THIS IS GOING TO CAUSE MUCH HYSTERIA..

[prowla]

I'd like a Ric 5-string.

[AndyTravis]

2 hours ago, prowla said:

I'd like a Ric 5-string.

Yeah. I’m in that boat - I’ve no idea why though.

it’d be to hang it on the wall. That’s it.

[prowla]

1 hour ago, AndyTravis said:

Yeah. I’m in that boat - I’ve no idea why though.

it’d be to hang it on the wall. That’s it.

Well, I've got Rics and other brand 5-strings, so it'd be logical to have a Ric 5 as well.

But they would need to make sure the neck is up to the job.

[stingrayPete1977]

4 hours ago, prowla said:

I'd like a Ric 5-string.

Would you like them to make a better job of it than this one though? 

[jonsmith]

12 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

The small piece of nut next to the B string will last a few weeks at best with the B trying to pull to the side like that. 

It does look tiny, but the string isn't really pulling that far to the side.  This one has held up for the past 27 years.

[12stringbassist]

No doubt there are online reports of why Ric stopped producing them some years ago. I have read that there were issues with them that made them give up. I wonder if anything is actually different now.

It looks like enough people have shouted that they would buy one, so they have responded.

They  just need to sort out their bridges and pickups now and make the bridge cover detachable without the need for a bezel.

Edited January 24, 2018 by 12stringbassist

[jonsmith]

Apparently the pickups on the 5 string 4004 basses weren't wide enough - maybe they used the same ones as on the 4 strings.  Pity, as I'd like a 5 string 4004 (in fact I'd like a 6 string one).  My 4003s5 has a toaster in the neck position with a 5 pole pickup at the bridge and seems fine.  The string spacing is a little snug, but it's not impossible to play.  I'd be interested to know if this new 4003 has a wider neck.  It doesn't look like it.

[12stringbassist]

I really doubt they would invest money in tooling up to make a more suitable neck width. This is about making money, not spending it....

[prowla]

2 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

Would you like them to make a better job of it than this one though? 

I quite like it as it is.

I think there was an issue with the neck joint on the previous models, whereby it couldn't cope with a 25% extra load.

So they'd have to sort that.

There is someone who does 4-5 conversions in the US.

[stingrayPete1977]

2 hours ago, jonsmith said:

It does look tiny, but the string isn't really pulling that far to the side.  This one has held up for the past 27 years.

It looks missing in that picture to me? 

[prowla]

1 hour ago, 12stringbassist said:

No doubt there are online reports of why Ric stopped producing them some years ago. I have read that there were issues with them that made them give up. I wonder if anything is actually different now.

It looks like enough people have shouted that they would buy one, so they have responded.

They  just need to sort out their bridges and pickups now and make the bridge cover detachable without the need for a bezel.

The bridges and pickups are fine.

The bridge could be improved though...

[prowla]

46 minutes ago, 12stringbassist said:

I really doubt they would invest money in tooling up to make a more suitable neck width. This is about making money, not spending it....

Well, they are a business, but I think it's a response to customer demand.

Most people can play a guitar and its strings are closer together, so shouldn't be a problem for a bass (unless you slap & pop, but that's not really what Ric cater for).

Incidentally, I've got a SUB 5 and its neck is only 1mm wider at the nut than my 4003.

Edited January 24, 2018 by prowla

[12stringbassist]

Any Ric 5-string users / owners have got used to playing them, I'm sure.

[AndyTravis]

3 hours ago, stingrayPete1977 said:

It looks missing in that picture to me? 

Nope...deffo there.

[Beedster]

3 hours ago, prowla said:

 

I think there was an issue with the neck joint on the previous models, whereby it couldn't cope with a 25% extra load.

 

The tension's in the top strings surely, a set of heavy strings on a 4 would likely add more than medium gauge 5? If the neck on my 4003 is anything to go by however there's no issue, it's a baseball bat

[prowla]

3 minutes ago, Beedster said:

The tension's in the top strings surely, a set of heavy strings on a 4 would likely add more than medium gauge 5? If the neck on my 4003 is anything to go by however there's no issue, it's a baseball bat

I'd assume that the tension of each string would be similar.

[BigRedX]

26 minutes ago, prowla said:

I'd assume that the tension of each string would be similar.

You should look at some tension charts then. For those manufacturers that supply the information (D'Addario are very good) it can quite an eye-opener.

[prowla]

Well - they've got thicker necks!

(And radical new pickups...)

[jonsmith]

A different bridge too, so they've obviously made an attempt to deal with some of the concerns people had (as voiced above).  Visually, it's not doing it for me though, in fact I think they would have been better doing this on the 4004.

 

[Spoombung]

Appalling.

[BigRedX]

1 hour ago, jonsmith said:

A different bridge too, so they've obviously made an attempt to deal with some of the concerns people had (as voiced above).  Visually, it's not doing it for me though, in fact I think they would have been better doing this on the 4004.

The problem is that very few bassists buy the 4004 probably because it doesn't look like a classic Rickenbacker 4001/4003. And unfortunately this 5-string will suffer the same fate. Where's the binding on body and the triangle fret marker inlays? These to me are just as much the things that make a Rickenbacker bass distinctive as the body and headstock shape.

However I would still like to try one out.

[Cosmo Valdemar]

19 minutes ago, BigRedX said:

 Where's the binding on body and the triangle fret marker inlays? These to me are just as much the things that make a Rickenbacker bass distinctive as the body and headstock shape.

They look like a version of the 4003s which has neither.

[AndyTravis]

Holy 5h1t that’s completely ridiculous.

looks like a really bad rockinbetter/Shine.

so so bad. 😂🤮

[Cosmo Valdemar]

Good God, the pickups...

[Musicman20]

Oh dear.

I don't think they look too bad, and at least now they are proper 5 string basses. I played a 5 string Ric YEARS ago in the mid 90s (no doubt second hand) and it was so odd and just didn't work. I thought most 5 string basses were like that, which put me off them for a long time.

The Walnut one is nice. The current orange burst they do really isn't my thing...despite loving burst colours.