For my 5 string bass needs I have owned/own basses by Yamaha, Zon, and Martin Keith. For my 4 string basses Rickenbackers are what have preferred since 1973.
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Rickenbackers
- Thread starter Ric5
- Start date
I have avoided this thread for a reason but being a 40 year Rickenbacker player all I will say and this goes for any brand bass, reversible mods are OK by me, but when you start drilling holes, adding pickups that don't fit, putting screws in that don't don't belong etc then you are ruining the bass as far as I'm concerned. Yes I realize it's your bass to irreversibly modify and I don't tell you what to do but many people have opinions and that is mine. I bought a Hipshot bridge for my EB-3 because it wouldn't intonate properly but that does not irreveribly modify the bass at all, I can pull it off again and put the original back on and it's is again stock. Another thing to think about is anytime you irreversibly mod a nice bass you just cut the resale value in half. Incidentally I did mod two Ricks in my lifetime, I epoxied a 4001FL years ago and super glued a 4003FL a few years ago so I'm also guilty of modding a Rick.
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I wonder how hard John Hall is laughing when he sees threads with people having debates whether it's acceptable or heresy modifying his product. Like it was mentioned earlier RIC over the decades have modified their own products. You purchased it, modify it as you see fit. Hell, cut the wings of and call it a stick bad if you want. Nothing sacred about a chunk of wood built well with electronics and strings that somehow turns out into the Mona Lisa
You said everything I should have said initially at the start of this thread there Bob..well done and thanks!
Teijo K.
Commercial User
While I am totally ok. With people modifying whatever basses, I don't honestly understand why. I mean if there is nothing out there that fits you stock, why bother paying for a bass in the first place. Just build your own and you can have exactly what you want with a fraction of the cost. That's what I have been doing.
Again, I don't think modifying is wrong, but really.
Again, I don't think modifying is wrong, but really.
I'm a "Ric enthusiast" - but only to a degree. I own 4 4003's and a 620/12. If someone wants to mod their own guitar, in whatever way, no matter what it is, it's THEIR guitar, not a piece of irreplacable art. IMHO. I do like Ric 5's conversions very much and he is doing something that puts a bass out there that Ric can't be arsed to sell themselves. I also don't understand why people get so wound up about them being altered, or not kept stock.
As for copies, Ric protected their designs and police online sales of replicas as we know. Fender and Gibson should have done this a long time ago, so we wouldn't see a million makes of P and Jazz basses floating round. I wish people would come up with their own designs instead of just leeching off the original big names. That said, I do own three Ric replica's (a 5-string and a unique Glitter-finish 4001 style, plus a 1976 John Birch that I just couldn't pass up).
As for copies, Ric protected their designs and police online sales of replicas as we know. Fender and Gibson should have done this a long time ago, so we wouldn't see a million makes of P and Jazz basses floating round. I wish people would come up with their own designs instead of just leeching off the original big names. That said, I do own three Ric replica's (a 5-string and a unique Glitter-finish 4001 style, plus a 1976 John Birch that I just couldn't pass up).
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
This is the green 4004cii5 that I brought up earlier
http://www.3dentourage.com/425/04-4004cii5.htm
Well
After it left my hands it sounded very good. With the replacement pickups and the 4 band Audere preamp it was a very versatile 5 string bass.
Well the current owner didn't like the battery box. So an entire new body wing was made and it was refinished. And it was rewired back to toggle, volume, tone ... pretty much making it a 2 dimensional sound bass with no way to blend the pickups. The one good thing that was done was the neck was repaired and straightened. But damn the repairs on that bass and the original cost and the shipping have to make this bass a $5000 ... ya pretty freaking ludicrous ... this bass was ok at $2000 ... but a $5000 passive 5 string bass with a too wide neck ... This is what I do not understand about Rickenbacker purists ... it is a cult like mentality ... a creepy weird ass religion ...
http://www.3dentourage.com/425/04-4004cii5.htm
Well
After it left my hands it sounded very good. With the replacement pickups and the 4 band Audere preamp it was a very versatile 5 string bass.
Well the current owner didn't like the battery box. So an entire new body wing was made and it was refinished. And it was rewired back to toggle, volume, tone ... pretty much making it a 2 dimensional sound bass with no way to blend the pickups. The one good thing that was done was the neck was repaired and straightened. But damn the repairs on that bass and the original cost and the shipping have to make this bass a $5000 ... ya pretty freaking ludicrous ... this bass was ok at $2000 ... but a $5000 passive 5 string bass with a too wide neck ... This is what I do not understand about Rickenbacker purists ... it is a cult like mentality ... a creepy weird ass religion ...
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- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
Fuel for the fire.
I really like your headstocks ...
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
This is why I like Rickenbackers ... the nasty grinding tone
Or is it just that the owner of this bass wanted it to be the way HE wanted it.(not someone else’s idea of what it should be...)
So....he had it modded to suit his purpose and preferences. Sound familiar?
Yeah, Astral Traveler is THE tone that got me interested in bass in general, and Ric's in particular. Plus, ya gotta love the purple cape.
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I don't know. Seems like an extremely popular wiring configuration on a lot of basses.
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
to me it is the lamest way to wire a bass ever ... the whole purpose of 2 pickups is so you can blend them ... without that you lose the best tones a bass can produce ...
I agree, that's why I did the VVT on my old Cii, and currently have a VV+selector switch on one of my 4004L basses.
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I also really like a 4004 with single coil pickups and a toggle and 2 stacked pots ... then it sounds like a 4003/4001 bass ... If Rickenbacker sold them that way they would sell more 4004 basses ...
I think a VVT setup is fine as I don't fine two individual tone controls all that useful for how I play. A master tone control works fine for my needs,
