Rickenbacker and trademarks

[4000]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1334691773' post='1619929']
Again, development. When Fender basses came out, the disposable neck was the idea, they are engineered for mass production, all the routes on one side, modular construction, all minimal handling, hence being able to buy current equivalents for £60 or so. Now if you are into paying for a name on a headstock, that's a whole different thing. Nothing to do with engineering. Take this designed to be made for £60 bass, use it till it develops a flaw, replace flawed part, fine. Pay a bit more, get a less flawed part. Now, the part I think is stupid, is where someone spends maybe £1400 on a bass, and assumes it will develop an issue requiring correction, and accepts that, because it has a name written on it.

And if wood is the flawed material, using wood is an engineering flaw. Acceptable on a £60 wood bass. Pay £1400, you can have a graphite neck without the issue.

Have they changed the design to consider the known preventable flaw, if so, why retain the means to correct it?

Edit: Also, as far as I recall they are still single action truss rods (although I've only come across one with the truss rod out) an single action truss rods are the source of the S bend issue. double action truss rods are the solution, but are at a much higher unit cost.
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If wood is flawed (which obviously it is in a sense in that it's unpredictable) then all wooden-necked basses are flawed. FWIW graphite isn't perfectly stable either. I had a Status with a twisted neck. In fact my 40 year old Rics are the only basses I've ever had where I never have to adjust the necks.

[4000]

[quote name='vax2002' timestamp='1334692688' post='1619950']
On Ricks, bridges still bend up and fingerboards lift if you use heavy roundwounds on 4003, on 4001, it was a dead cert.
Also on a Fender if your neck has a bow, you can get a key and tighten it up, on a Rick touch the nuts on the Rod at your peril.

I do think Rickenbackers are a decent bass, bit of a one trick pony and a dog to play comfortably standing up, but the absolute ridiculous price for them is beyond a joke, as most find out, a quick look at e.bay will soon tell you that.
What has happened as well is they have stopped doing what Rickenbacker normally do, make different colours one year.
In the past you had black binding 4003, blood red, real midnight blue, natural with black binding, white with back binding and the gorgeous black with black binding.
What on earth has gone wrong at the factory for them to just stick to making one set of colours with one option on hardware and binding, so now if you do buy a Rick, you have to have what the guy in the next band has and so on.
hardly exclusive when they churn out all the same day in day out.
The brand has had a good revival, but it is over now, even JH knows this hence why he is on the offensive again, looking for people to blame for the downturn.
All I say, is go back to doing what you did best, making unusual and beautiful basses that can not be copied and they wont be copied, but continue churning out the same old same old and you are asking for them to be copied.
Its too easy, they never change.
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On my last Fender the neck wouldn't straighten from new and had to be replaced. Having to take the neck off to adjust the truss rod is a dreadful design flaw. The new Ric rods are easy to adjust and the old ones work fine if you know what to do with them (which goes for most things). I know loads of people who use 45s on old 4001s with no ill effects (have done it myself in the past). Etc etc, ad infinitum. Sure, some fail. Some of any brand fail.

[GregBass]

[quote name='vax2002' timestamp='1334692688' post='1619950']
On Ricks, bridges still bend up and fingerboards lift if you use heavy roundwounds on 4003, on 4001, it was a dead cert.
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I have always used roundwound 45 to 105s on my Ricks. I have had my current 4001 now for 27 years, and have had no problems with the neck at all. The action is as low as our guitarist's Strat!

My other Rick was a 1972 4001. I sold it to a mate who still has it, and the neck is also spot on. Maybe you have just had a bad one