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After looking for some years I completely fell for it after I finally bought one. And the more I played it the more comfortable I became with it. It eventually felt like home. I paid close to a market price for it at the time , but it was (and still is) in beautiful condition. There is something unique about the sound , and they are built differently from other basses. I had been a Pbass player. I had to learn how to properly adjust the old style truss rods , and I bypassed the .0047 cap on the bridge pickup to get the full output , I strung it with TI flatwound strings for that thump , and dealt with the weird bridge and the bizarre output construction. I became comfortable with the thin neck that had so little taper , the binding was never an issue for me. And I gigged it for years. I still get a little weak in the knees when I look at one. And after becoming familiar with their construction and quirks helped quite a few people set them to their preferences. So I’ve set up a good number of them over the years. Later I managed to get a set neck 4000 as well , which is a very , very different Ric. Today I usually play short scale basses , but I will always love and appreciate a nice Ric. I’m quite aware that many hate them , the Stingray is almost as divisive. … have one of those too.

Always loved a nice Ric despite their quirks. Spent many years looking before I found my first 4001 , but that was back in the dark days before the internet. There were simply none for sale around Nova Scotia.

The Newport has been getting a lot of positive reviews , and it’s at an attractive price point.

I’ve had an old 4001 for ages but I’ve never run stereo with it. I’ve got the amps and cabs , I’d just have to pick up a stereo jack and a splitter.

Welcome ! I’m just over in Halifax .

Practice rig for tomorrow and gig Sunday.

One nice thing about the V4B is that they tend to get pushed all the way because they’re only a hundred watts. They do get fairly loud.

Trussart have been doing hollow body metal guitars for ages. Works of art. https://jamestrussart.com

I have an older GenzBenz Steamliner that has a three tube pre. It certainly warms and thickens the Class D back end. I sent it off to California when I heard agedhorse was still doing service work on them so it’s like a brand new amp today. Sometimes you see Streamliners go for very reasonable money.

I recently picked up a good tube preamp , it works.

Watch the video and decide. It sounded like a guitar to me.

I enjoy using more than just one amp too.

I enjoy using different basses rather than thinking one will do everything.

John Hall has been retired for several years and is living in England.

A friend just picked this up for $1000 Cdn on kijiji the other day , it’s a “slightly” modified late 4001.

I found one on kijiji for a good price a couple of years ago, unfortunately a friend got to it before I did. Several weeks later he flipped to me to fund something else he was gassing for. Great basses!

John Hall has been retired for some years now. I picked up a nice used 4001 about twenty five years ago for a good price , I bypassed the .0047 cap and put on flatwounds. A Ric can do a very nice old school thump , they’re very versatile basses if you give them a chance. It quickly became my main bass and remained so for some years. It’s been retired and these days I mostly pick up shortscales , but when I pick up that old Ric it feels like home. I’ve been reading how people bash Rics for ages now and sometimes think the most vocal Ric haters have never actually spent any time playing them. I’m quite familiar with their quirks. And I love a nice Ric. Some say the current basses are among the best they’ve ever made. I have played a number of Fakinbackers over the years and they have not remotely resembled the real thing.

Right up there with playing behind the capo.

At home , with various amps at low volume I found Monique subtle but very present , and found the sensitivity knob was magic. On the weekend I was playing in one of my favourite dives downtown. I paired Monique with a Bergantino Forte with just a single 112 Bergantino cab , the Forte is a very simple transparent modern hifi head without bells or whistles. And going in through the effects loop I completely bypassed the Forte’s front end and tone stack. It sounded like a 700 watt B15. Warm , fat and buttery. Now the four band tone stack on the Forte has almost surgical precision , and the three tone controls on Monique are much broader and simpler , so it’s much easier to dial in. There was a tubey bloom to the notes , but the response was quick. I had that warm tube sound , but it had some serious slam behind it. I was well behaved on the bandstand and settled into a nice stage mix , only vocals were in the PA. Just a mid sized local neighbourhood room. My favourite Dive. The band immediately had grins , gave me the big thumbs up , and loved Monique. I’ll have Monique out to a couple of rehearsals later this week and out for gigs on the weekend. She was expensive , but I plan to use her. She’s to be kept. So I found Monique delivered exactly what I was hoping for from what I had read. At low volume at home it was subtle but that changed dramatically at stage volume. How’s Simone? What are you using for a back end?

Once upon a time , before the term vintage became popular , old or used meant cheap. I miss those days and regret passing up many deals I was offered.

I listen , get familiar , chart the song , and then play without the chart. Doing two one hour shifts a day working on new stuff. Gigs have been booked. There’s a pile of memory work.

I have a HDN 112 & 210. The classic 322. Now for most gigs I just bring a single cab, but the joy of modular is having something ready if you need more.

A basket or birdcage makes sense when there’s tubes , unless you’re outside in the rain.

I was trying Monique with Bergs yesterday.

Practice nook at the inlaw’s the playpen