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, Paul McCartney and Mike Rutherford, to name just a few, were very prominent in the publics eye at that time. They fairly dominated the music scene and were innovators in this time period.
Rickenbacker is still a premium bass and as has been said here, they have not muddied their rep by producing "entry level" instuments, If you want a Rick, you pay....though in all honesty, a good Rick is quite a value at today's prices.
Also, as you have said, one generally must take or leave the sound. And it can depend on the music style, but mostly it depends on the player. A wide variety of music has been driven by a Rick bass...
Now if I could stop kicking myself for not picking one up back in the mid 80's when it sat in the used section for a steal...
