Rickenbacher Basses

monocle · Post by **monocle** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:47 pm

Anyone have any experience with these? My girlfriend wants one and I'm trying to get feedback from those who've played them.

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 12:53 pm

While I love how they sound, I'm not comfortable playing them. I like a more tapered neck than the Rick has, and the weight of the body is in such a way that I always find them kind of sitting funny.
That said, I saw Of Montreal a couple of weekends ago, and for a few songs, they had two people playing Rick basses at the same time. Pretty awesome.

Catfish · Post by **Catfish** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 1:02 pm

I have a 76' 4001, my first real bass, bought it in 79'.
It has been my closest friend and first love for many years.
You will have to pry it from my cold dead hands.

They are a bit of a love/hate for many people, a very distinctive tone, but if that is what you are after, it is about the only way I have found to get it.

Go play one, see if it is what you are after.

Catfish.......................

ulriggribbons · Post by **ulriggribbons** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 1:24 pm

Kinda a one trick pony ( granted it's a cool trick! )

If that's the sound you can dig and live with, they're cool.

Owned a 4003 for some years. It came to a boxing smoker between that and a '78 pbass. Rick lost. Sorry Rick. No hard feelings

ju

A-Barr · Post by **A-Barr** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 1:28 pm

I always loved the feel of these basses, so I guess it's hit or miss depending on your taste/style. Hope she's got a strong back though, those things are heavy!

HuskerDude · Post by **HuskerDude** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 1:39 pm

I think they're about as good a live bass as you could ask for, but I've never been a fan of recording them.
Definitely a distinctive sound.

curtiswyant · Post by **curtiswyant** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 1:48 pm

mjau wrote:While I love how they sound, I'm not comfortable playing them. I like a more tapered neck than the Rick has, and the weight of the body is in such a way that I always find them kind of sitting funny.
That said, I saw Of Montreal a couple of weekends ago, and for a few songs, they had two people playing Rick basses at the same time. Pretty awesome.

I drove from Indy to see them in Urbana, were you at that show too? I gotta say their "lead bass" was awesome.

mjau · Post by **mjau** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 2:07 pm

curtiswyant wrote:
mjau wrote:While I love how they sound, I'm not comfortable playing them. I like a more tapered neck than the Rick has, and the weight of the body is in such a way that I always find them kind of sitting funny.
That said, I saw Of Montreal a couple of weekends ago, and for a few songs, they had two people playing Rick basses at the same time. Pretty awesome.
I drove from Indy to see them in Urbana, were you at that show too? I gotta say their "lead bass" was awesome.

Yeah - that's the one I went to. I sat way up high, and by the time all that bass got up there, it was a bit muddy...but still, what a show.

Dr8Ve · Post by **Dr8Ve** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 8:36 pm

I have had my Rick 4001 since the mid 70's. I would never sell it. Sometime's it has been my only bass.

nestle · Post by **nestle** » Wed Mar 22, 2006 9:02 pm

a little off topic but I just bought a Rogue beatle bass knock off for $200 as an impulse purchase from musicians friend, then got a real NOS Hofner pick-up on Ebay, slapped that sucker in there...WOW, it's a really nice bass, better than I ever imagined it would be. I have a 74' P bass at work so I was looking for something different. I just do session bass work, but this Hofner thing is amazing for the money.
I'm not a bass player but I've played in plenty of bands with 4001's and although they look cool, they always sound doinky...I've heard a few guys make it work with an enormous Ampeg SVT....that shit it'll break your back.
Light Hofer rip-off>>>yea!!

covert · Post by **covert** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 5:10 am

If she wants a Ric, get her one. They sound cool, look cool, and play great. Less of a one trick pony than people say, you can get a lot of different sounds with string changes and the like.

douglas baldwin · Post by **douglas baldwin** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:28 am

Rick as a one-sound bass? Hmmmm.....
Paul McCartney
Chris Squire
Lemmy
Like a Martin D-18 is a one-sound acoustic.

dB, coyote

lyman · Post by **lyman** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 8:51 am

douglas baldwin wrote:Rick as a one-sound bass? Hmmmm.....
Paul McCartney
Chris Squire
Lemmy
Like a Martin D-18 is a one-sound acoustic.

dB, coyote

plus, how many "sounds" do you need from a bass? just gimme a volume and tone knob.

a friend of mine has a 4001, and he gets a much rounder sound than i expected. i used to think that rick basses always had that "low note on a piano" sound but he managed to do fine with it in a reggae band.

Kyle Motor · Post by **Kyle Motor** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 9:06 am

lyman wrote:i used to think that rick basses always had that "low note on a piano" sound but he managed to do fine with it in a reggae band.

That's exactly the sound that Rick basses tend to lean toward naturally, but there is a broad range of tone you can get out of them. I've got a mid-70s 3001. Its only got one pickup, a volume control, and instead of a normal tone control it has separate knobs for treble and bass. There's a suprising amount of tone flexibility there.

Coco · Post by **Coco** » Thu Mar 23, 2006 9:42 am

covert wrote:If she wants a Ric, get her one. They sound cool, look cool, and play great. Less of a one trick pony than people say, you can get a lot of different sounds with string changes and the like.

Agreed. They have more than 1 sound. Lots of low if you want and lots of mid bite if you want that too. The string mute is cool for the McCartney thing. Lemmy rocks the house with one. Our bass player has a 4003 and a Fender custom shop 70's Jazz reissue. They both sound killer and the jazz has a bit more meat and growl to it. I'm not sure if the Jazz was worth almost an extra grand since the workmanship on that hand-made Ric is second to none. The fit and finish are very high quality that you would pay twice as much for if made by other companies. I paid $1400 CDN + tax for a new 4003 and it was worth every penny for a made to order bass.

Note: I am a drummer first and not a bassplayer. I play bass for kicks and bought the Ric for that and to have a killer bass in the studio if needed.

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