Rickenbacker - versatile or not?

[action_panzer]

Interested to hear opinions on this. I have very limited experience of the 4001/3, but I wouldn't necessarily put it down as a one trick pony, certainly with the modern push-pull pot on the eq. Yet its a common accusation...

[KevB]

Personally I've never found mine to be any more or less versatile than, say, a jazz or a P. They all have their own 'voice' but depending on how you play, whether using flat or round wounds and what rig you play it through there are as many avenues open as most other basses. Probably not everyone's first choice for heavy slapping though! Do Lemmy, Chris Squire and Macca all sound the same?

[simon1964]

I think they're far more versatile than people tend to assume. Yes, you can do the clanky aggressive tone with a pick. But roll back the tone and you can get a nice thumpy 60s tone (McCartney used one in the Beatles, after all). The neck pickup solo'd with the tone rolled back, even gets into jazz territory.

They're never going to give you a hi fi, active tone, but they're certainly not one trick ponies either.

[Mr. Foxen]

Definite theme of all the tone come from a driven valve amp going on, even Macca, who you wouldn't generally associate with drive, has a small combo pushed thing going on.

[BassTractor]

Here's my humble take:
Versatile.

Why?
It has bass
It has low middle
It has high middle
It has treble.

As long as a bass has all of those, the two things that make a bass non versatile are not present:
- terrible electrics/electronics
- terrible body/neck constellation
To become non versatile, above elements would have to suck up large frequency areas, making playing style less than a huge factor, and or the knobs would have to almost not work.


Next question: is it just as versatile as other basses in the same price bracket?
I doubt it.

[icastle]

I think the 'one trick' reputation is generally fuelled by 'that' particular sound that many owners try to emulate rather than any major limitations inherent in the instrument itself.

[Dingus]

I would say that a Rickenbacker is one of those basses that you would buy to sound like itself , rather than to give you any kind of a non-descript , general purpose bass sound . They have got a distinctive tonal character , but there is still plenty of variation within that . For me though , the sticking point with Rickenbackers is the overall playability rather than anything to do with their glorious sound . If a Rick' was as playable as a Fender then the World would be a better place !

[Highfox]

Love my Rick for all that mid honk and the smooth round tone with the tones rolled off.
As KevB put it, it's no more versatile than a P or J. (maybe a bit less than a P)
I personally think the tones you get out of it suit certain types of music.. if that's your bag it's great.

I find them easy to play admittedly I'm not the most fiddly of players.. the higher register pops out like nothing else I've ever played, with all that maple and straight through neck.

[4000]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1379350079' post='2211579']
Definite theme of all the tone come from a driven valve amp going on, even Macca, who you wouldn't generally associate with drive, has a small combo pushed thing going on.
[/quote]

This is generally true but I've always been happiest with mine through early transistor Trace gear.

[4000]

[quote name='Highfox' timestamp='1379353665' post='2211650']
the higher register pops out like nothing else I've ever played
[/quote]
This is what I love about them.
FWIW I agree that the reason they're considered one-trick pony is more about people emulating a particular sound.

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1379350079' post='2211579']
Definite theme of all the tone come from a driven valve amp going on, even Macca, who you wouldn't generally associate with drive, has a small combo pushed thing going on.
[/quote]
You could say much the same of most bass tones from the past few decades though. And even many of the supposedly "Hi-Fi" tones depend on a heavily voiced signal chain of some sort too...

[3below]

Used mine for celidh band folk, jazz, blues, punk, metal and all points inbetween. Loved the sound, was not enamoured with build quality 1978 ish bass.

[Mr. Foxen]

[quote name='Beer of the Bass' timestamp='1379359638' post='2211807']
You could say much the same of most bass tones from the past few decades though. And even many of the supposedly "Hi-Fi" tones depend on a heavily voiced signal chain of some sort too...
[/quote]

Dunno about most, within certain genres maybe. Even the SVT is fairly clean up until its cranked into drive. Loads of bass is done straight to desk, can't really do much cleaner than that. Like Motown.

[martthebass]

I find mine pretty versatile but have to admit that I tend to gravitate towards tone full on on the the bridge pup only. It suits some of the punkier/punchy stuff I do better than my other basses. All round it isn't as versatile as my Status and reminds me of the Single pup Stingrays I've owned in that respect. Then again if I turned up at a punk gig playing my Streamline I'd expect some odd looks.

I wouldnt be happy if it was my only bass but for what I use it for I couldn't think of a bass to better it.

In terms of ergonomics you either love it or hate it, there are no facts in this regard, only opinions.

[dannybuoy]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1379360898' post='2211835']
Dunno about most, within certain genres maybe. Even the SVT is fairly clean up until its cranked into drive. Loads of bass is done straight to desk, can't really do much cleaner than that. Like Motown.
[/quote]

A lot of Motown had quite overdriven bass, from driving the desk inputs too hard! Check out Bernadette for example.

[Gust0o]

[quote name='icastle' timestamp='1379351241' post='2211595']
I think the 'one trick' reputation is generally fuelled by 'that' particular sound that many owners try to emulate rather than any major limitations inherent in the instrument itself.
[/quote]

A fair comment, I think.

Still on the list!

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1379360898' post='2211835']
Dunno about most, within certain genres maybe. Even the SVT is fairly clean up until its cranked into drive. Loads of bass is done straight to desk, can't really do much cleaner than that. Like Motown.
[/quote]
Even straight to desk, there's a lot of voicing applied by preamps, EQ, compression, tape saturation etc. on the "classic" recordings, especially Motown. Bass forums regularly have threads about people not getting their P-bass or Jazz to sound like their favourite recordings. So it's a good observation about bass tone in general, but hardly Rickenbacker specific.
I could see that the hardware and narrow string spacing might make some players less comfortable using certain right-hand techniques, so that could be perceived as a lack of versatility perhaps. I had to change out the Rickenfaker bridge on my oddball DIY bass for a Hipshot because of the palm muting issue, and the pickup cover (or gaping hole) on a Ric could limit what you can do fingerstyle too.

Edited September 16, 2013 by Beer of the Bass

[JamesBass]

The bass itself is eminently versatile, as are all basses. It's the players that aren't versatile. I use my Ric for pretty much everything, I play anything from modern and classic rock to soul and jazz on mine. It works if you adapt your style.

I love the tonal variations I can get out of it, though I am going to be getting a p bass at some point, but that's because I have always wanted one along with the Ric!

[TheButler]

[quote name='JamesBass' timestamp='1379367529' post='2211952']
It's the players that aren't versatile.
[/quote]

Aye. This.

[icastle]

[quote name='Gust0o' timestamp='1379364723' post='2211900']
Still on the list!
[/quote]

What?

Not another one?

[jonsmith]

In the past two years, I have played prog, rock, punk, reggae, ska and country with one of my Ricks & got appropriate sounds for all of them. On that basis, I'd say they are fairly versatile. They might not be my first choice for every kind of music, but they are capable of most things with a bit of eq & drive adjustment as well as use of an appropriate playing style.

[gsgbass]

I'll say my 4003 Ric is about as versatile as a Jazz, but with an attiude. It's a nice edge to have a bit more control over the two pups with the toggle switch. The vintage sound option is a plus for versatile sounds also. The neck though is the big plus on playability of the Ric. [IMG]http://i.imgur.com/MDg0T75.jpg[/IMG]

[Grangur]

I don't own a Rick. Never played one. Yet I do own a Warwick. I love it. It's versatile, rich in sound etc., but folk slag them off too.

Just going on the spec I know they're versatile. I recon you should ignore follk who make these accusations and remind them it's better to keep silent and thought an idiot than to open your mouth and remove all doubt.

Besides, I've also heard folk talking about P basses saying they're versatile! You don't get much more fixed and inflexible than 1 pup, 1 treble-cut pot and 1 volume pot.

Edited September 17, 2013 by Grangur

[Happy Jack]

Rics are probably the most versatile instruments out there.

Most basses will get you into a pub or a concert hall, but only a Ric will get you into Court.

[Highfox]

[quote name='Happy Jack' timestamp='1379404996' post='2212155']

Most basses will get you into a pub or a concert hall, but only a Ric will get you into Court.


[/quote]
That's a great quote..maybe JH should consider putting that on the box