A 4003 for my different uses?

[Nop]

Hi fellow Rickenbacker's addict!
Firt, sorry for my English, hope it'll not hurts you.

I'm a Rickenbacker enthusiast since I started playing bass (something like 12 years.) To be honest it was the shape that bring me to bass I have of course my Paul Boyer's Book, and learn as much as I can on these.
I was young, no money etc... I had to wait since 4/5 years ago to buy mine. It was an insane instrument,my dream bass and my opinion was totally SUBJECTIVE . But the life, even more when you start to be a "real adult" catch me, and I sold pretty much all my expensive gear to keep the cheapest.

I played in bands since (I never stopped, just stopped expensive gears), local hard rock things, and of course my life goal was to buy a new Rick. BUT, and there is the biggest point, my music life changed a bit. I came from "I play hard rock in band for fun" to "I have to do many different projects to earn money and make music my job".

Here is my question;
Actually, I play in a metal band (most "professionnal" band I ever had), In parrallel I give some teaching for kid's friend and I'm gonna start to work on an "pop/rock/radio music" album with a composer for a woman singer (yes... sometime you need to sell your soul). These are my main things, but other are to be added.

As you can see, very different projects, and I can't afford a Bass for each. I still want a Rick, but i'm not sure it'll be the most suitable option.. I'm not sure for example, that I can bring my Rick in a "pop rock" engineer that only mix for Summer hit song, without being laughed at.
For my main project, my band, I'm sure the Rick will do the job with a preamp pedal to get a more "Active Bass Tone", but I need to see in the future.

What do you think about it? Because if the things I do works "a little" I'll be able to expand these projects and maybe do another record for another pop/variety singer, and I don't want to lose the job because I don't own a Precision with flats... (And I'll never own one.) I also know that in studio you can play with the studio's instrument, but I still don't play for international star (and I'll never do)... It's more of a Home Studio for the moment, so my bass is going to be the bass recorded.

Do you think a Rick, with it's own tone can be used in a "professional" area without being fired from studios? I explored some other options, most of them are active bass like, Dingwall for example, but Ricks still my first love.
In the casual way of playing I had before, the questions was solved: I do this for me, I play with my dream instrument. But now, I have to think on different parameters

Thanks!

[radapaw]

Classic Ric players range from Mccartney to Lemmy, and from Squire to Cisneros. That said, I think a fender bass is a good thing to have in your arsenal (even a fairly cheap one with a couple upgrades) for its classic 'standardness', and that a good preamp is always handy to help modern-ify things should you need.

[Nop]

The thing it's, when you are Lemmy, Al Cisneros or Squire, if you say "I play with a Rick" to an engineer, composer or what you want, the only answer is "yes sir". But at my level, where you can't convince a FOH guy to mic your cab even if it's "your tone", you can't convince them that a Rick is your toy.

I'm ok with you that a Fender still a good option, but do you think that a Rick can convince everybody?

[jps]

The ones who can't/won't accept a Rick are those who are close minded. I have used my Ricks for many different genres of music of the decades. And if you do some research you will find Rick basses in virtually all styles of music.

[jdogric12]

I would go with a nice 70's or 80's 4001 or 4003 and install the push/pull circuit. You should be fine. Couldn't hurt to have a Fender Mexican Jazz handy though.... fretless maybe?

[Isaac]

I am of the opinion that a Ric can be used in any situation. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that a 4003 with the vintage push-pull feature is more, rather than less, versatile than any stock Fender. However, that doesn't mean that the sound man, engineer or producer understands that, or knows how to work with it. Given that, I agree with the others here who have said that it's a good idea to have a Precision or clone handy for times when you're working with people who don't understand anything else.

[Nop]

You may be right, a Rick as main and a cheap Mexican PB as a backup just in case somebody doesn't want to work with my Rick.

So sad to live in a world, where you have to answer the question I answered... Where people just simply doesn't want to work with something because "you have to use a Pbass"

[jps]

I have always gotten compliments from recording, live sound, and monitor engineers about the tone of my Ricks. Unfortunately, too many others listen with their set-in-stone eyes.

[cassius987]

Do you think a Rick, with it's own tone can be used in a "professional" area without being fired from studios?

Of course. Certainly I've never been fired from any gig. I've played Rics in jazz, rock, hip hop and country settings. A well set-up Ric competes with anything else out there. That's why I play them; for me, they "just work". No one put a gun to my head; I've tried tons of basses from boutique stores, even visited famous luthiers and sampled their wares. After all that, I choose to play Rics.

I did get turned down from one gig I auditioned for, which was a metal band. That wasn't my Ric's fault. They wanted someone who could play their tricky riffs really clean right out of the gate, and I had not spent enough time rehearsing. It was my bad.

[antipodean]

Given modern FOH and studio technology, failure to get a specific tone from a decent bass of any make indicates that the sound engineer is unimaginative.

Sadly, as unimaginative sound engineers seem to be pretty common, it is usually up to musicians to fill the expertise gap by being able to provide tonal flexibility. There is great amp/preamp/pedal board tech out there to help you achieve this, but it may well make sense to have a Fenderesque bass in the stable to keep the prejudiced clowns at bay, particularly if it means the difference between getting a gig or not!

[M2016G]

I gig every weekend. I have a P, a J and recently got a Ric.
I take the bass I feel like playing. Yes, when going through FOH an experienced sound man should be able to get the tone your looking for.
I use a SansAmp BDDI for all gigs/studio, so I can dial in my sound.
A Ric can be quite versatile with it's on-board tone knobs. Strings play a part too, as well as your attack, plucking finger placement and style.

The only instance where a particular bass may be called for, in my experience, is if you're in a tribute band - which I was for 6 years. With that band a Ric would not have captured the sound/essence of the tribute. The goal in that band was to emulate the sound of each instrument as close as possible. I used a J or P for that band.
I'm liking the Ric more and more as I play it. It's becoming my main bass these days.

[squirebass]

+1 on the Sansamp Bass DI....
I believe that objecting to the use of a Rickenbacker (or virtually any bass, for that matter) says more about the sound engineer than it does the bass.

[Nop]

Yep a preamp pedal is a must, the Tech21 VT Bass DI is my tool !
So I guess that I have to return to the Rick owner's club

Thanks a lot for all your answers!

[Nop]

Ok, you all killed me with your answers because... A new Rick should be on his way to my house (in one week, if everything is ok)

You are evil Me, my wife and my bank, hate you so much

[jps]

Ok, you all killed me with your answers because... A new Rick should be on his way to my house (in one week, if everything is ok)

You are evil Me, my wife and my bank, hate you so much

Why? This will keep you out of hair (and other places, too).