prowla

You have to be a real man to be brave enough to admit you like the Rollers.

As far as car parallels go, I would suggest the Rickenbacker bass is like a Lotus, in that they hit on a winning formula and have kept that DNA in the product throughout their history and have not bowed to pressure to conform with other brands. They're difficult to get into for some and the ride can be a bit hard, but by heck in their element they are fun! You’ve even got to take the cover off to enjoy it at its best.

Yeah, the Bay City Rollers!!!

Actually, the 4001/4003 evolved over the years; RIC did introduce other models, but folks just bought the classics anyway.

He was a kid at the table when his mum drew the Rickenbacker logo on a napkin.

So, in summary, JH is a bit of a Rottweiler as far as defending his product, but probably not best suited to a role in Customer Services.

Well, I lucked out - I bought a German Corvette which had replacement pickups fitted and included the originals, so they’re now on the RB!

It’s just folklore, spread by people who don’t understand why they’re not a Fender, to whom the answer is - go buy a Fender! Do people blame Gibson because the bridge isn’t a Strat one?

I think I've only bought two basses new, ever; one was my 1st, a Columbus Jazz, and the other was an Aria Pro II SB700 in the early 80s. TBH, I think you can get good, bad, and mediocre from any brand.

I have to say I’ve never bought a new Ric and have never dealt with the company. I just like the basses!

Sure - the bridge is a tune-o-metic, like on (eg.) Gibson guitars. It actually has about as much travel as a Hipshot. (The Hipshot saddles are closed at one end, so their travel is only the length of the thread inside the length of the saddle.) I have two Hipshots in my parts box which were on Rics but I’ve reverted to stock. They are good to address a couple of issues, but otherwise no.

You are wrong, yes. You can adjust the intonation on a Ric. As for individually adjusting the saddle height, why would you? The bridge matches the curve of the fingerboard, so it’s set once and forget. As for the truss rods, you have to use a different technique to adjust them on vintage 4001 models to what you would do on a Fender (which has now become the defacto standard, but wasn’t in 1960). If you don’t like that then don’t buy a 4001 (which haven’t been made for 30+ years). 4003 truss rods adjust just like any other modern instrument, except you have two, so you can tweak the action across the neck too. Ric truss rods are also user replaceable, if you ever need to and you can buy the parts from RIC. Demanding RIC adopt the Fender way is ridiculous.

The Hipshot addresses some issues but introduces others. It is certainly not de-rigeur for a Ric )as some would have it).

I prefer Geddy's Rickenbacker sound to the subsequent ones; the Wal & Steinbergers were OK for the jackets with rolled-up sleeves phase, but I'll take the Ric, thanks. For me, you can get the Jazz to sound similar to a Ric on certain parts of the neck, but I prefer the colour the Ric paints as you move around the neck. I also don't like the look of a Jazz so much, with its blobby bottom. Moving Pictures is their best album, IMHO, with Clockwork Angels probably second.

I've been to the past two and it's in my calendar!

Don't judge a Ric by having had a copy; a real one is a very fine instrument. I usually take one along if I go to a Bass Bash (I guess Surrey will be the next one).

Glad to see it made an impression! I bought my 1st Ric bass at 17 and I've still got it.

I've never had any interactions with Rickenbacker. But I do have 7 Ric basses.

Yes, you're right - there is a difference between a copy and a counterfeit. The amusing thing is the current counterfeits are less like the real thing than the old copies!

The thing is that RIC tradmarked some of their (ahem) trademark design features, including the headstock and TRC shape. Thus the recent copies (including Rockinbetter & Retrovibe) infringe that; however, the vintage Japanese ones pre-date the trademarks being registered and so do not. But yes, part of the game of defending your intellectual property (IP) is to demonstrate that you are doing so; it's a bit like the Rugby League players who have to do a worm impression when they are tackled to prove that they are being prevented from getting up.

As far as defending the Ric brand goes, I rather admire it; keeping production in that same factory, piecewise improvements of the design & manufacture over half a century of production; it's a lot better than the wild-west of Fender basses, where you don't know if that you are getting is genuine, there are fake transfers everywhere, and some brands even produce fake Fenders. However, producing their own treble bezel is at best a bit hypocritical, I would say.

The word is that he retired to Birmingham!

The 4004 Laredo has a Schaller bridge.

Nope - he's talking about a 4003, which evolved from the 4001, which had horseshoe magnets (the pickup came from a lap steel guitar originally). Here's one with a horseshoe pickup.

Well, they weren't in the same price bracket as Sunn & Acoustic, that's for sure. I also had HH, Maine, and one or two other brands. But certainly better than no amp at all!