4000

My first Ric 4001 (my first bass, bought new in 1980) was stolen in Hendon circa ‘86. Particularly annoying as it had a lot of sentimental value. Jetglo, s/n TC915 if it’s out there......

No, he didn’t. The Jazz was used for some of the White Album, IIRC (5 tracks I think). Apart from that, all the Beatles stuff is Hofner or Rick. There’s plenty of info available about what was used on what.

I remember in the late ‘80s (?), they were going for about £250 used. I got my main ‘72 in 1993 for £490. Those days are long gone!

To be fair, Macca started his career on the Hofner. He moved over to the Ric because it recorded and intonated better (and was free😂). So the Hofner was his iconic bass before the Ric came along. Having said that he used the Ric through Wings, but went back to the Hofner at the prompting of Elvis Costello. And because it was light. And iconic. 😉 Phil moved to the P because he felt it was easier to impose his personality on it.

There’s a good reason why that happened. The ‘60s Rics came with very low tension flats. So what did everyone do? They stuck Rotosounds on them. 😉 Then there’s the other thing; they had to adjust the truss rods. But 4001 rods don’t adjust like other rods; you first slacken off the truss rod nuts, then move the neck into position, then tighten the nuts to hold it in place. Unfortunately, up until relatively recently, not a lot of people knew that. So the first thing they do is tighten the rods as per other basses, which either screws up the rods, pops the fingerboard, or both (if you’re really lucky). And of course it has to be said that those thin necks, in the days before reinforcement, weren’t really designed to handle heavy strings. Having said that, many of the necks managed, but some didn’t. When adjusted correctly the rods are pretty effective; Geddy’s tech said that they got one of his Rics out after some years and the neck hadn’t budged an inch, whereas his Jazz had been through several necks at that point.

What thread? What are you on about? 😂

Fixed. 😉 Seriously though, they weren’t junk. I just didn’t like anything about any of them. YMMV. See how it’s done?

I got it in a trade along with something else I actually wanted. I didn’t like anything about it. Can you explain why is it that you take great pleasure in trashing Rics ad Infinitum but can’t handle it when someone slags Musicman basses? Don’t you think that’s a bit sad?

My ‘72s pee all over the Stingray Classic I had. That was one of the worst basses I’ve ever owned; weighed a ton and very nasal sound. That went out the door sharpish.

Sounds good!😊 Having spent some time checking new and old out online, I definitely prefer the look of the original. I just need to try and find a BTB to see what that body contour is like.

Thing is, a Stanley is 30” scale. That’s considerably shorter. I had one once, tremendous bass but balanced like a bowl of soup going round a corner at high speed. 😂 What’s the weight like on the Volo?

To be honest, there’s not really a lot of point to these kind of threads, either “I can’t stand so and so”, or “so and so is fantastic”. All they ever end up in is a percentage of people agreeing and a percentage of people disagreeing. 99% of the time minds are already made up. All they ever prove is that we’ve all got different tastes, which is how it should be.

I had a 33” scale 4 string Sei and that didn’t really feel much different than a 34” tension-wise, but the neck was ultra-slim so I’d expect that. With regards to pickups, I’m sure there are plenty of people who could do a custom wind in the same shell, assuming it was necessary. Yeah, the seated thing is a big issue as I play seated most of the time now. It’s amazing how many basses don’t sit well seated. My old Sei Flamboyant (not the 33” scale one, although that would have been the same) was always a struggle and just used to disappear off to the right all the time, which aggravated my shoulder problems.

Ditto...

Ha, went through a similar thing with my custom-built Sei 6. I like the fact that it's 17mm spacing and 33" scale, I like the variable mid (I like the SRs with the same control) and maybe I'd get on with the BTB shape where I struggle a little with the SR (I suspect I'd have to try before I buy though). Not sure how much I'd use the C these days but, hey, it's there if you need it. In 2 minds about the Barts as I'm not generally a fan, but it's not as if they're not easy to replace and it's a lot of bass for the money.

Hmm, interesting. Although not sure I don't prefer the aesthetic of the original. Still, worth a look....

To be honest I find this is the problem with many actives on the market, that they tend to be a bit generic. There are ways round that though, as you say.

Well my understanding as a Genesis fan is that he became adept at bass a long time before guitar, so I'm not sure that's the correct way round. I always put him in the "melodic bassist" category, like Chris Squire, Jon Camp, Geddy, Macca et al, although he's probably not quite as in your face as Geddy and Chris. I learned to play bass long before guitar, but I always had a similar approach. Although as I was listening to a great deal of Genesis, Yes and Rush, and grew up with The Beatles, that's not entirely surprising. Check out The Lady Lies from And Then There Were Three for some tasty playing. Along with everything else of course!

Just been looking at some YouTube stuff of these. I know they’re discontinued, but anyone got/had one? Very interesting, although I’m not sure how I’d get on with that body carve.

That’s what I love about them. As a very light player I need all the help I can get.😉

I love that rough feeling. I’m not generally that keen on smooth feeling strings, one of the things I hate about flats.