A certain bass guitar whom we shall not name...

[stingrayPete1977]

I am warming to the s version then

[matski]

See? Rounded...

[attachment=148745:Rickenbacker 4003S.jpg]

[Adrenochrome]

I've played a few, and owned a Japanese neck-thru bass that was 'ahem' extremely reminiscent of the big R. When I played in an original punk n roll band with a pick it was a clanging, raucous joy! Love the sound of them. As people have said, they can be a bit limited for some applications.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='matski' timestamp='1384868325' post='2281593']
See? Rounded...

[attachment=148745:Rickenbacker 4003S.jpg]
[/quote]
[quote name='matski' timestamp='1384868325' post='2281593']
See? Rounded...

[attachment=148745:Rickenbacker 4003S.jpg]
[/quote]
Cool , I like it, that said I like the look of them all

[Chris Sharman]

I speak here with only limited experience having only played one once for any length of time, at an open day at Soundhub in Belper.

Ric's have always had a strange effect on me sometimes I love the look of them and sometimes I hate them, depends what mood I'm in. Any-whoo I saw this one, dramatic in it's blackness and as it caught me on a good day I thought I ought to have a go. I did.

I hated it. I just couldn't get on with the neck at all it seemed almost perfectly round and just didn't fit my hand comfortably in any way. I recently tried another one for comparison as it has been a couple of years (didn't get either of the model numbers) end result; bought a Fender Jazz. Predictable I know, but when you know what you are comfortable with...

Edited November 19, 2013 by Chris Sharman

[simon1964]

[quote name='matski' timestamp='1384868325' post='2281593']
See? Rounded...
[/quote]

Rounded, and also very lovely to look at

Edited November 19, 2013 by simon1964

[Dingus]

[quote name='simon1964' timestamp='1384877971' post='2281774']
Rounded, and also very lovely to look at
[/quote]

To me , not much in this World is more beautiful to look at than a nice Rickenbacker bass . They sound great. too. All they need to do is make them more playable and they will have a hit on their hands .

I can't abide the way the strings hit the pole pieces of the pickups on a Rick . That alone makes them useless to me. Even before I played the bass, I was fixated by Rickenbackers, and I would so like to own one , but it would only happen if they came out with a new, modernised design that incorporated a lot of the old basses best qualities , but in a better package, kind of like Musicman did with the Bongo.

[Dingus]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1384771676' post='2280394']
There have been "boutique" Ricks - IIRC jon Shuker built a pair of 6-string 4003-shaped basses for someone on here a few years ago and John Birch produced more than a few back in the 70s.

However once you start fiddling with the quirky things that make the Rickenbacker design unique it starts to loose all the character that made you want one in the first place. Take the 4004. On paper it has addressed the majority of criticisms aimed at the 4001/4003 models, but it doesn't really look right (and apparently doesn't sound the same either) and consequently isn't very popular.
[/quote]

I've seen a few "uber-Ricks" over the years, but nothing ever reached the mainstream market. If someone did come up with a workable design it would be an intriguing prospect.

[Roland Rock]

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1384771676' post='2280394']
IIRC jon Shuker built a pair of 6-string 4003-shaped basses for someone on here a few years ago
[/quote]

Edited November 19, 2013 by Roland Rock

[4000]

[quote name='matski' timestamp='1384860011' post='2281461']


PS: this is the only Ric I've owned in 30 years of playing, so I'm not some blinkered, drooling Rickenbacker fanboy either.
[/quote]

I know I come across like that but in reality I play every bass I can get my hands on (just in case), have owned something like 40 basses from Westone and Hohner through Fender, Alembic, Sei, Status, Warwick, Wal and Jaydee over a period of well over 30 years and generally (except when irked ) have something positive to say about most basses. I just always end up coming back to Rickenbacker; they're not perfect (nothing is), but everything else ultimately doesn't seem to do quite what I want it to, and the things that are negatives to many generally aren't to me.

My only real issues are that the old truss rods can be tricky if you don't know what you're doing and have quite often been compromised by someone who obviously didn't, and the fact that you sometimes struggle for intonation travel on some of the older basses with low action (oh, and I wish that they'd retained the aluminium bridge rather than replacing it with the zinc one). Beyond a few cosmetic issues such as liking checkered binding and crushed pearl inlays, that's pretty much it. So many times I've been playing another bass on stage and wished I one of my Rics in my hands.

[4000]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1384716992' post='2279926']
I still disagree, profiles are subjective, poor quality bindings with the finish bleeding into them are faults as is the neck dive every ric I have tried had, you are obviously lucky to have never encountered that problem but enough people on here have for it to be classed as a possible thing to look for if it bothers you. Again the fingerboard is not subjective, it didnt fit the neck from the factory nor is a bridge often cited as difficult or impossible to setup as required, hows that a subjective thing?
[/quote]

Never had a Ric with bleed. I've seen some on the internet but never in real life, amongst literally hundreds, so it's obviously not [i]that [/i]common, although it is out there. As are shocking Fender necks that don't adjust, of which I've seen loads. Neck-dive, is as I suggested, entirely subjective. I learnt to play on one so to me it sits in exactly the right place, which a Stingray (or Fender) doesn't. Again, if I've never experienced what I consider neck-dive in hundreds of basses then we're obviously looking at things rather differently and as others are agreeing it's not just me.

Never seen the fingerboard issue either, in fact your mention is the only time I've ever heard of it. Again, not common. The bridge thing is generally familiarity (same with pretty much everything else about the bass). I remember being lent an early EB Ray once and it took me ages to set up, far longer than any of my Rics. Why? Because I wasn't familar with it. But I've been setting up multiple Rics for years. To be honest I've had more of an issue recently setting up my Squire P.

[martthebass]

Like many for years I gassed for a Rick and when I met one in real life I hated it. It was a 4003, I found the neck clubby and a bit too wide at the volute (though necessary to avoid neck problems earlier versions of the 400X sometimes had) and being a MM ray person I couldn't find a comfortable playing position due to the metalwork and the bound edges.

A couple of years back I decided to have another go and swapped my MM ray 30th for a particularly fine Mid Blue 4003. I decided almost instantly (again) that I didn't like it and agreed with the 'vendor' to do a swap back. For various reasons this took a couple of weeks. In the intervening time I spent some time noodling on it in the house. Amazingly I found there was a great selection of sounds in there - some of which made me sound like Bruce Foxton et al (albeit with a significant hand injury) and it wasn't really an issue to play with the slab body and......

Anyway a deal was a deal and the bass went back to it's original owner but I was regretting not spending more time with it before deciding it was poo. Fast forward to earlier this year, I had some cash and decided to try out a 4004Cii, it must be better with all the ergonomic mods i thought. Unfortunately in my eyes and ears not, and this time I waited a good couple of months before letting it go. I'll not go into details but it just wasn't a 4003 soundwise and thats what I obviously wanted.

In short, the 4003 has a number of design idiosyncracies and does have a series of characterisic sounds but it's not crap, it just polarises opinion and needs time to really decide if it's for you or not. It's no more a clank plank than a Ray is only a growl monster....

[Skybone]

Like many, I've owned a fair few different basses over the years, from a dodgy Kay P bass to Westone to Aria Pro through to EBMM & Fender, but always lusted after a Ric. A few friends have owned Ric's of various vintages, and I've been able to get a shot on them, but never actually got around to owning one myself until about 6 or 7 years ago when I managed to pick up a Jetglo 4003 from 2005. I admit, it did take me a while to get used to the neck, as they are so glaringly different from the traditional P or J style neck, it's worth putting the playing time in to get used to it though IMO.

Last year, due to the economic situation, I had to sell my 4003 ( ), so the hunt was on for a replacement. The Fender Modern Player Jazz had been getting some good reviews in the guitar press, looked good, and having owned a few Jazz & Jazz inspired basses over the years, I bought one to replace the Ric. Initially, the MP felt & played nice, but there was something wrong. I wasn't getting on with the neck and so started looking for alternatives. The main contenders where a Fender/Squier P bass (preferably with the P/J pickups) or a Yammy BB. Having never played a BB before, I tried a BB424 in a local shop, and it felt good, though the finish of the neck was a bit rough.

While looking for good deals on either a Fender P/J or a Yammy BB424, I stumbled across a gorgeous looking Rockinbetter. It ticked the boxes more than the others, so I bought it. When it arrived, it looked better in the flesh than in the pics, and it not only had the look of the bass it's emulating, but the feel of it as well. Very happy with it indeed, cracking bass. There's a couple of things I'd like to change, but they're very minor indeed, and purely cosmetic (like finding a copy of a certain "Born to Lose" sticker).

For anyone who says that I bought it because I can't afford a real Ric, you're right, I can't afford a real Ric, I had to sell my old one because I couldn't afford to keep it. But in the absence of an official Rickenbacker budget line along the Epiphone/Squier model, the Rockinbetter not only fits the bill, it's a cracking piece of kit in it's own right.

[JamesBass]

[quote name='Adrenochrome' timestamp='1384868637' post='2281603']
I've played a few, and owned a Japanese neck-thru bass that was 'ahem' extremely reminiscent of the big R. When I played in an original punk n roll band with a pick it was a clanging, raucous joy! Love the sound of them. As people have said, they can be a bit limited for some applications.
[/quote]
Ah some, and I'm one of them, will argue that it is the player, not the bass that is limited. I find my Ric to be the most tonally versatile bass I have, I own a Traben Chaos John Moyer sig that is active and just doesn't fit tonally in to any music, it's either too bass-y or too honky and thin, it's not a nice bass in my opinion. My P bass sits in any mix but as it is a P it doesn't cut the same as a Ric, well not at the minute, I'm modding it in the New Year, finances allowing of course!

[Stag]

Ive got a touch of bleed in the top edge of the binding on my 4003...

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='Stag' timestamp='1385642760' post='2290552']
Ive got a touch of bleed in the top edge of the binding on my 4003...
[/quote]
Nope cant have, all rics are perfect as 4000 says, all the faults I have found on them that current ric owners have chipped in with through this thread are apparently my subjective opinion as he has never seen them

[BassTractor]

[quote name='Stag' timestamp='1385642760' post='2290552']
Ive got a touch of bleed in the top edge of the binding on my 4003...
[/quote]

See? How much more evidence do some people need that the Rockinbetter is a BAD, BAD copy???
(Never any bleeding on them. )


BTW, I've started fondling my Rockinbetter in ways I can only describe in that other section of BC - - maybe not even there.

[Gust0o]

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1385671686' post='2291067']
See? How much more evidence do some people need that the Rockinbetter is a BAD, BAD copy???
(Never any bleeding on them. )
[/quote]

[4000]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1385663351' post='2290918']

Nope cant have, all rics are perfect as 4000 says, all the faults I have found on them that current ric owners have chipped in with through this thread are apparently my subjective opinion as he has never seen them
[/quote]

Oh dear. Seems like you've been reading my missus' book, "what he said was x, what he meant was y". ;-)

[Gust0o]

A very popular book, I should note

[slingo]

IMHO, G&L basses have evolved (for obvious reasons) from Fender and Musicman, so they have improved on what was already a classic design. Having said that, listening to Chris Squire and his Ricky as a teenager is one of the reasons I ever picked up the bass in the first place [size=4] [/size]

[neepheid]

Why do some people around here find it necessary to be absolute Cs to one another based upon their preferences in bass guitars? Honestly, I get sick of it. How did this thread become a R vs S thread? Because people are being absolute Cs to one another.

I Fn hate Basschat sometimes, and this is one of these times. Go and play some Fn bass and stop being A-holes.

[Ou7shined]

[quote name='neepheid' timestamp='1392432056' post='2368822']
Why do some people around here find it necessary to be absolute Cs to one another based upon their preferences in bass guitars? Honestly, I get sick of it. How did this thread become a R vs S thread? Because people are being absolute Cs to one another.

I Fn hate Basschat sometimes, and this is one of these times. Go and play some Fn bass and stop being A-holes.
[/quote]

I alphabet someone's had a wee dram tonight.
Well said mate.

[Annoying Twit]

I would feel more inclined to defend R owners against 'attack' if there weren't some R owners who could perhaps be more accepting of those of us who play R copies.

Mine lost the pickup cover before it ever got to me. I don't mind the gap.

Edited February 15, 2014 by Annoying Twit

[merello]

Does Voldemort make basses?