A: Three months after I graduated high school...B: How do you know this shite??? C: Thanks, man!
What a trip!
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Why do you play a Rickenbacker?
- Thread starter lfmn16
- Start date
What a trip!
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When you open the case, It's as if to say..."Yeah, dude, I came to PLAY"...Getcha self ready."
The serial numbers have date codes within them. The codes have varied over the decades; yours with the MH: the first letter indicates the year of manufacture (M=1973), the second letter indicates the month of the build (H=August).A: Three months after I graduated high school...B: How do you know this shite??? C: Thanks, man!
A: Three months after I graduated high school...B: How do you know this shite??? C: Thanks, man!
You can try this: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]
OK, that's August 1973, so you won't have the checker binding or the crushed pearl inlays as they were discontinued earlier in '73.
A: Three months after I graduated high school...B: How do you know this shite??? C: Thanks, man!
B. He's read the book. In fact, he read the book before anyone else! Jeff was one of my proofreaders! Actually, he knew how to date Ricks long before the book came out.
Right before I got married, my then-fiancée and I went in what at the time was the largest - and only real pro - music store in Indianapolis one Saturday. I was a guitarist, but I'd owned a Precision (one of the white - even white pickup covers - versions from about '83) and wanted a bass again.
They had several marked WAY down, including a 4003. Turned out that several instruments had fallen off the pegboard overnight and the basses all had some scars. The Rick had a small gouge by the bottom strap button and a slightly bent tuner ear. But it felt great, in a way that basses never had up until then, so I bought it.
I loved that bass, it was the 'reverse tuxedo' white with black binding and hardware. Stock, it never sounded quite how I wanted, and I wound up putting the Duncan humbucker set in it (which made it sound a lot like a Thunderbird). Kept it for almost ten years, then sold it when we built a house.
I just bought a new 4003 last week. It's a better instrument than my first one, but I still miss it.
They had several marked WAY down, including a 4003. Turned out that several instruments had fallen off the pegboard overnight and the basses all had some scars. The Rick had a small gouge by the bottom strap button and a slightly bent tuner ear. But it felt great, in a way that basses never had up until then, so I bought it.
I loved that bass, it was the 'reverse tuxedo' white with black binding and hardware. Stock, it never sounded quite how I wanted, and I wound up putting the Duncan humbucker set in it (which made it sound a lot like a Thunderbird). Kept it for almost ten years, then sold it when we built a house.
I just bought a new 4003 last week. It's a better instrument than my first one, but I still miss it.
I don't own a Rickenbacker anymore - But I owned one in the 70's -Fire-glow with the inlays. I stuck two little stickers of Saturn (from the Venus & Mars album) on the horns. It was one of the most fun basses I ever played, I loved the neck - it was so precise-I'm a finger style player so naturally I removed the p-u covers. and I loved the tone (I dialed back quite a lot on the treble but I ran both pickups) and I ran it with an Ampeg 4 12" cabinet and a Marshall with 8- 10" the brain was an ampeg V4B - I listen to those tapes from back then and it was a great tone. I know this cause the band liked it. and they didn't like anything
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You know, I don't remember. We do have tremors here, maybe once every five years or so. And someday the New Madras is supposed to really let go and make State Farm earn my earthquake insurance money.
That store had (has, I guess, it's still around although it's a shadow of its former self) probably 90% of its inventory up against the ceiling on pegs, so it's odd that only a handful of basses fell.
I remember going into my local music shop when I was 16 and saying, "I want to sound like Geddy Lee." The guy at the shop said, "Get a Rickenbacker, man." I've come to realize that's obviously not entirely the solution, but it helps.
I love the feel of a Rick. I've had a 2060 (look it up), a 4004 and 3 4003s. All have been great except for the 4004 which had a neck issue. My current 4003 has a great neck (straight and true), plus it plays wonderfully up and down the neck. I like that it has virtually no taper as you go up the fretboard. It looks cool and nothing really sounds like it, but you can get it to sound like other basses (i.e., a P-bass). They're iconic, but not without idiosyncrasies. Nothing beats a Rick strung with flats, imho.
I love the feel of a Rick. I've had a 2060 (look it up), a 4004 and 3 4003s. All have been great except for the 4004 which had a neck issue. My current 4003 has a great neck (straight and true), plus it plays wonderfully up and down the neck. I like that it has virtually no taper as you go up the fretboard. It looks cool and nothing really sounds like it, but you can get it to sound like other basses (i.e., a P-bass). They're iconic, but not without idiosyncrasies. Nothing beats a Rick strung with flats, imho.
Heard Fragile/Chris Squire in high school and wondered why my P-bass didn't sound like that. Always wanted one, but they were untouchable --- until I got my once-in-a-lifetime pawn shop prize -- a pristine 1974 Mapleglo 4001. $300. Ah -- the pre-internet olden days.
WOW! That is, in fact, a once in a lifetime gift from the gods! I still wander through the 3 or 4 pawn shops in our little town. I found a cool little black Ibanez Sound Gear for $80.00 a couple of years ago. Went through the gig bag that went with it and found 2 sets of strings and a tuner. L o n g pause while I waited for the guy to ask me to give back the strings and the tuner. He just smiled and said "Hey! it's your lucky day!"...not as lucky as yours!!!
Well --- that was about 20 years ago. I used to cruise the pawn shops on a regular basis, but the info available on the internet , e-bay, etc have ended these pawn shop surprises as we knew them.
Right? I picked up my '85 4003 Ruby for $400 w/o a case (I didn't want one, use gig bags) in'91. Not from a pawn shop but from a friend who was opening a second hand guitar store - he had 4 ricks for me to choose from, pre opening day.
Funny - he had a 4003s in Ruby as well, it was a bit darker than the one I got. Somebody else eventually bought that, and converted it to 8 string using banjo tuners on the headstock. Wish I could track that thing down now as I know he no longer has it.
I had the pleasure to receive a private tour of the RIC company in Santa Ana last year. I met Cyndalee Hall and she introduced me to every single employee in the factory. They all were super nice and very helpful to all questions that I had. After the private tour, I was allowed to take photos with her and a Ricky.
She made me really feel like a part of her family! Rickenbacker is a small and old school business that keeps everything in house. All handmade to the greatest detail!
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buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
My first real Bass was a Ric, and I bought it because my favorite band's bassist (Chuck Panazzo - Styx, don't judge me). Got rid of it because my jazz worked better in the studio every time I A/Bed them.
As a neutral observer (that was 30 years ago), it's interesting how many people list either looks, or their bass hero used one as the primary reason.
As a neutral observer (that was 30 years ago), it's interesting how many people list either looks, or their bass hero used one as the primary reason.
