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The Rickenbacker Club Part Nine

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#941
magicd said:
Two Ric stories:

I have a 1976 blonde 4001 that I bought new. In 1976, my two favorite musicians were Paul McCartney and Chris Squire.

A few years ago I did some work for Wix, the keyboard player for the Paul McCartney band. I dropped my Ric off to him and asked him if he could get Sir Paul to sign the pickguard. Wix gave me the bass back a week later unsigned. "Paul doesn't sign basses" he said. Ah well.

Couple of years later I did some work for a technician on the Yes tour. I told him I was a huge fan and could I bring my bass by. He said sure. I was introduced to Chris' tech who I believe was a guy named Zach. Zach took a look at my bass and said sure, Chris will sign it. He then asked me if I wanted to check out Chris' Ric! I got to hold the bass and check it out for a minute. Zach told me that it's the same Ric that Chris has had since the beginning. The story was that Chris was working in a music shop in London and three Rics came in. Donovan got one. McCartney got one. Chris kept the third for himself. This one was the thinnest Ric I've ever played. Zach told me that it had been refinished and stripped so many times that it was that much worn down. If someone had handed me one of Jimis Strats I would not have been more knocked out. I learned to play off Yes albums and now I was holding the actual bass in my hands!

Chris came out and said hello. I deal with a lot of big names and usually am not star struck. This time I was about as dumb as I could be. I think I mumbled something about "Thank you for the music Mr Squire". He asked me if I wanted him to sign it and I said yes please.

I'll never sell this bass. I still like old Wings and Beatles stuff, but the last time I saw Paul it was in Vegas and he was playing along to the new RockBand video. I left. Better to keep the good memories intact.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

Dave
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Awesome story.
 
#943
Ric5 said:
red4004%20018.jpg


red4004%20019.jpg


red4004%20005.jpg
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Still got that one, eh Jeff? Still the beauty!
 
#944
Jeff.....I can't believe you did a 4-2-5 on THAT bass! Isn't that the one on the cover of all the factory manuals that come with new guitars? Cramming the 5th tuner between the other two and tilting them so they don't hit just looks like the after thought that it is, and it looks like you used those awful 12:1 Schaller tuners, instead of the much better Gotoh GB7s. Using the Gotohs would have enabled you to to plug, then offset drill the outer holes further apart without the work showing, and without chanting the tuners at wonky angles. One thing about necks with figuring like that is that they can be unstable. The extra tension (which will also be unbalanced on one side) could cause neck issues. As I remember, the 64mm spacing not only makes the string response weak on the B and G strings, but puts them real close to the edge of the fretboard. The Schaller bridge your using can be modified for narrower spacing.
 
#946
Aceonbass said:
Jeff.....I can't believe you did a 4-2-5 on THAT bass! Isn't that the one on the cover of all the factory manuals that cone with new guitars?
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This is not THAT bass ...

Remember I sold the bass that was used on the Rickenbacker web site to someone who wasn't in the IN crowd at the RRF. Joey and others flipped out when they didn't get it and they eventually kicked me off the RRF.

The bass I converted is a 2001 4004cii that I bought a few months ago off of ebay. This bass has a better neck than the bass from the web site.

But you know ... it would have been a lot of fun the freak out the Rick purists and convert that bass. Instead I sold it for an $800 profit.
 
#947
Well, while I'm glad that you didn't alter THAT bass, the strips of metal on the bridge pickup to extend the magnetic field, the B&G strings on the edge of the fretboard, and the tilted A&G tuners just detract from an otherwise beautiful bass.
 
#948
Aceonbass said:
Cramming the 5th tuner between the other two and tilting them so they don't hit just looks like the after thought that it is, and it looks like you used those awful 12:1 Schaller tuners, instead of the much better Gotoh GB7s. Using the Gotohs would have enabled you to to plug, then offset drill the outer holes further apart without the work showing, and without chanting the tuners at wonky angles. One thing about necks with figuring like that is that they can be unstable. The extra tension (which will also be unbalanced on one side) could cause neck issues. As I remember, the 64mm spacing not only makes the string response weak on the B and G strings, but puts them real close to the edge of the fretboard. The Schaller bridge your using can be modified for narrower spacing.
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You keep telling me this stuff ... I start to read it ... and it all becomes blah blah blah ... I don't follow your theories for Rick conversions.
 
#949
Jeff, while I know that your conversions sound fine, you take some short cuts that detract from the aesthetics of the basses. My opinions on Rick bass conversions aren't theories, as I have shipped my conversations all over the world. No less than 6 of them are in Paul Boyer's new book on Rickenbacker basses.
 
#951
Aceonbass said:
Jeff, while I know that your conversions sound fine, you take some short cuts that detract from the aesthetics of the basses. My opinions on Rick bass conversions aren't theories, as I have shipped my conversations all over the world. No less than 6 of them are in Paul Boyer's new book on Rickenbacker basses.
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Do you realize how arrogant and condescending that sounds?

You have to realize that I am not really concerned with your opinions on my work.
 
#954
Ric5 said:
You have to realize that I am not really concerned with your opinions on my work.
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But you did post the your bass on the largest bass centered forum on the internet. As such, you're going to get opinions on your work, good and bad. I'm far from a Rick purist, but functionality and aesthetics are important with any instrument. There are ways to achieve the essence of what you did while preserving those two qualities. My comment was neither condescending, not arrogant. It was a statement of fact in response to my "theories" about Rick conversions.
 
#957
There was another guy on this forum who was building wonderful Fenderbirds. A few people kept following up his posts and told him he "Wasn't doing it right" ... well they finally chased him off of the forum. People like that chased me off of a couple of Rickenbacker forums. I don't want to see Talkbass turn into that kind of place. Some people don't like how I convert a 4 string bass into a 5. that is fine. Live and let live. Hey you might not like what I have for breakfast either, again live and let live.
 
#958
Jeff, as I'm sure you'll remember, strong disagreements of any kind are frowned upon over at the RRF. The place is pretty bland these days, although one of the former moderators went on a legendary rant against RIC a couple months ago. Anyway, you did borrow my idea about modifying stock 4003 bridges for 5-string use ;)
 
#959
Times like this I want to sell all of my Ricks and go back to playing jazz basses.

What is it about Rickenbackers that makes people go crazy?

It is like I don't want to be seen in public with a Rickenbacker for fear that people will think I am one of the crazies.
 
#960
In the end...What does the damn thing sound and play like? I like the looks of my Rickenbackers as much as anyone, but in the end, the majority of the people who follow my work are going to HEAR these guitars on my albums, not look at them. ;)

If I wanted to change something on my 4003 or any of my Ric guitars to make them better sounding, I wouldn't bat an eye at doing it.

At the moment, I am more than happy with them as they came from the factory. :)
 
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