Newbie and his 4001 saying Hello

[(MetalWarrior)]

Hello everyone!

I am Michael, from Kassel in Germany.
Today, I have received my first Rickenbacker!
It is a 4001 bass, the serial number is QD 1599, and it is already registered by the previous owner:

http://www.rickresource.com/register/vi ... 6order%3D6

It appears, we not only have seen the first light in the same year, but were born even in the same month
Really in a good shape, optically and accoustically.

My first impression is:
Sounds even cleaner and louder than I imagined; feels great, and the sound is a nice aggregation of crisp, punch and that unique roar and growl in the low end.
I heard so many sound samples beforehand, but actually playing a 4001 is a totally different experience. But whom am I telling ^^
It may turn out addictive to be playing that bass.

Sorry if I'm writing too much. Excuse my enthusiasm
Thank you for accepting me in this forum.
And also thanks for maintaining the register.

As far as I have read, it is OK to send a PM to a moderator, asking to transfer the register entry, is that right?

Kind regards,
Michael

[(winston)]

Welcome to the forum Michael.

Post pics of your 4001 when you get a chance.

[(Ontario_RIC_fan)]

Nice to have you here Michael! Looks like a very nice JG 4001.

Thanks too for the kind words about the Register - it is a very useful tool when researching the history of a Rickenbacker instrument.

Send a private message to Peter (ADMIN)or Gil (GIBSONLP) to get the register entry assigned to you.

Is this your first RIC? Any impressions so far?

[(MetalWarrior)]

Thanks for the nice welcome

I took the following pictures - though, I only have a pocket camera.
Thus, the pictures from the seller which are already in the register are of higher resolution and quality.
Nevertheless, here they are:

4001 QD 1599 side view

4001 QD 1599 top view

4001 QD 1599 serial view

@ Brian:
Yes, it is my very first Rickenbacker. It is very special to me - and I am very glad, it turned out being a fair deal.
Thank you for the hint. I have sent a PM to Peter.

It was the first time, I bought a used guitar. In order to being prepared for the worst case, I had held my expectations low.
Nevertheless, as I started tuning it - it came detuned due to the transport, - I was scared how it might sound.
Minutes later, I fell in love

My first impression:
... is much better than I had expected.
As I said, I have heard vast of sound samples before, but hearing the guitar sustain from the body itself mixing with the waves of pounding thunder galloping from the amps through my soul...
In other words, my first impression was: Wow!

Playability:
The treble pickup cover is a surprisingly comfortable place to rest my hand on. Though, palm muting is a challenge.
It works if I highly concentrate, picking with the fingers coming over the pickup cover. But that's OK. Gonna figure out a way.
Love that cover too much to remove it - would rather do without palm muting than without the cover ^^

Sound comparison:
Compared to my Hagstrom HB-8 (Re-edition from 2012), my 4001 has less woof in the low-end, less mids, more crisp in the highs, more punch, way more attack, and that growl... cannot describe it properly.
So, both basses have not only different accents but completely different sound shapes - and I do not need having a bad conscience towards my other bass ^^
And it is great to have that distinct Ricky bass sound that I remember from my childhood, but even more powerful than imagined.

Controllers:
The only thing that made me wonder is, when having both pickups enabled, the volume knobs/potis are very sensitive; turning one a bit lower unequally more dominant the other pickup signal becomes.
But, since I do not intend to turn them down anyway, it is fine by me.

Future Prospects:
Currently, I am playing on two amps sourced by the mono jack.
The next experience will be the Ric'o'Sound.

Home recording may turn out challenging without humbuckers. But that comes later.
Until then, I enjoy taking my first steps on my 4001 - and discovering the forum; looking for some hints on recording the 4001, and at all the nice pictures of the other guitars... can take some time

So far, greetings to all of you.
Kind regards,
Michael


Last edit: 25.11.2014, 20:51, Added a thank to Brian, and photo showing the serial number.

[(MetalWarrior)]

Hello everyone,

I had spent some time trying some sound setups.
Well, having the mids scooped out, it sounds like my car when my exhaust pipe broke off - don't mistake me, I really like it

So, here's a little sound sample of my bass I would like to share with you:

DieKatzenVonUlthar_BassDemo_RB4001.mp3

Bass Demo, Riff taken from Tales Beyond Reason's "Die Katzen von Ulthar" (I do own the copyright - just in case the admin worries ;O)

(1.64 MiB) Downloaded 307 times

We'll have to see how to fit that sound into the band ensemble.
The highs are very present at the moment, so moving the bass more into the back would be a good idea.
But that's for later, right now, it's playtime

What is your favorite Rickenbacker sound?

Greetings to everyone, have a nice advent season.
Michael