Rickenbacker or Fender Jazz?

[smurfitt]

Hi all,
need some info:
Which has the skinniest neck and shortest in length (the ric looks pretty darn long to me yet both have 20 frets).
Which is better for a wide variety of music

[alanbass1]

Scale length is similar, but a Fender Jazz neck is slimmer than a Rics, especially a Ric between 2000 and 2009. As for versatility, more people play Jazz basses than Ric variants in all types of music, but doesn't mean you couldn't make a Ric work (after all they were good enough for Hot Chocolate and The Beatles). Personally, for a single bass I would go for a Jazz, but then it depends on how different you want to be.

Edited January 8, 2012 by alanbass1

[Guest MoJo]

Having owned both, the Ric has a slightly shorter scale length 33 1/4" for the Ric and 34" for the Jazz though you'd never notice. The late 4003's have a surprisingly narrow and shallow neck although slightly wider at the nut than the Jazz. Out of the two, the Jazz is the more versatile IMO. My advice would be to try before you buy

Edited January 8, 2012 by bassman2790

[munkonthehill]

Yeah it doesnt really matter what folk say buddy, You have to really try these basses for yourself....Just because someone says the neck is blah blah blah,,,,,it may still not be right for you.

[jackers]

i would say try both before you decide, to see which one is more 'you'

The jazz has a slightly thinner neck, and IMO, if you are after a 'one size fits all' type of bass, then the jazz is a much better bet than the rick.

[RhysP]

As others have said, the Rick has a slightly shorter scale length, though you'd probably not notice the difference as it's pretty small.
Rickenbacker necks (or at least the ones I owned) have necks that are pretty much the same width all the way up the fingerboard, whilst jazz basses are a lot more tapered from nut to bridge.
Have you actually played a Rickenbacker before? They are very much an acquired taste and even though you love the look of them you might not get on with them - The Rick 4001 was always my dream bass until I owned a couple & found that I just couldn't get comfortable with them.
Are you thinking of buying new or secondhand? Rickenbacker neck profiles have apparently changed a great deal over the years - mine were both 70s models & the necks were very thin but the newer ones can be pretty chunky by all accounts.
Versatility-wise I'd echo what others have said & say it would probably be the Jazz.
I'd definitely say try before you buy with regard to a Rick.

[Thor]

Having been playing Jazz Basses for the last 25 years I am a bit of a fan, that said I just bought my first 4003 beginning of December, and I'm loving it. I had borrowed a 4001 off a mate of mine a few years ago and didn't get on with it really, but the 4003 is nothing like the 4001 - loads of bottom end - and I mean loads! I had to roll a fair bit of EQ off my amp after using my Geddy sig Jazz.

As others have said, definitely try before you buy - if I had to make the call for all round versatility I'd have to take the Jazz despite loving my 4003.

[dmccombe7]

Definately try both.
I found my Ric was a bit limited tonally. I just couldn't get the sound i was looking for. Went back to Jazz and lo and behold there it was. Ric had a great feel to it and played well and looked super cool in all-white body.
Ric was also quite light in comarison to my Jazz.

Good luck in your search for the ultimate bass and tone.

Dave

[simon1964]

Again, definitely try both. I can't get on with Jazz necks at all - they feel too narrow at the nut to me. As someone has said above, the Rickenbacker neck doesn't have the normal taper, and people tend to either love it or hate it. Also the profile is very different over the years.

Rics are pretty quirky all round, and RhysP's experience is not unusual - lots of people like the look and tone, but don't get on with them. I love mine, but they're a very different playing experience to a Fender.

On the scale length, you probably won't notice the shorter length, save that IMO the string tension is slightly less on a Ric.

Tone wise, I actually think the Ric has more versatility than people often think. The neck pickup solo'd can actually sound quite like a thumpy P tone - not what you'd associate with a Ric at all.

Edited January 8, 2012 by simon1964

[molan]

I always think of the Ric as being a 'pick' bass. I know lots of people play them with fingers but when I owned one it just felt 'wrong' to me, and quite uncomfortable.

If you're a fingerstyle player then you definitely need to try a Ricky first.

Also, on the money front, pre-owned Rics are generally a fair bit more expensive than a Fender J.

Obviously there a re lots of different models but a fairly stock used Ric is going to be £1,000 - £1,200 whilst a stock USA Jazz is more like £650 - £850.

Edited January 8, 2012 by molan

[Cairobill]

I own both and I think along the same lines as Molan.

I use my jazz bass for more straight ahead tones (roundwound strings) and finger playing while the Ric (an old 4001) is my pick bass (with flats) that I use in my originals band. It nails that McCartney sound but needs a specific approach to play comfortably.

Answering your question, if I needed to dep or just jam, I would probably take the jazz. But the Ric is special and I couldn't do my stuff without it.

And talking about cost, I would buy that Bacchus jazz in the for sale section if I needed a jazz, by the way. It's a steal. A decent Ric will cost over a grand and you MUST try before you buy, Some of them are pretty grim instruments.

Edited January 9, 2012 by Cairobill

[mr zed]

Try both - whichever makes you smile the most is the one to go for.

[Cat Burrito]

My 2010 Rickenbacker had a neck like a baseball bat and I hear they vary the necks quite a lot. Personally I think a Jazz offers more versatility (& is cheaper!) but the Ricky gets more attention. Personally I prefer the Jazz by a mile but that's probably because I have always played Fenders. Opening the Rickenbacker case when I first bought it I really felt like I was buying into a lifestyle (like owning a Porsche, I would imagine) but it wound up getting sold on inside of a year. My Jazz actually eclipsed my Precisions and I never anticipated that happening

[KevB]

I have a ric 4003 (yr 2000) and a US jazz S1 (yr 2003 or 4) and though both are fine playable instruments I have found myself using the jazz as the main gigging bass for the last 4 or 5 years. They are all a bit different and it depends what your application is going to be. If I were in a covers band covering lots of songs done on rics then I'd use that but I don't so the jazz has become my favourite.

[hairyhaw]

I've had my 4003 for 7 years and my Jazz for three. The neck on my 05 Rick is very shallow but is about as wide as a precision at the nut. Since I got the Jazz though, its pretty much eclipsed everything else I have and I use it all the time. It has the best neck I've ever played and is silly narrow at the nut.

So for me, it would be the Jazz for the neck and sheer versatiliy. The Rick however [i]always[/i] gets comments.

[Thor]

Some really interesting comments and feedback here - makes good reading!

[4000]

I have the opposite experience to many here; I learnt to play on a Ric and find Jazzes incredibly uncomfortable, although I have some physical issues which don't help there. I've never really got on with Fender ergonomics though, even before my back & neck problems started. Everything has always felt like it was in the wrong place to me.

Ric necks vary massively; I've owned 14 or so and I've played hundreds (at least!)and they've all been different, as they have sonically, but I could say the same for the Jazzes I've had. I don't like the Jazz taper (narrow at one end, wide at the other; the Ric is similar all the way up) and I don't like the spacing either; Rics have much narrower string spacing at the bridge. Ergonomically and as a playing experience they're miles apart and you have to see which suits you. I would never say choose one over the other; you have to try several of each (not just one!) and decide for yourself.

I played 2 brand new 4003s in Dawson's in Manchester at the weekend and even they were quite different, although I do tend to be a bit anal about the differences between different Rics. FWIW every time I've used a Jazz in my band the rest of the band has been less than impressed with the sound (my last Roadworn was described as "nasal" and induced much face-pulling from our singer)so I think you have bear in mind that one or the other may not suit you sonically as well as ergonomically. I never sound very good on Jazzes whereas others never sound very good on Rics. You have to see what works for you.

[Skybone]

[quote name='smurfitt' timestamp='1326035795' post='1491323']
Hi all,
need some info:
Which has the skinniest neck and shortest in length (the ric looks pretty darn long to me yet both have 20 frets).
Which is better for a wide variety of music[/quote]

Sounds like you already answered your own question. If that's your search criteria, then just try out loads of different Fender Jazz Basses.

[4000]

Strange assumption; I didn't get that at all from his question. He said the Ric looked longer; the scale length is actually shorter (33 & 1/4" vs 34"). A Jazz is narrower at the nut, a Ric is narrower higher up, the dimensions front to back vary from bass to bass, so the OPs idea of "skinnier neck" would need clarifying. Personally I prefer a neck to be skinnier further up (and with narrower string spacing) as I spend more time up there than on the first few frets, but the OP may differ. Some people also mean skinny front to back rather than narrow. Which is better for a wide variety of music is entirely subjective and depends on the player and their relationship with the instrument.

[4000]

FWIW, I agree with Simon on the versatility issue. My Rics have 2 very different sounding pickups (neck toasters in mine) and two volumes and two tones. There's an awful lot you can do with them if you experiment. I can get everything from Jah Wobble-esque to Lemmy without even changing the strings. The only thing they're really under-par at is that Jaco-burp, but as I don't like that anyway it's not a big issue for me. Of course it may be for someone else.