Rickencrisis....

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Tue May 22, 2007 1:56 am

Weeeell....I'm actually rather embarrassed to post this, but last night I took my CS and a friend's old Japanese P Bass to rehearsal. I ended up using the CS for one song! The P Bass, whilst not as clear and not as balanced, had oodles more bottom and sat better in the band. Plus I could go from Jah Wobble to Jean Jacques Burnel at the turn of a knob (and yes, those are both sounds I'd use), and when playing fingerstyle there was no comparison. There were some things it didn't do so well, but generally I had a great deal of fun with it. It's been many years since I owned a P, and it came as a bit of a shock. There's nothing wrong with my CS, it's as typical of the breed as can be, but I must admit it's left me wondering whether there is any point keeping hold of such an expensive bass in such circumstances, and especially given I'm a player, not a collector.

The only thing I will say is I wasn't using my own speakers so that may have some bearing, but it's really blown my mind a bit. I mean, a Japanese P Bass?????

As my 4000 is also likely to be heading west in the near future, I'm starting to wonder if my tastes are changing (but just in case anyone is wondering my '72 is never going anywhere!).

grayk · Post by **grayk** » Tue May 22, 2007 2:27 am

I would take a bet that 50% of the guys that own Rics and who write on this forum own a P-Bass as well !

teeder · Post by **teeder** » Tue May 22, 2007 2:31 am

Bummer! I'll give you $50.00 for that nasty old CS!

edski · Post by **edski** » Tue May 22, 2007 2:37 am

I have a Japanese J Bass and it's a fine instrument. That said, I don't think it is quite the instrument my Laredo or 4001 is, but my 4001 has a bum output jack and there were times before I had the Laredo that I used the J instead of the 4001.

lucky · Post by **lucky** » Tue May 22, 2007 2:39 am

Don't worry Shaun while my 4003 was tailpiece less,i borrowed my nephew's Fender Jazz bass MIM.And i was getting all those Jazz bass sounds,and like you i could not get over the fact that this was from a bass that cost under £400.But after a couple of weeks of using it i realy missed my 4003 and how easy it was to play,how it felt and that sound.(plus reading this forum everyday did'nt help.)

Keep the CS you will only regret it later on,i have the same feeling with my 1964 Hofner violin bass.I will never sell it even though i don't use it anymore,it owe's me nothing and it would cost more to replace it. Buy yourself a Jap P Bass there are loads around,and as and when the urge takes you get it out and have a blast.

woodyng · Post by **woodyng** » Tue May 22, 2007 2:48 am

i love my 4000 and 4004,but also have a danelectro hodad(don't laugh!-it's great),ibanez artcore,fender telecaster,epiphone embassy,70's aspen jazz clone,and an aria sinsunido fretless. there are a lot of times when the ricks are not the best sound for a particular song,but i would rather play the rick,esp,the 4004,than any of my other basses. ricks are special,and the CS is a special rick.

bob_atherton · Post by **bob_atherton** » Tue May 22, 2007 3:01 am

Shaun, your 4000 is going? I could live with just two RICs my '72 4001 and my '73 4000, but I would hate to lose either.

Also... I use a Japanese '62 Jazz RI. This is a bit of a long story but about a year ago I played a 30 year reunion of my power trio, Mantiss. I wanted a Noel Redding look and sound to some of the Hendrix that we used to play so I bought a cheap Japanese '62 on ebay. The gig came and went and I really liked the bass, so much that I bought a USA '62 RI, this I really liked and sold the first one. Over the past year I have bought and sold three more Japanese Jazzes and they have all been OK but not that special. About a month ago I bought another, not even their best alder ones with USA PUPs, just a cheapie basswood with Japanese PUPs. I really couldn't beleive just how stonkingly brilliant this bass was, it had real Jaco punch, neck is slimmer and faster than my '72 4001 (and that is going some) and it is a total funk machine. I have now just sold the USA bass.

loendmaestro · Post by **loendmaestro** » Tue May 22, 2007 3:11 am

Different gigs call for different things! My MIA PBass is getting A LOT of playing time these days....

No crisis, just different paints & brushes to choose from...

geddeeee · Post by **geddeeee** » Tue May 22, 2007 3:16 am

I'd keep the CS. It's a collectors piece no doubt!
I got rid of my Fender P and J basses when I got my Rick.
I've got no problems with low end. The drummer keeps telling me that his teeth are rattling. LOL.
I recently played a Precision again and to tell the truth, I do not miss the Fenders one little bit.
Rickenbacker basses are for me. I can get all the tone from low to high just using the volume controls for neck and bridge pickups.
But I am running it ROS, so I have seperate parametric eq and compression channels for each pickup.
But if you DO need to donate the CS, my address is ......... LOL!

xsubs · Post by **xsubs** » Tue May 22, 2007 3:31 am

I'm with Keith... but, 50% is probably a conservative number.
I have been a Ric bass player since 1968, and have to admit it's my favorite design (period)... but, I also have a Lakland US Glaub (P-bass) that is nothing short of incredible. NOTHING sounds like a P-bass... and if you think about it NOTHING sounds like a Ric. It's the old "apples and oranges" thing. Two different approaches to the same idea... electric bass.

I've bought and sold many a bass in my lifetime. Some I regret selling, and others I could care less about. My custom 4001V63, that Dale is finishing now, and my Glaub will become my sons property.
I feel equally attached to the two of them...
(but... I really like the Ric more... shhhhh!)

markbass99 · Post by **markbass99** » Tue May 22, 2007 3:38 am

If you want a bass with more bottom and still want to stay RIC you should check out a Laredo, they are awesome modern basses. If you want even more bottom get a Laredo and add a "B" string, at high volumes it will crack concrete...

stts64 · Post by **stts64** » Tue May 22, 2007 3:41 am

I do have both, the CS and the Japanese P-bass. Both very good basses depending on what you use them for. I love the Ric tone and use them the most. Actually the CS is just sitting there in a case being too valuable for me so I use my 82 4001 most of the time, but the P comes handy whenever the song calls for it.

ilan · Post by **ilan** » Tue May 22, 2007 3:50 am

Different basses work with different bands. In other situations you might sound better with the CS. Keep both.

peter_sillery · Post by **peter_sillery** » Tue May 22, 2007 4:05 am

I used to own a p-bass also but sold it to fund the purchase of my G&L ASAT. I think G&L's are amazing basses and extremely versatile as they have a great variety of tones available on them.

I now use my Ric 4001 for 50% of my set and switch to the G&L for the second half of the set.

D Silbag!

firstbassman · Post by **firstbassman** » Tue May 22, 2007 4:07 am

my Glaub will become my sons [sic] property. I feel equally attached to the two of them...

Equally attached to the bass and to your son?

Sorry, couldn't resist.