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Why do you play a Rickenbacker?
- Thread starter lfmn16
- Start date
I pretty much have the same reasons everyone else here (Geddy..Squire..Glover..McCartney etc.) the tone..and of course the looks...I have been using them since '85 and have never left my stable..everything else has come and gone and will continue to but, my Rics never leave..my current main player is a '04 4003(see avatar pic)and I stil have my '82 4001(walnut gloss\autumglo) although it is semi retired..I couldn't imagine my bass playing life without one..
That photo of Squire from the album jacket shows him with his seldom-seen 21-fret 4001, not his usual 20-fret RM 1999 (4001S). He's had a few other Ricks as well.
- Feb 24, 2004
- 4,103
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- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Phantom Guitars, Eastwood Guitars
Goo goo g'joob.So, wouldn't that make you
iamtheyesman?
It's the total package. I've owned two 70's model 4001's, and three 80's-00's 4003's, which all delivered the goods in a way only a Ric can. Currently, my avatar pic 4004Cii is a whole 'nother thing, and still gives me that Ric feel, tone, and looks. My "other" basses are both Precisions, which I've been playing for the past few years, but I'd never be without at least one Ric bass.
I originally bought my Rick because it looked cool. Had never played one before but it was high school so I was insanely cavalier about spending. It did not have the sound I thought I wanted. It of course had its own sound, which I had a difficult time adopting. I also had all sorts of trouble with both the stock bridge and the Hipshot replacement until I finally put an original Badass on it. My biggest problem with it was that it never seemed bassy enough. I felt compelled to play lots of notes to compensate for the trebly sound. I put a Seymour Duncan humbucker in the neck position, which makes people cringe but I stick by it to this day. It improved the sound I think. My technique evolved around that bass. I always felt that it was a very demanding bass. You had to use a lot of authority in the right hand or else it wouldn't sound that good. Eventually I was able to use it pretty effectively, and I came to love it for its strengths. I've mostly moved on from it but whenever I go back and play it I'm amazed at how well it holds its own against my Fenders, EBMM's, and Warwick. I learned a lot playing that bass. Now it's a fantastic old modded thing with battle scars and I still love it.
I've just picked one up again because I can't shake the desire for the look and the tone. The playability and QC on the 4003W I briefly owned earlier this year was miserable, so bad that my love for the other aspects of the bass couldn't overcome those issues so I sent it back. However, I've now found myself a 1980 4001, and its got the look, the tone, and a neck that is so sexy I can't stop playing this thing since I got it.
Because it's made from thin rock maple and therefore has an organic woody tone but with a sharp metallic attack that sounds like a boat anchor going through plate glass.
Or in short, it sounds like a Precision bass tone dragging chains on concrete behind it.
Or in short, it sounds like a Precision bass tone dragging chains on concrete behind it.
Mostly Geddy and the looks - and then I walked into a Guitar Center (don't judge me) and played one - the tone, sustain, the feel of it in my hands - I was hooked...
I always wanted an Autumnglo fretless. I wasn't sure how many even existed. Always played P basses and were happy with them. A couple of years ago I bought a 2004 Fireglo 4003 and was really happy to finally own a Ric. (Never bought one up till then because of the hefty price tag.) Well, wouldn't you know it, six months later a '78 Autumnglo fretless showed up on ebay. What a difference between the two. They both sound and feel great, but each are unique. Rics are the coolest looking basses ever made...and that SOUND.
I like them.
They don,t play like any other bass,you don,t play a Rickenbacker -it plays you.
I play in a different way with a Rick going down the melodic runs and fills in between everything route.
They don,t play like any other bass,you don,t play a Rickenbacker -it plays you.
I play in a different way with a Rick going down the melodic runs and fills in between everything route.
No further explanation needed!
Yeah, it's nice, but a little too late for me. That's an '87 330; a COY '01 4003; and a '73 4001. And with the Lefty Scarcity Surcharge in effect at the time, you're looking at a little less than $7k. Too much? Definitely - if you're a righty. But when you're a lefty... Do I regret it? Not for a minute. And given the neck contours on the new ones, not sure I'd want one anyway. These are perfect for me (except for the Fireglo finish on the 330; but that's going away..). I might consider a new lefty 4003W, though..
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Chris Squire paved the way. Such awesome tone...
This is my third Ric, a 2013 4003 JG. It is the first proper sounding and playing one I owned though. The MG 4003/5 and 4003 I owned before weren't as good as this one. Neck is slimmer and playing faster, action lower. I threw DR Lo Riders on there the rest is history. Awesome!
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This is my third Ric, a 2013 4003 JG. It is the first proper sounding and playing one I owned though. The MG 4003/5 and 4003 I owned before weren't as good as this one. Neck is slimmer and playing faster, action lower. I threw DR Lo Riders on there the rest is history. Awesome!
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This is a good point.
No other bass in my opinion is more of an attention getter on stage in the eyes of other musicians AND the general public. People may not even recognize that it is a bass, but it is so different that they know that it's something special.
When you show up with a Rickenbacker you really need to be able to play. Because with something that flashy in your hands you are either a rock star or a poser.
I have one on order, I've been practicing REAL hard.
