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Rickenbackers - the bad stuff?

#3
megadan said:
Picking works better than fingerstyle - the nasty edges around the pickups really get in the way, and there's no nice place to put your thumb.

Bridge is poorly designed and hard to adjust.
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I assume that depends on how you play. I play just fine fingerstyle, as well as a lot of Rickenbacker owners.

I typically either put my thumb on the edge of the pickguard or if I use the bridge cover, I use that for thumb placement.

Now that I have a 5er, I use the B string for thumb placement until I need the B.

Yes, the bridge is difficult to get intonation set up properly.

Some people do not like the binding and complain that it cuts into their arm. I recommend getting one without binding if this is your preference. They are the 4001S and 4003S models... but they don't have the sharkfin inlays either and typically don't have the Rick-O-Sound option.

You could always get a 4004 if the binding bothered you that much.
 
#4
... is that you can't have just one! ;)

They're like those delicious potato chips, you can't eat just one.

The Rickenbacker addiction is a well known and understood fact. They are habit forming. You get one and before long you have to get another, then another.

And on a serious note. I wish they'd do something about the bridge on the 4003 and get rid of the extra two screws that mar the cosmetic appearance of that wonderful tail piece. It's there to reduce lift, but I wish they'd work on a way to eleminate the lift withiut having to use so many screws. They used to have an additional two at the far end, but people complained about how it looked, and rightfully so.

Rickenbackers are the genuine Rockenbackers of Rock 'n Roll! :bassist:

Oh, regarding the high price. You can get a pretty good deal on a one when you catch the 20% off sales, like MF had back in October. You could buy a brand new 4003 for $1,559.99 delivered. That's not bad. Heck, a new Fender American '75 Reissue Jazz goes for about $1,800.00. And I know places like North Coast Music sells Ric 4003 for around $1,680 plus $45 for shipping, which seems to be the lowest advertised price around. Those folks on Ebay asking $2,300.00 for a new 4003 are suffering from some form of hypnotic illussion. Don't go by that price because it's way above what you can buy a new Rick for.
 
#5
megadan said:
Picking works better than fingerstyle - the nasty edges around the pickups really get in the way, and there's no nice place to put your thumb.
Click to expand...
I disagree! Mine (1982) has no nasty (sharp) edges. I use floating thumb technique, but one could easily and comfortably use the pickup surround. And much like Geddy Lee's, mine sounds great fingerstyle. You can even slap on it!

megadan said:
Bridge is poorly designed and hard to adjust.
Click to expand...
I agree! And you didn't even mention the "tail lift" on some of the bridges! Fortunately, I've never had a tail lift (my 4003 has the two extra screws at the butt end of the bridge). And while the Rick bridge can be a challenge to intonate, a right angle screwdriver helps matters significantly:

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#6
The bad:
1)I will probably never see one locally in a store.
(build quality is pretty uniform, however, so I feel comfortable ordering one sight unseen)
2)Takes too long to receive an ordered instrument. (they're working on it, but slowly)
3)New bridge/tailpiece design is on hold. (again due to backlog of standard items)
4)Factory 5 string of any kind is on hold. (reason: see above)

You can't judge anything by ebay prices, a lot of those guys are...optimistic, to put it too politely.
The binding doesn't bother me at all, I mostly use a floating technique and sling my bass fairly low. I just find it most comfortable that way.
I can adjust the intonation with a long shank screwdriver and the right amount of pressure, just be careful not to strip the screws!
It's not like you need to adjust it often anyway, unless you change action or string sizes frequently.
 
#7
All the negatives have been pretty well covered here. I'll repeat the poor bridge design. I can't believe that Rick hasn't done anything about this yet. I finally sold my 4003 out of frustration over this problem. They've been saying a "re-designed bridge is currently in ther works" for years now for the 4003, still nothing. The bridge is pretty bad (as is the tail lift problem). Rickenbacker is slower than the government when it comes to change and reaction. :scowl: Go figure.
 
#8
bobalu said:
All the negatives have been pretty well covered here. I'll repeat the poor bridge design. I can't believe that Rick hasn't done anything about this yet. I finally sold my 4003 out of frustration over this problem. They've been saying a "re-designed bridge is currently in ther works" for years now for the 4003, still nothing. The bridge is pretty bad (as is the tail lift problem). Rickenbacker is slower than the government when it comes to change and reaction. :scowl: Go figure.
Click to expand...

That's because people continue to purchase their product. If people stoped buying, and inventory built up, they'd do somentiing about the bridge. The incentive and motivation to change isn't there because their basses sell out fairly quick as compared to other manufacturer's instruments.

Although, I'm seeing a lot of those C64 4001 pilling up now. Talk about abundance of product. And the responce has been predictable, some dealers have lowered thier asking price, and many are very open to negotiation.
 
#11
I don't personally own a Rickenbacker, so I can't really comment on the bridge and intonation problems.

But I haven't found a thing about them I don't like from playing them.
Love the massive bridge pickup surrounds/cover, for both looks and functionality (for me, at least).
Comfotable to play, etc.

My only gripe is that they don't have a Cliff Burton signature model...probably because his was modified, for one thing.

Maybe one day I'll have enough cash to buy a Ric and make a Cliff-enbacker.
 
#13
I would say - apart from some incredibly poor design problems - their quality control lately is terrible. I see brand new Ricks in my shop all the time, with warped necks, uneven frets, poor finishes, etc. I understand that Rick likes to keep things super old-school, but methinks that they resist improvement as well. They do some of the routing on the bodies with a DRILL, for crying out loud.

A Rick has a unique sound, but beyond that I don't see anything especially great about them.
 
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#14
The binding is very annoying, the pickup ring can be replaced with a plastic one from online stores. I have an 06 4003, they sound great with some distortion, I feel you really have to dig with your fingers to get it to come alive, sounds great with a pick. The bridge does suck for changing strings though. Great sound, they need to listen to the players on the feedback though.
 
#17
Well where do I start?

Cons: Expensive, Heavy, if you have a pre 1980 you should not put anything other than flatwound 100's on it or you can damage the neck, the birdge pickups are crap they are weak, not very many places you can rest you thumb comfortably to play.

Pros: If you find one that is lite-ish the tone on the neck pickup is pure magic...so for all the cons the I will have to say the pros win...If you can find a nice one that is fairly lite weight...you canot go wrong.

I have a '76 4001 in Fireglo and a 1980 in Azureblue...I prefer the '76 for comfort but tonally the '80 wins hands down.
 

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