W1_Pro

25 minutes ago, songofthewind said:

Friend of mine in Scotland had a John Birch Rickenbacker. It was thin and light, and the neck was very skinny, as I recall. It was astoundingly playable, and cost a fortune.

Mine is very playable too! I have absolutely no idea what it's worth. It's beautifully built and the pickups are truly wonderful.

17 hours ago, 4000 said:

Well relatively speaking, yes, but it depends on your definition of shallow. There are certainly shallower necks out there.
 

See, I think the recent Ric necks are pretty nice, if scaled up a bit from my old ones. The proportions are similar, although mine are definitely shallower. Unless there was something weird about the one you’ve played, or unless they’ve changed them yet again, which is possible, I wouldn’t consider any of the more recent ones I’ve played anything like “baseball bat”. I’ve played some that are, but that was at least 15 years ago, maybe more. The newer ones are typically a fair bit slimmer than a typical P Bass, for instance. But you won’t get a nut measurement like a Jazz on any of them (although speaking personally, a slim nut does not a slim neck make. I don’t think Jazzes have slim necks, unless you spend all your time on the first few frets).
 

What in your terms is a very shallow neck? I’ve always thought of most Ric necks as narrow rather than incredibly shallow, although there are exceptions (BTW, for reference I’ve played literally hundreds of them). The shallowest I’ve played was maybe my ‘91 CS, although it was still pretty similar to my ‘72s. The slimmest all round was my old ‘71 21 fretter, but good luck finding one of those. C series should be pretty slim, but it depends what your definition of slim is.  You need to play as many as you can and make your own mind up. 

Well, with regard to neck shape...I have an  John Birch Rick copy from 1973 and thats really lovely. It's more or less the same width as a P but there's much less weight in the 'shoulders' of the neck- if thats the correct term. So the profile is like a shallow U as opposed to a C.  I think I shall take your advice and try and play as many as possible. It's finding C64's and C63's that seems to be the killer. Not very common. 

1 hour ago, 4000 said:

There are lots of reasons why the sounds differ too, and it’s not just the cap. 4003s typically have hotter pickups and lower pot values, which make them darker sounding. But the spec has changed constantly both for necks and electronics. 
 

Was the 4003 you tried new? 

Yes, brand new. 

It sounded fine to me- admitedly I was in a shop at low volume, but it was cool.

So, with regard to the 'c' ones...I really fancy a c64- I love the reverse headstock - so would that have a shallow neck do you know?

So I'm looking for a Rickenbacker. I tried a 4003 in Guitar Guitar (Camden) before the lockdown started and was thoroughly underwhelmed. I'd always been led to believe that Ric's have a thin, shallow neck, this one was like a baseball bat. 

So is there a  Ric with a thin shallow neck? A particular vintage of 4001?  I've also looked at the C63/C64 basses. Anyone got either of these? Would welcome some advice.

Mine both have pole pieces, so maybe an upgrade at some stage? The original pickups are fine, but thats not to say they couldnt be improved. 

Are there pole pieces visible on the pickups? I can't make them out, but that might just be the light in the pics. These are awesome machines. I have a couple from the same year. GLWTS.

words fail me. 

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/80s-IBANEZ-MC-800-BASS-made-in-JAPAN-/174236392541?hash=item28914c5c5d

Cool looking bass. GLWTS

So theres a lot of love for chunky necks! Im in the minority....again.

 Funnily enough the Gibson NR reissue I have also has a chunky neck, but, as far as I know, this was again not so in the originals.  I do wonder why they changed it.  Was it to make the headstocks harder to..erm ... displace?  Or was it simply a move to appeal to the (obviously substantial) numbers of potential T bird owners who like chunky necks?

I got one. Its a nice enough bass. The neck is the issue for me. I have an eighties US T Bird, and that has a lovely thin, shallow neck which is really fast. The Epiphones neck is much more chunky. Don't know why this is. As far as I can remember, the one 60's Tbird I played (in a shop), had a similar neck profile to my eighties one.

Maybe they are trying to stop the headstock falling off?

Anyhow, IMHO it turned a potentially fantastic bass into one that, for me at any rate, is a bit 'meh'.

2 minutes ago, Deedee said:

The pointer knobs can still be bought new.

Didnt know that! Where from if you don't mind me asking?

where did you get the aria knobs? They are like hens teeth....

5 minutes ago, Marky Screen said:

Where abouts in London would you be at? 

Cheers

Camden on the 30th and the 10th Feb....

1 hour ago, Sharkfinger said:

For those of us not running iOS, could attach the images as JPEG instead of HEIC please?

Good point. Now corrected. Apologies for being such a luddite...

3 minutes ago, oldslapper said:

Nice. Like a tort plate on a white body. 

It's a nice thing. The body is quite pearl coloured really, an off white if you will. ...:0)

1 hour ago, AndyTravis said:

Images not showing/working 🙁

I think it works if you download Andy? It does for me. I'm not sure how to paste an image into the post.

I'll try and work it out and edit it.

This is a Sunn Mustang which I bought a few weeks ago off ebay.  

At some point in it's history a previous owner removed the 'Sunn' decal from the headstock.

It's a nice P bass copy with a chunky neck. It's got a few dinks and doinks but that adds to the general mojo I think.

Since geting it I have changed the bridge for a Wilkinson one.

The tuners that were on it were junk, so they have been changed for Wilkinsons also.

Fitted a new scratchplate.

Fitted a brass nut.

Fitted a Fender neck plate.

Fiited a new string tree, not particularly fond of the square ones that Sunn used, but I can send it with the bass so you can make your own choice.

Now wearing some cobalt flats, which are not old, but the silks are stripping for some reason.

Action is now about 2.5mm at the 12th, it plays nicely. I was going to change the pickup as well, but I quite like the one thats on there so I left it.

I can supply it with a gig bag. I'll take the neck off to ship it. 

This would make a great first bass for a beginner, or a spare. I have far too many basses, and I have to stop buying them.....

EDIT: PRICE REDUCED TO£120 +P&P. BARGAIN!!!

Well, there you go. Assumption is indeed the mother of all f**k ups. Would you happen to know what they use?

Afternoon all,

I have a Vintage TB Signature P bass neck that I want to use on a bitsa, at some point the truss rod bullet has been lost- it adjusts at the headstock end.  I've tried a fender replacement bullet, but thats too big for the existing hole. Anyone know of an off the shelf type replacement I can buy?

Many thanks

Stuart

I have an old Aria Precise bass. Which is a wondeful thing, but I don't really get on with the neck. It's one of the old fashioned chunky ones and I'd like one with a shallower profile.

I'd like a roserwood board.  Does anyone have any experience of Mighty Mite/Allparts/ those ones from Northwest guitars....Are Warmoth worth it?

Any advice appreciated.

Stuart

That is possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen.

I use a Ui 24. For the money, it's a fantastic device. It'll do 24 channel tracking to a usb as well as mxing.  The wifi seems OK.  There will inevitably be drop outs from time to time given the way wifi works, but it seems to recover pretty quickly. 

Good bass for that money. GLWTS.

Evening all,

I'm looking for a case to fit one of these basses. It's a tricky business, as they are long, and the headstock is swept back so a deep case is needed. Does anyone know of an off the shelf case that will work for these, or would anyone be able to reccomend a case maker? It's worth noting that I do not want a flight case. Just a hard case would be fine, or even more ideally, one of those hard/soft cases  if I could find one to fit..

Any help or steers gratefully appreciated.

Stuart

Phenomenal bass for that money. I have one, which is apparently a factory second. All I can say is, if mine is a second, then Washburn could happily give me all of them. GLWTS.