Ric or Fender ?

[henry5]

Try 'em both and then decide. I don't like Jazz bass necks at all (so far). I hate the profile (although strangely love the neck on the Peavey B Quad 4 which is based on it). I hate the string spacing, am not keen on the ergonomics, not keen on the sound, don't like the balance across the strings, am not overly keen on the look....you get the picture. But i'm not you. You may love the Jazz. I don't prefer Ricks through any natural bias, but just because almost everything about them suits me better, visually, sonically, ergonomically, the works.

John, I'll pass on my Jazz bass allocation thanks, I'll take another Rick instead....or just about anything else for that matter.

[green_us90]

I prefer Precision Basses to Jazz basses personally- I think the Jazz sounds thin. Leo had it right the first time. I actually prefer the true single coil Precisions vs the split pickup Precisions though the splits are great too.

[jwr2]

The p-bass, jazz bass, 4001, 4003, 4004 ... they are all good designs ... fenders are good if you don't buy the low end stuff ...

[steverok]

Thanks everyone, I had at both basses all afternoon. The Squire is a P-bass with a jazz pick-up. The problem is the Ric is putting out some distortion, it may need a re-fret too, alot of the chrome has pitting, it's starting to look like a reclamation project, but in spite of all that, it sounds OK and seems to play nicely. Keep in mind that I am drummer with a bass in his hands, a dangerous combination indeed ! It seems like I am getting fuller and more-even notes with the Fender. The Ric seems to have its own appeal, I definitely like what I see when I am looking down and playing it, the inlays are a better cue for me than the dots on the Fender. I am disappointed in that both basses tend to tilt over in my lap, I need to balance it with my left hand, which is sort of a drag. My music is rather eclectic, some songs are folky pop, some are jangle pop, some are jazzy, some are really hard rock/pop songs with lots of distortion. I think I am leaning toward a jazz, but I could get this Ric back up-and-running too. If it were mine, I would replace some of the parts and try to convert it to a new bass, although I wonder what that would cost me in parts. There are no new Ric basses in this town, so I may not have a chance to see what a new one is like.

[charlyg]

I never bought a real Fender cuz of the weight. If you're gonna be hefting something heavy, make it worth your while and get a Rick!

[green_us90]

Jeff, the low end Fenders can be good but the frequency of good to bad basses makes most of them look bad.

The Blue Flower Single coil Precision I have is the best Fender I have and it cost $399 shipped. Granted most do not like a flower finish but I bought it for the configuration not the finish- it really cuts thru the mix and records superbly as most SIngle coil P's do.

YMMV

[s4001]

I own both. Have played both for 20+ years. I like having both. I take both to gigs and rehearsals, though I usually wind up recording with a Ric.

As for American Fenders. I would advise their Japanese counterparts. Much more bang for the buck and they are much more consistent in terms of quality. The Japanese 57 reissue P basses and 75 Reissue Jazz basses and the Geddys are absolute gems.

[edski]

The p-bass, jazz bass, 4001, 4003, 4004 ... they are all good designs ... fenders are good if you don't buy the low end stuff ...

Noted that there are good low end Fenders, but you have to be choosy. To buy my MIJ Jazz Bass in the early 90's I played a few dozen to find one that was "it".

Personally my next bass might be an SX P bass copy...$150 with a hard case, has got pretty decent reviews, and seems like the perfect bass to bring to the dive bar...so what if it gets whacked up?

I love my Ricks - no doubt why I post here, but I also love my Jazz Bass. When I bought my 4004 Laredo about a year ago, the new American J was considered in detail. It was a nice bass.

Why I chose the 4004 L...well, it was a drop dead beautiful bass; I really prefer neck-thru basses; the S-1 switch on the new P and J's scare me - they seem cheap...

That's about it. Related to my first is that I liked the Rick available finished (especially the FG I got) better than the available finishes for the Fenders. Minor point, but this is what I got:

[green_us90]

The Blue Flower is a CIJ as is my '51 RI and they are truly great bang for the buck instruments.

[rikk]

I have a Squire strat from China. It plays like butter. Some of the low end guitars can be as good (or very close) to the mid and high end. You just have to be pickey and try a bunch.

[jwr2]

I would consider MIJ and MIM fenders medium quality and the made in USA top quality and the Squire not worth playing ... there will be exceptions ... but the p-bass and jazz bass are both good designs ... I build my own p-basses and jazz basses because Fender doesn't make them the way I like them ...

[green_us90]

Agree about the Squier- I don't like them at all, about 8 out of every 10 MIM Fenders are dogs but so far I am batting 1.000 with the MIJ/CIJ Fender stuff.

I had a 95 USA Precision First year for the graphite reinforced neck, it was nice. The bridge from that bass is on my Frickenbird Project.

[steverok]

What does CIJ mean ? That's a good point, if you're going to spend $1,000 you may as well get the Ric, since you can probably get a good MIM or MIJ Fender for alot less money. It just seems like the Fender puts out a longer, deeper note, that suits alot of my slow, and heavy songs. The Ric does have its charm though, as soon as I start going "dorn dorn dorn dorn dorn" during the chorus, you hear that Rush sound, except for the slight difference in talent ;-\ It seems like, if I'm just going to have one bass, and given my slow, pulsing music, it should be a Fender. Forgive me for saying that !! It's OK, I have three Ric's, so all's good

[steverok]

I should say, I am just recording direct out of a pre-amp and compressor, I have no intention of ever buying a bass rig, although I have one of those too (people like to store at my house). I would buy a bass Pod, or something like that, if it was worthwhile, whattaya's think ? By the way, I meant to say that the Ric bass-sound reminds me of late 70s punk, is there a connection ?

[green_us90]

CIJ= Crafted in Japan same difference.
Both my '54 BFSCPB and the early 90's 51RI have this on the back of the neck near the body joint.