Adjustment time for a Rickenbacker

[fortlinroad]

Hi,

Just a newbie learning the ropes of bass playing for the past year on a Fender Squire (rental)..decided to buy myself a nice birthday present and I'm taking delivery of a 4003. What differences can I expect, I hear the neck on the Rickenbacker is "wider" , it's a "heavy" bass at almost 10 pounds? Did any of you have an "adjustment period" when you first started playing on your Rickenbacker.

Comments much appreciated. Thanks for taking the time.

[rickboy88]

I have a Fender Jaguar, which has a "Jazz" neck. One of the things I notice is that the Rics don't have as much taper to the neck, which I actually kind of like. Many would think of my 4001S neck (and my 4003S neck) as "chunky" due to their thick fretboards, but having had the 4001S since 1984 it feels like home to me. It is all what you get used to I think.

Good luck with the 4003. There is a lot of knowledge on this forum - 99% of it not from me, and the others will try to be helpful it they can.

One other "quirk" is that bridge pickup cover. I have gotten used to having it installed. I simply rest the heel of my hand on it and play with fingers or a pick. That is something else I've gotten used to. You may want to remove the cover at some point, but give it a shot with the cover on first. In the end, do what is best for you.
I recently got a 4003S that was missing the cover and I sent for a new one!

[weemac]

Ricky necks are best described as "comfortable" There may be faster necks around but you will not cramp on the rick neck.
As David said there is little taper on the 4001/3. which I think is it's best asset. They are my favorite.
Ricks are I feel a bit lighter than fenders and I don't think there is a better ballanced bass around. They hang off the strap perfectly. Most other basses tend to pull at your sholder after a while.
Ricks also have their own sound. It may sound a bit funny to fender tuned ears at first but the ric has a depth and range that surpasses most other basses. (well, all other basses) They also have more than one sound on tap. The neck pickup is Clear, warm and slightly wooly (Iknow that statment does not really make sense but you just have to hear it) Both pickups on gives the driving ricky clank and the treble one buy it self has a dry midrange that sounds quite rude (good punk sound if you are into that sort of thing)
I'm in the "keep the pickup cover on" school as I also find it makes a comfortable hand rest for a whole evenings playing.
And welcome. You will find all sorts of information on this forum and plenty of different opinions, but be rest assured no one will ever lead you astray. Enjoy!
emac.

[rikk]

Murray,

welcome to the forum. I went from a Fender P to a 4001 and found it amazing. I originally bought the 4001 on a whim as a spare bass. From that first time playing it, I was so amazed at how well it played and how well it sounded. I play no other bass than Rickenbacker now. You'll love it!

[bassduke49]

My adjustment period (back in 1975) was difficult and painful. I had used a Japanese Höfner Beatle bass copy (short scale, smooth string), then went to a used Rick 4001 with Rotos on it. Not only did I have to cope with a different feeling neck, but a longer scale and round-wound strings to boot! I got terrible blisters and it took time to adjust to the increased distance between frets. I now have three genuine Höfner Beatle basses, and when I play them, they feel like little toys.

[qwezirider]

I'm affraid I had no break in period back in '87 when I got my first Rick. I was using a Gibson Ripper when I got the Rick. I was so giddy like a school girl when it was in my hands I nearly peed myself on the spot. Well...not really, but you get the image. It was like butter in my hands after what I had been playing.

Unfortunately, that feeling has tempered a bit over the years as more Ricks came and went through my hands. Not quite "yeah yeah yeah...another Rick", but a little more jaded. That is, until my newest conquest...a 4003FL. Almost like the giddy school girl again.

[chefothefuture]

When I got my first Rick in '77, I felt like Lauraine Newman in the advert for Zing.
"Now that I've tried Zing, I'll never drink yucky old phlegm again!".

[jwr2]

my adjustment time for my first 4001 was about 30 seconds ...

[hieronymous]

I'm going to go against the stream and say that there are definitely some things that take getting used to. The neck up by the nut is chunkier than a Fender (even a Fender P). It doesn't bother me, but I knew someone that wouldn't play Rics because he couldn't get used to it - he said he had small hands, I say he just didn't put in the effort!

The other thing is that there isn't a place to rest your thumb comparable to a Precision or Jazz Bass. (Looking back at the original post, it doesn't specify which model Squier you've been playing.) I took to resting my thumb on the pickguard and plucking between the pickups, some people use the floating thumb technique, I'm sure there are other approaches. It shouldn't be a problem, just don't let it discourage you!

[henry5]

I learnt on a Ric and as a result can't get used to Fenders....but I do know some people who have tried Rics and just can't get used to them, as well as some who absolutely hate them (and yes they have spent time with them).

[teeder]

I had played a couple Ricks on and off through the years, but before I got a 4001V63 in 2004, it had been 15 years since I had anything other than my Jazz Bass. When I first got my hands on the Rick, I thought to myself "Oh no, what the @*&# did I do?". It felt very strange to me, but after a couple days it was fine. Now I can switch between them and I don't even notice it.
I also like the straighter taper of the Rick necks.

[jwr2]

my only real adjustment was leaning to play 5 strings instead of 4 ...

For my taste the perfect neck is a p-bass neck ... it fits my hands just right ...

[kojakcurtis]

I was playing a Jazz bass when I got my first Ric. I instantly fell in love with the Ric tone, but it felt really different to play, no place to rest my thumb and it didn't seem bulky like my Jazz did. It took me a week before I decided to put the Jazz away forever and just get used to the feeling of the Ric. It seemed like my Ric told me how I was going to play it as opposed to just hammering down on my Jazz anyway I wanted.

[rikk]

my only real adjustment was leaning to play 5 strings instead of 4 ...

Took me 10 years to adjust to a 5er.

[aceonbass]

A '78 4001 was the first "real" bass I ever bought, but I don't remember any adjustment period. On the other hand, I haven't been able to adjust to 5 string basses very well at all, particularly RIC 5 strings. I sold the Music Man Bongo 5 I had, but still needing the low B, I purchased, of all things, an Epiphone Nikki Sixx Blackbird bass and tuned it B-E-A-D. The 1 1/2" nut width is very comfortable and makes me wish my RICs had the same nut width. I think RIC's 4004Cii5 is too wide at the nut for a fiver and may 4-2-5 a 4004 one of these days.