I wouldn't sell my only fretted P for a Rick, especially if it's a really good P. Ricks look amazing and have THAT Rick sound if you want it, but I find that they feel really awkward, and are a train wreck from a design perspective.
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Cold day in hell. You're a Fender guy. You might like the Ric but I doubt it. They are.......unique.
I thought Skully McIntosh WAS a good bass tech! I didn't say that Ric's are bad instruments, I just said their design inherently requires a lot more maintenance.
Except that it doesn't. Please explain the physics behind the assertion.
If it were a regular Am Std P bass I'd say go for it. AVRI, not so much. You will want it back. Save for the Ric or trade something else would be my vote
Thin necks bend more than thick necks. Most players DON'T understand how to correctly adjust 1 truss rod, let alone 2. I'm not a rocket scientist, just a bass player. I love that old tone, but for me, the extra PITA factor to maintain a Ric isn't worth it.
That's not true at all. It's called having a budget/limited means.
1. How much a neck will bend depends on many factors. Also, current Rick necks are not especially thin.
2. User error doesn't mean that the design is less stable when properly adjusted.
Ricks have their quirks, but a lot of the knocks on them are based on hearsay, often itself based on dusty recollections of old, used Ricks back in the day.
Dang. I love my Nash P and my Ric. I've been trying to figure out how to respond to this thread since it went up.
I kinda think that it might be worth it, as you have the fretless P, and you could buy another P down the road. I think purchasing another fretted P could be a frustrating exercise in finding something with the magic of the one you sold. However, I also think that a "budget P" could likely get you pretty close, so you wouldn't have to save up as much to go down that road. Since there is no such thing as a budget Ric, I'd be inclined to sell the P, buy the Ric, and begin saving for another (budget) fretted P.
...I'm not sold on my own argument, but it is the best justification I could think of for selling the P to buy the Ric. If it sounds like something that isn't gonna be worth it, then just keep saving for the Ric, and then you can have both your cakes and eat them, too.
I kinda think that it might be worth it, as you have the fretless P, and you could buy another P down the road. I think purchasing another fretted P could be a frustrating exercise in finding something with the magic of the one you sold. However, I also think that a "budget P" could likely get you pretty close, so you wouldn't have to save up as much to go down that road. Since there is no such thing as a budget Ric, I'd be inclined to sell the P, buy the Ric, and begin saving for another (budget) fretted P.
...I'm not sold on my own argument, but it is the best justification I could think of for selling the P to buy the Ric. If it sounds like something that isn't gonna be worth it, then just keep saving for the Ric, and then you can have both your cakes and eat them, too.
The short answer is NO!!
The long answer: I would never trade a fender for a rick. Would trade rick for fender though
No seriously. Pbass is a pbass. You have collected half the money required for a rick, wait for some more and then enjoy all the pbasses and the rick
Ricks are really a one trick pony mostly. They fit in certain music and if you play exactly that type of music you could maybe consider trading it. Pbass just sits everywhere and a bit more.
Plus you said it sounds fantastic so I would really think 1000x before trading a fender that sounds really good for something else. Not that good sounding fenders are rare, it's just that you find this specific piece to sound great to you and just imagine the hassle were you to trade this bass and later find out you want it back - you would literally have to try a dozen of 58's to get close to what this one sounds to you. Each fender has its own slightly different tonal characteristics that you may or may not dig/prefer.
I'm amused by the idea that the bass with two pickups, two volume knobs, two tone knobs, and a capacitor to chance the character of one pickup is the bass labeled a one trick pony, yet the bass with one pickup/volume/tone isn't. If anything, the P is a one trick pony, though arguably with a better trick
No way. Keep the pbass and employ self discipline. Continue to save for the Rick and then purchase. You will be happy that you did.
I'm amused by the idea that the bass with two pickups, two volume knobs, two tone knobs, and a capacitor to chance the character of one pickup is the bass labeled a one trick pony, yet the bass with one pickup/volume/tone isn't. If anything, the P is a one trick pony, though arguably with a better trick
Well I meant as a one trick pony from a sound character side of things. It really is a rock machine but that is mostly it, at least in europe, rare people use ricks for anything else.
Pbass has less tonal options yes, but its sound sits basically everywhere.
Yup. All of the players using Ric sound pretty much the same.
List of Rickenbacker players - Wikipedia
...granted, most are some form of rock/metal player, but there is a jazz name or two on the list.
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How about a pristine 4005?no, but I would to buy a 4004:
Don't know about you, but I do tend to use the standard screwdriver's in my toolbox for a host of jobs that they're not intended for, but perform brilliantly at whatever is thrown at them.
Just sayin'
Well obviously, you do the same thing with apostrophes. That doesn't mean it's the correct application for the tool.
OP: If your P bass is a true 1958 model, keep it and save up for the Rick. If it is a reissue, then the Rick might be a proper replacement. But only if you can live without a proper P bass.
