Tried my first Ric, ever

[bbh]

Too bad about the action. Mine is set super low with flatwounds. Yeah the binding can be a bit uncomfortable -- always have the 4003s model.

I find that quite often that guitar center instruments are not set up properly for try out. You can ask them to set it up so you can test it but then of course you have to wait and they’re not done perfectly, that’s for sure.

 

[jamro217]

After player Fender P basses for decades, I bought two Rics in the span of one year. One is a 2004 FireGlo 4003, the other (avatar pic) is a fretless '78 AutumnGlo 4001. Both basses are great, but are nothing alike. The neck on the 4003 is rather chunky, the 4001 is pencil thin. The 4003 doesn't have the vintage cap or the push/pull pot, yet still sounds rather bright. The 4001 sounds deep and smooth even with light gauge rounds on it. Love both, but every one is unique. Unlike so many high volume manufacturers where most of the instruments are the same with an occasional dog and THE ONE mixed in the batch, Rics are almost personalized to where each instrument is like it's alive. You may end up with the good natured sweet one, the funny one, or the obnoxious ex-wife model.

 

[bbh]

That’s a fine looking thumper! Are they only available in natural?

Is the top (where the arm rests) contoured?

And does have the ricko sound?

 

[Davbassdude]

Remove the pickup cover and it is a really nice bass to play! I also thankfully realize the 1980 4003 I have has a thinner neck than the newer ones. It is my favorite #1 bass and is very comfortable for me. Of course, I've been playing it for the past 38 years so....

 

[Kipp Harrington]

Too bad about the action. Mine is set super low with flatwounds. Yeah the binding can be a bit uncomfortable -- always have the 4003s model.

I love flatwonds. Have them on both my basses. Lower action and flats may have made me consider it more.

 

[bobyoung53]

I was at Guitar Center today getting a capo to do some bass set up’s. I saw a Ric hanging on the wall in the used section. Not sure what model it was, didn’t pay much attention to that. Had the guy get it down and I plugged it into a Mark Bass 212 combo. The action was so ridiculously high that it wasn’t fair really to judge a Ric based on that model. I mean 3/4 of an inch off the fretboard hi!

Anyhow, to my thoughts of the bass:

It had a great tone no matter what pick up selection I had. It was a toggle with a three-way switch. It sounded beefy and felt very solid. I love the look of a Ric. However, I just don’t think I could get used to my right hand positioning while playing. Also, the negative side of what a lot of people mention… The top of the base digging into the forearm. I was sitting down, so I’m sure it would not have been as uncomfortable if I were standing .

All in all, if I had to write a list of pros and cons for my thoughts on that bass, the cons would outnumber the pros. I am just glad I had the opportunity to play one. They seem very well-made.

That's a big problem with GC, they don't set up the instruments and let them sit and sit getting worse and worse and at a certain point no one's going to buy a bass with 3/4" action., You might want to try a 4003S, they have cutaways and no binding like a Fender and sound just like the bass you tried out, don't judge any bass by one with horrible action and be assured that even that one could mostly likely be set up nice, I'm surprised they stay in business actually. I stopped buying basses from them at least ten years ago because of that very reason.

 

[bobyoung53]

Check out a 4003S. It does not have the binding and does have a contoured body shape, making it more comfortable to rest your arm on. It goes without saying, but try not to judge based on the setup at the store. And also don't judge by the strings. The factory round wounds, IMHO, are horrible.

I own a Jetglo 4003S. My biggest complaints are: 1) the baseball bat neck, which could be made thinner (on both axis) by getting rid of the unnecessary dual truss rods and changing to one rod; 2) the factory pickups are over wound, and Ric has been gradually adding more winds to them since the late 70's. The idea is to get higher output, the price is lost high frequencies (from what I've read - high frequencies are the first to bleed off as the signal travels over longer distance). Pickups can be replaced, the neck cannot.

Some people dislike Rics for several other reasons. Yes it is a pain to intonate, but that is not normally done often unless you change string brand/type/gauge. Yes the adjustable foam string mutes are unnecessary for most people, but also can be easily lowered and forgotten. Yes the cover for the bridge pickup is in the way, but can be easily removed (and replaced with a bezel that covers everything but the pickup itself).

If I could convince the company to change one thing: dump the dual truss rods in favor of one, and make the neck thinner.

Some early 4001's have among the thinnest necks I've ever played and they also had the dual truss rods. I don't think over wound pickups lose highs, they gain lows which makes them sound bigger and bassier, I could be wrong though.

 

[WannaBeatle]

but, this is a buddy of mine telling about the Ricky bass on his page, "Beatle Bass Boot Camp"

Ricks are cool basses for sure. I'm not too fond of them when they're too trebly sounding, though.

 

[bobyoung53]

I love my skinny-necked 4001. Binding, mute, gaping neck pickup hole, and all.

If you bond with the instrument, you’ll figure out how to play it well. If not? Maybe a Rick isn’t for you. They’re an odd and offbeat company, but if you look hard enough you really can find what features you need.

I bought my first 4001 in 1977 and the first thing everyone did back then was take off the cover and throw Rotos on them, there was nothing to cover the hole back then. Rics still look odd to me with the cover on and look even odder with those things that people put on them to cover the hole for the bridge pickup. i like it and my two rics proudly show the hole. This is my 79 4001 which I've had for about 20 years:

 

[Kipp Harrington]

That's a big problem with GC, they don't set up the instruments and let them sit and sit getting worse and worse and at a certain point no one's going to buy a bass with 3/4" action., You might want to try a 4003S, they have cutaways and no binding like a Fender and sound just like the bass you tried out, don't judge any bass by one with horrible action and be assured that even that one could mostly likely be set up nice, I'm surprised they stay in business actually. I stopped buying basses from them at least ten years ago because of that very reason.

Yep. I normally will not set foot in a GC... I kinda boycotted them. I get the majority of my stuff from Sweetwater. But I wanted to do a setup on my bass Sunday and didn’t want to place an online order and wait a few days to receive the capo. I guess it was sort of an excuse to play a couple basses. I had never played a Ric and I was shocked there was one hanging on the wall. The action was the worst (by far) I have ever seen on a bass. Shameful! But I still played It halfway decent... remarkably!

 

[JW56789]

A black and white-trimmed 4001 has always been one of those images burned into my mind for what 'cool' is supposed to look like, I always had a soft spot for them. Had friends who played them and just sounded great.

Every time I tried to turn infatuation into a love affair, it sounded thin, and the electronics and that bridge are just hilariously bad. Like East German bad. Worked in stores long enough to know that they can become quite a handful in keeping the action in the proper state (not many, but enough to give me the willies). So like dating a beautiful woman, living with her may turn out to be a lot harder than you thought.

I know they are revered, but I couldn't make one work for me. Ain't the first, won't be the last.

 

[Kipp Harrington]

A black and white-trimmed 4001 has always been one of those images burned into my mind for what 'cool' is supposed to look like, I always had a soft spot for them. Had friends who played them and just sounded great.

Every time I tried to turn infatuation into a love affair, it sounded thin, and the electronics and that bridge are just hilariously bad. Like East German bad. Worked in stores long enough to know that they can become quite a handful in keeping the action in the proper state (not many, but enough to give me the willies). So like dating a beautiful woman, living with her may turn out to be a lot harder than you thought.

I know they are revered, but I couldn't make one work for me. Ain't the first, won't be the last.

I always thought they sounded more like a guitar than a bass but have always been intrigued by the cool style of the body, neck and headstock. I’m sure I could dial in a beefy tone with one and the rig setup I’ve got. I’m just curious about these basses. Would love to try a few more out, but that opportunity doesn’t seem likely.

 

[mikeswals]

What exactly was the playing position of your hand?
If it had a pickup cover on, you can remove it and install a bezel with a thumbrest.

Also, if the binding bugs you, Ric does make an S model without the binding.

 

[Ian McLaughlin]

They should do an S with the shark fin inlays.

But, then again, they should do a lot of things.

 

[InternetAlias]

I always thought bound ricks check all of the boxes of what I don't want in a bass:

• Bound fingerboard/body - means the edges in general are going to be sharper than you can get without binding
• Neck and bridge pickups that hum like crazy and that doesn't get better when they are dimed
• Out of place character when either pickup is dimed on its own
• I am just not into the whole Rick'o'Sound thing, I feel like it complicates something you should keep simple for everyone's sake
• The fretboard finish is just insanely tacky to me
• Glossy necks, for some reason the ricks i played really had my thumb getting glued to them
• Really ugly break angle at the headstock
• The entire top part of the instrument, that touches the belly and the right hand, is absolutely unergonomic either sitting or standing, to me
• The neck pickup is really at an awkward spot if you want to play really aggressively up there on the neck, normally on bass guitars you expect to have some space there

So it's quite funny when I think of all the people who play ricks - I am absolutely sure none of them would want to have my 6 string headless monster without controls and with just the output jack, that is designed to my exact body specs, has two J pickups in series.

But nobody can really argue ricks are badly made, or that they don't have the character. They just look like this is a mothercopulating bass guitar!!! and I think it'd be really cool to play rick lightningly fast in a prog band just to spite people who say that's not what ricks are for.

 

[bassmachine2112]

Hiho,my experience of Ricks is once set up,forget.very stable.I did a set up when I got it,next set up was when I fitted a Hipshot bridge,never been touched since.I change make of strings and gauges and never need to touch it.I can,t come over to Rick site as I got thrown off for asking why don,t you fit Hipshot bridges as standard-oooops.They are sensitive to what head and cab you use I have found.Pick up height is important but once optimised it,s plug in and play.

 

[Flamingo21]

One local player here plays one; got to see her this week playing it. Sounded great and man was she having fun!

Pic, or it ...

 

[dbsfgyd1]

I was at Guitar Center today getting a capo to do some bass set up’s. I saw a Ric hanging on the wall in the used section. Not sure what model it was, didn’t pay much attention to that. Had the guy get it down and I plugged it into a Mark Bass 212 combo. The action was so ridiculously high that it wasn’t fair really to judge a Ric based on that model. I mean 3/4 of an inch off the fretboard hi!

Anyhow, to my thoughts of the bass:

It had a great tone no matter what pick up selection I had. It was a toggle with a three-way switch. It sounded beefy and felt very solid. I love the look of a Ric. However, I just don’t think I could get used to my right hand positioning while playing. Also, the negative side of what a lot of people mention… The top of the base digging into the forearm. I was sitting down, so I’m sure it would not have been as uncomfortable if I were standing .

All in all, if I had to write a list of pros and cons for my thoughts on that bass, the cons would outnumber the pros. I am just glad I had the opportunity to play one. They seem very well-made.

I toured with a 4001 back in the 70s and found mine played exceptionally well, and the action was spot on. My only objection was that stupid pickup cover, and limited use for the voice. As for the sharp edge it never bothered me over 100s of gigs and countless practices.

I picked a new one of the wall of a Sam Ash a few weeks ago and agree with. The fit, finish, neck shape dimension and over all quality of that instrument was a big disappointment. It was in dire need of a master luthier to hopefully turn it into a pro quality instrument.

 

[Mantis Tobaggan]

When I had a 4003, it took some getting used to, but I locked in with it and it is a really good bass guitar. I just used a zero mod thumb rest.

 

[Jeff K]

but, this is a buddy of mine telling about the Ricky bass on his page, "Beatle Bass Boot Camp"

Ricks are cool basses for sure. I'm not too fond of them when they're too trebly sounding, though.

Thanks for posting this. An old band I was in used to play "If I Needed Someone" fairly frequently. But I was almost always using a P or a Jazz.