BrunoBass

Same for me. I buy cheap ones on eBay and bin them after the gig.

I enjoyed Fontaines DC. I like a bit of trashy, attitude garage rock. No new ground broken but a glorious noise nonetheless!

I didn’t realise it was a different guitarist and bassist.

Despite my initial scepticism I’m thoroughly enjoying The Killers. They’re, er, killing it.

Just been watching Michael Kiwanuka, not really my thing but some tasty lines from his Rickenbacker wielding bass player. now watching The Comet Is Coming, very interesting.

Good fix. I might do what Rick Parfitt did, and borrow a tyre from my boys Lego box. Thanks.

Thanks for the info. I think I might leave them where they are...

Well, three gigs and several rehearsals later and I’m very much enjoying my 4003, I’m glad to say. I’ve read so many tales of people getting them, not really gelling with them and moving them on, usually quite quickly. Having wanted one for so long it would’ve been very disappointing if I’d found myself in the same boat. It’s obviously very different to anything else I’ve played but I’m accustoming to it, and have come to the conclusion that if you want to play a Rick you’ve just got to embrace the quirkiness, at least that’s how I see it. I play in an alt rock covers band. I’m playing my usual EB Super Slinky’s through my Genz Benz rig with the gain pushed almost to breaking point, so when I dig in it really crunches up. That’s the tone I’ve always used in this band, and it always worked well with my Jazz basses. It works equally well with the Rick but the mids really poke through and have more punch. I’ve found that the bridge pickup at 100% volume / tone at 60%, and front pickup at 50% volume / 100% tone gives me what I’m looking for (everything flat on the amp). Weight wise it’s fine, I’ve got a wide padded strap which distributes weight well and is comfortable. The bridge... well, the set up is great, intonation is perfect and tuning is very stable, so do I need to change it? Well maybe, as the mute screws get in the way. I’m considering unscrewing and removing the screws, as I won’t use the mutes and don’t mind them being disabled. Do any of the experienced Rick players amongst you know if it’s safe to just remove the screws? Will it destabilise anything?

I use EB Slinky roundwounds which have no silk. This pleases me as don’t like the look of silks. Interestingly, the auto text on my phone tried to change ‘roundwounds’ to ‘roundworms’, which is a different thread entirely.

Sage advice above regarding amps. I’ve found a useable live tone with my 4003 a bit of a moving target, however having disabled the tweeter in my cab (Genz Benz NeoX 2x12) things are much better. Incidentally, I used my 4003 on some home recordings recently. Plugged straight into Cubase 10 through my Focusrite interface with a bit of gain the tone is absolutely killer, exactly what I want. No amp involved, just the bass’s inherent tone. Wonderful.

1/16” Allen - great, many thanks.

The lack of bottom end live is something I’ve really noticed. When I plug my Jazzes in my eq is pretty much flat and instantly useable. With the Rick the eq is all over the place just trying to get close to what I want.

Extra point for the Lovibonds sticker.

Yes, we found that too. We’ll have to stick with WhatsApp for now.

We use Band Mule, it’s an app on IOS (and I assume Android). It works very well, even our decidedly non-tech drummer has got the hang of it.

Thanks for clearing that up! I can’t see myself using mutes on this bass really so I’m happy to leave it as if is. Agree though, I’ve got a bit of sponge permanently wedged under the strings of my ‘51 type Precision, sounds great.

Yeah I’ll have to get a set, I thought one of my sets was imperial but obviously not. Thanks.

As I gather the Rickenbacker 4003 bridge is widely considered a bit of a pain I was surprised that searching the forum does not show any answers to the following questions. So here goes: What do the two circular screws either side of the bridge actually do? On my bridge (pictured) the G side screw just rotates freely, and the E side screw is tight but moves, affecting the tuning, without any element of the bridge actually moving (as far as I can see). Does anyone know the size of Allen key needed to adjust the string height (the plate that the intonation saddles sit on)? None of mine fit. Deep inside the bridge under each string are soft rubber pads. String mutes, I assume, but how do I deploy them? Thanks in advance. I’m enjoying my 4003, but there’s a thin line between being quirky and being irksome.

I wonder how many Rick owners keep the bass beyond the first few months? I’m a new 4003 owner and even I’m not convinced it’s my ‘forever bass’...

Yes, 4003 😊

Just back from tonight’s gig. First impressions: Chunky neck didn’t cause a problem, midrange cut through the mix well, not as much bottom end as I’d hoped - I need to work on the eq, fairly comfortable to play for a two and a half hour set. It’s clear I need to approach how I play the bass in a gig environment differently with the Rick, especially having gigged Jazzes for the last five years but I’m going to stick with it. I wouldn’t say I’m smitten quite yet but I think I may well end up that way! Thanks for all the comments.

Well spotted! It’s all the excitement of getting my hands on a Rick... 😉 Amended 👍🏻

The 4004 has no scratch plate and just single master tone and master volume controls.

Having first seen one on the back of my mum and dad’s Gallagher and Lyle album when I was a kid and hankering after one ever since, I finally thought ‘bugger it’ and bought a Rickenbacker 4003 in Jetglo. I’m very pleased, so far. It’s a used model, which came up on Richtone’s website at a very good price. I shot straight up to Sheffield and nabbed it. They’d advertised it as a 1993 model but subsequent investigation of the serial number reveals it’s actually a 2005 model, but no matter. It’s in decent condition; it has mild wear and a few battle scars, but I’m quite happy about this as I intend to gig it hard and wouldn’t want to be too precious about it. It came wearing flatwounds which I changed to my favoured Super Slinky’s. The previous owner had the good sense to replace the pickup cover with one of those bezels with the thumb indent, which as a fingerstyle player suits me fine. I find myself using the back pickup only with the band, and with touch of overdrive I have the rock tone I’ve craved for years. Having played mainly Jazz basses for years the neck is the biggest difference to get used to; it’s pretty hefty, but I’m accustoming to it. Looking forward to giving it it’s gig debut tonight.

Check out my NBD post, just going up now 😁