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The "Ric Sound"?

#81
Rick sound is the total opposite of the P-bass sound,
works great in certain situations but after owning 3 ricks they just didnt have the kick you in the chest and sweet low mids I was looking for and never looked back as they are great basses but John hall is obnoixious and his basses are way over priced.

Flame suit on and ready!
 
#82
CrimsonGhost said:
Rick sound is the total opposite of the P-bass sound,
works great in certain situations but after owning 3 ricks they just didnt have the kick you in the chest and sweet low mids I was looking for and never looked back as they are great basses but John hall is obnoixious and his basses are way over priced.

Flame suit on and ready!
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I've always found the "overpriced" thing kind of weird. Have you priced a Custom Shop Fender recently? How about a Gibson? Move up to most other MIA hand built basses and the Rics start looking like a bargain.
 
#83
audiomitch said:
I've always found the "overpriced" thing kind of weird. Have you priced a Custom Shop Fender recently? How about a Gibson? Move up to most other MIA hand built basses and the Rics start looking like a bargain.
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I used to pick up mid late 70s 4001 and early split pg 4003's all day long for $650-$750 a few years ago, these same basses are selling for like $1100-$1200 and up.. totally out of control if you ask me. on a side note the neck on my 77 4001 had the one of the best necks I have ever played.. simply amazing.. all the early 4003's i had after had the biggest clunkyest baseball bat necks ever..


I dont know if its the name or supply/demand (even though there are always a huge supply for sale at any given time.) but to me they are totally out of control price wise for what you you could otherwise get for the money.
 
#84
CrimsonGhost said:
I used to pick up mid late 70s 4001 and early split pg 4003's all day long for $650-$750 a few years ago, these same basses are selling for like $1100-$1200 and up.. totally out of control if you ask me. on a side note the neck on my 77 4001 had the one of the best necks I have ever played.. simply amazing.. all the early 4003's i had after had the biggest clunkyest baseball bat necks ever..


I dont know if its the name or supply/demand (even though there are always a huge supply for sale at any given time.) but to me they are totally out of control price wise for what you you could otherwise get for the money.
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So you're just talking about the used market?
 
#86
CrimsonGhost said:
New? I would never even consider buying a "brand new* Rickenbacker bass for the prices they are commanding, unless I won the lottery or came into a huge amount of disposable income perhaps...

Your getting into Sadowsky or Fender custom shop money there..
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Rickenbacker doesn't have a "Custom Shop". The whole factory is a Custom Shop. Comparing Rics to Fenders is a little Apples and Oranges, but let's pretend Fender came out with a Neck Through Custom Shop Jazz Bass. Do you think they would charge more than a new Ric? Wait, I'll answer that - oh yeah. Heck, the current bolt-ons cost more than a new Ric!

Used market is a little different. Rics tend to hold their value better than Fenders and most other brands.
 
#87
I see new ricks for sale for like $2400, that's 2 or 3 other great basses I could buy for that kind of cash. But what do I know I have owned around 100 basses over the past 13 years including a few ricks and I'm back on early 80s full scale usa fender bullet bass deluxes, lol
 
#88
CrimsonGhost said:
I see new ricks for sale for like $2400, that's 2 or 3 other great basses I could buy for that kind of cash. But what do I know I have owned around 100 basses over the past 13 years including a few ricks and I'm back on early 80s full scale usa fender bullet bass deluxes, lol
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I can find you a brand new Ric right now for around $1700. I bought my used one for $1100, and saw an ad a month later for the same.

The "Rics are too expensive" argument doesn't really hold up. But if you don't like the way they feel or sound, that's fair game.
 
#89
CrimsonGhost said:
New? I would never even consider buying a "brand new* Rickenbacker bass for the prices they are commanding, unless I won the lottery or came into a huge amount of disposable income perhaps...

Your getting into Sadowsky or Fender custom shop money there..
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Well see I'm not impressed enough with any of the Sadowskys that I've played to think they deserve to go for such a high price. I'd take a Ric over a sadowsky any day of the week! Everybody's different man.
 
#91
They definitely hold their value. I think the used prices also are due in part to teh fact that the REALLY good Fenders are (used) are super high priced and people cannot afford them anymore unless they have collector's pocketbook.
 
#92
CrimsonGhost said:
I used to pick up mid late 70s 4001 and early split pg 4003's all day long for $650-$750 a few years ago, these same basses are selling for like $1100-$1200 and up.. totally out of control if you ask me. on a side note the neck on my 77 4001 had the one of the best necks I have ever played.. simply amazing.. all the early 4003's i had after had the biggest clunkyest baseball bat necks ever..


I dont know if its the name or supply/demand (even though there are always a huge supply for sale at any given time.) but to me they are totally out of control price wise for what you you could otherwise get for the money.
Click to expand...

I used to buy Ricks for 250-350 all day but that was 20 years ago. I believe that the prices for ALL basses have adjusted in the economy. Someone else mentioned the love/hate thing and it is quite rampant--especially here on TB. If it works for you, play it...if not, don't...I have a 77 and an 89 right now. They are both very different and the 89 actually has a pencil thin neck...both are great playing basses and I have been using them for different things...
 
#93
audiomitch said:
Rickenbacker doesn't have a "Custom Shop". The whole factory is a Custom Shop
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Not really ... You get the options they offer or don't get one at all ... in the last 15 years they have decreased the number of models and decreased the number of options. They used to make 5 and 8 string models, they used to offer black trim, and they used to do color of the year. Try to order a new fretless or a new left handed model and you get a long wait.
 
#94
Rics are not as expensive as non-Ric owners make them out to be. Sure maybe there aren't a lot of Ric models, but honestly how many different Jazz and P basses does one really need? Don't get me wrong I love fender basses there is just a lot of overlap in their models. When you look at the construction of a Ric to a Fender, Rics are a bit of a bargain (I'm not talking quality per se, I'm simply commenting on the woods used, and binding, and overall construction). A new Ric can be had for under $1700 and an American standard Jazz bass is $1250 and the deluxe is $1600-1700.
 
#98
cassius987 said:
Disagree. I have found lots of surprising overlap.
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I agree with this. I'm in the market for a Ric right now, and I've found one that I need to save for, but I've been playing it at the shop a lot. I've been playing a P, and a PJ, and I've found a lot of overlap as well. It gets in the same area of tone as my P and PJ, but with a sound all it's own that neither of those basses can achieve. It gets my favorite tones from every other bass that I've owned, and adds it's own voice to it.
 
#99
imho, Rics are some of the best-built and best-sounding U.S.A. -made basses out there, and qualify as "playable art". Take a gander at my 4004Cii & tell me that's not one killer looking bass. Plus, it sounds even better than it looks!

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