I said it a while ago and I'll say it again ... the 4003 is pretty much an updated version of an old design as it is ... sort of a reissue ...
With the old obsolete features like the pickup cover, the mechanical mute, the ric-o-sound ... no modern bass would dream of having those features ...
the 4003 has the binding and the triagular inlays and it looks very much like a '68 4001 ... it is just those of us who really know rics who see the minor differences ...
Although I too would love to see a v68 bass ... I probably wouldn't buy one because I have a real '68 4001 ...
Rick Resource Limited Edition Bass?
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
Chris, RIC could go two routes. One would be an affordable bass that is similar to the 650D guitar. The 650D is turning out to be a hit, and that could open the doors for a similar looking bass, like a Strat and a P-bass combo from Fender. Just use the HB-1 pickups, a 24-fret flatsawn neck, similar chrome control plate, and a bridge similar to the 4004, with a separate tone and volume control for each pickup, just like the 650D, in natural walnut and maple. The 6500 Lakota bass would be a good name (Dakota/Lakota, as in closely related). Offer the standard RIC color options for about $200 more like in the 650C. A good affordable bass for those wanting the most bang for the buck.
In a premium bass, (and this will set you back at least $2K at discounted street price, probably more) I would like to see a double curved body, like a Warwick Streamer or Spector American or Euro series, but of course with a familiar 4004 type front profile. I like the Steinberger bridge where all the parts are locked together under pressure after adjustments are set, but there needs to be an improvement for setting intonation, since that is a bummer on the Steinberger bridge. I also would like to see the bridge inset into the body as on Spector's top basses, and possible have a separate bridge for each string like on a Schecter Stiletto. The Parker Fly Bass has pioneered laminate construction, as far as doing it right rather than cheap. I just hate the Parker body and headstock style, though. Not really ergonomic like RIC 4000 series. I think something like a spruce core covered with maple or other tonewood on front and back would be nice. Mind you, this would be done while maintaining the double curved front and back design. Carving all those pieces at an affordable price and making them mate correctly is a technical and production challenge, but CNC machining should do it affordably if production numbers are high enough. The body could also be carved from Spruce or Cedar and covered with graphite or similar hard material. The double curved body is something you don't want to give up once you own something like a ReBop or Streamer. Getting a good stiff neck that maintains proper curvature with any type of string you want to use regardless of string tension requires some type of neck reinforcement. For ultimate neck tuning, upper and lower sections of the neck should have separate dual action truss rods. The preamp/control section would have modular plug-ins. You could have passive or several forms of active preamp configurations, with choice of control configuration, simply by changing out this section. Storing of favorite control presets would also be appreciated. This would allow a slick front look, with overlay keypad and/or recessed thumbwheel design rather than protruding knobs. From a distance, the front should be as featureless as possible, with a simple and sleek Scandinavian/Classic RIC integrated design that emphasizes the exotic tonewood cap and the bulge of the bridge and pickups. The carved top can have fairings that blend the pickups and bridge seamlessly into the body, and carved inset thumbrests. The keypad buttons/thumbwheel controls can be moved to the top near the upper horn where they can be manipulated with the thumb while playing, for quick changes within a run. The headstock needs to be smaller for a 4-string bass, but the present size can be kept for 5 or 6-string basses. I think a basic bolt-on model should also be offered, as Spector does at a reduced price. There is really no loss of sustain in my ReBop, as the design is done right. There is a difference in overtones, however. The Rebop is punchier (more overtones) and the 4004L more pianolike (more fundamental). The neck should be at least 24 frets in length, possibly 26 in order to compete against the Status Buzzard basses in that regard. Let's have Status style LED's on the upper fretboard edge as well, at least as an option. Ebonol fretboard as an option, with strings offset a bit to the G side in order to prevent the E string from rolling off the edge when you get wild (like John Entwistle set up his Buzzard basses, if you ever noticed). A spruce core should get the weight down to 7 pounds, and let's include a really killer custom leather strap, all setup tools needed, and a couple of alternate string sets to try out. Pack it all in a custom molded ATA flight case as standard issue.
The modern RIC bass of the future.
In a premium bass, (and this will set you back at least $2K at discounted street price, probably more) I would like to see a double curved body, like a Warwick Streamer or Spector American or Euro series, but of course with a familiar 4004 type front profile. I like the Steinberger bridge where all the parts are locked together under pressure after adjustments are set, but there needs to be an improvement for setting intonation, since that is a bummer on the Steinberger bridge. I also would like to see the bridge inset into the body as on Spector's top basses, and possible have a separate bridge for each string like on a Schecter Stiletto. The Parker Fly Bass has pioneered laminate construction, as far as doing it right rather than cheap. I just hate the Parker body and headstock style, though. Not really ergonomic like RIC 4000 series. I think something like a spruce core covered with maple or other tonewood on front and back would be nice. Mind you, this would be done while maintaining the double curved front and back design. Carving all those pieces at an affordable price and making them mate correctly is a technical and production challenge, but CNC machining should do it affordably if production numbers are high enough. The body could also be carved from Spruce or Cedar and covered with graphite or similar hard material. The double curved body is something you don't want to give up once you own something like a ReBop or Streamer. Getting a good stiff neck that maintains proper curvature with any type of string you want to use regardless of string tension requires some type of neck reinforcement. For ultimate neck tuning, upper and lower sections of the neck should have separate dual action truss rods. The preamp/control section would have modular plug-ins. You could have passive or several forms of active preamp configurations, with choice of control configuration, simply by changing out this section. Storing of favorite control presets would also be appreciated. This would allow a slick front look, with overlay keypad and/or recessed thumbwheel design rather than protruding knobs. From a distance, the front should be as featureless as possible, with a simple and sleek Scandinavian/Classic RIC integrated design that emphasizes the exotic tonewood cap and the bulge of the bridge and pickups. The carved top can have fairings that blend the pickups and bridge seamlessly into the body, and carved inset thumbrests. The keypad buttons/thumbwheel controls can be moved to the top near the upper horn where they can be manipulated with the thumb while playing, for quick changes within a run. The headstock needs to be smaller for a 4-string bass, but the present size can be kept for 5 or 6-string basses. I think a basic bolt-on model should also be offered, as Spector does at a reduced price. There is really no loss of sustain in my ReBop, as the design is done right. There is a difference in overtones, however. The Rebop is punchier (more overtones) and the 4004L more pianolike (more fundamental). The neck should be at least 24 frets in length, possibly 26 in order to compete against the Status Buzzard basses in that regard. Let's have Status style LED's on the upper fretboard edge as well, at least as an option. Ebonol fretboard as an option, with strings offset a bit to the G side in order to prevent the E string from rolling off the edge when you get wild (like John Entwistle set up his Buzzard basses, if you ever noticed). A spruce core should get the weight down to 7 pounds, and let's include a really killer custom leather strap, all setup tools needed, and a couple of alternate string sets to try out. Pack it all in a custom molded ATA flight case as standard issue.
The modern RIC bass of the future.
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atomic_punk
- Senior Member
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Philip,
Sounds like you should go into business. You could make a StreflyenRebop, with lights that light up the graphite neck, and tonewoods that no one can pronounce, from the African region that you have to wax all the time, and digital presets for all of your sounds. Sounds very appealing.
Sounds like you should go into business. You could make a StreflyenRebop, with lights that light up the graphite neck, and tonewoods that no one can pronounce, from the African region that you have to wax all the time, and digital presets for all of your sounds. Sounds very appealing.
"They make great f***'n basses". - Lemmy, NAMM 2009
Steve,
It would probably take somebody with a CNC machining business to build the double curved bass economically. PRS could do a body like that, but they are too busy raking in the money from guitars, and being able to charge more than they are worth. RIC is unusual among general electric guitar manfacturers in that about half their revenues comes from bass guitars (when about 10 guitars are sold for every bass sold in the general market). I think their basses are actually more recognized than their guitars, and the bass forum is more lively than the guitar forum here. A higher percentage of RIC bass owners are players first rather than collectors as on the guitar forum. And when they collect, it has to be a player as well. There is no way that you can convince me that a full grown man with normal hands is buying a 325 guitar as a main playing axe. The 650D wipes it out, as a player, for a fraction of the cost. RIC could forge ahead with a radical new state-of-the-art bass a lot easier than they could a guitar, as the bass players would be PLAYERS first instead of being interested as to how it compared to something in the past in ****glo that "so and so" played on a concert tour in the 60's, or other such past trivia. I'll take my economical, fat necked 650D over a lot of those old skinny necked Ricky single coil guitars the guitar forum guys drool over.....any day. If Pete liked them so much, why was he smashing them? (OK, cheap shot I know, Pete smashed anything he could get his hands on). Any guy who pays big bucks for a flashy Les Paul when he could have had a 650D for half or less is definitely not buying based on sound quality. It's just "follow the crowd" like a bunch of lemmings. Bass players are a little more progressive these days. I've noticed that American Spectors are showing up more often on TV in the top bands that have great bass players. When you see a guy on TV with an American Spector, you KNOW he will almost certainly be an accomplished player. I know they are in another lofty price range ($4000+ street price), above what most RIC bass or Fender bass players are willing (or able) to pay, but RIC is able to step in and really compete at a bit lower cost, if they want to. The Euro Spector neck-thru retails for $2299, and surely RIC can get something new into that price ballpark that has a double curved body, 24-fret neck, neck reinforcements, weighs less, and other modern refinements. Fender's Aerodyne Jazz bass is a step in that direction, but no way does it compare to a Spector or other top boutique bass and in no way does it go far enough into the modern camp. I'm glad I got my ReBop instead of it.
It would probably take somebody with a CNC machining business to build the double curved bass economically. PRS could do a body like that, but they are too busy raking in the money from guitars, and being able to charge more than they are worth. RIC is unusual among general electric guitar manfacturers in that about half their revenues comes from bass guitars (when about 10 guitars are sold for every bass sold in the general market). I think their basses are actually more recognized than their guitars, and the bass forum is more lively than the guitar forum here. A higher percentage of RIC bass owners are players first rather than collectors as on the guitar forum. And when they collect, it has to be a player as well. There is no way that you can convince me that a full grown man with normal hands is buying a 325 guitar as a main playing axe. The 650D wipes it out, as a player, for a fraction of the cost. RIC could forge ahead with a radical new state-of-the-art bass a lot easier than they could a guitar, as the bass players would be PLAYERS first instead of being interested as to how it compared to something in the past in ****glo that "so and so" played on a concert tour in the 60's, or other such past trivia. I'll take my economical, fat necked 650D over a lot of those old skinny necked Ricky single coil guitars the guitar forum guys drool over.....any day. If Pete liked them so much, why was he smashing them? (OK, cheap shot I know, Pete smashed anything he could get his hands on). Any guy who pays big bucks for a flashy Les Paul when he could have had a 650D for half or less is definitely not buying based on sound quality. It's just "follow the crowd" like a bunch of lemmings. Bass players are a little more progressive these days. I've noticed that American Spectors are showing up more often on TV in the top bands that have great bass players. When you see a guy on TV with an American Spector, you KNOW he will almost certainly be an accomplished player. I know they are in another lofty price range ($4000+ street price), above what most RIC bass or Fender bass players are willing (or able) to pay, but RIC is able to step in and really compete at a bit lower cost, if they want to. The Euro Spector neck-thru retails for $2299, and surely RIC can get something new into that price ballpark that has a double curved body, 24-fret neck, neck reinforcements, weighs less, and other modern refinements. Fender's Aerodyne Jazz bass is a step in that direction, but no way does it compare to a Spector or other top boutique bass and in no way does it go far enough into the modern camp. I'm glad I got my ReBop instead of it.
Hmmm.....must be from living in Texas. Big stuff don't bother us as much. Not just the wide open spaces, but the black mold mycotoxins that destroy brain cells, homes, health, and insurance companies might have something to do with it. I bought a patented professional ozone generator yesterday that puts out an absolutely lethal amount of ozone. You can't even leave plants in the house when you fire up that thing. Looks like a sawed off bazooka, and after I fire that thing into my HVAC system and kill all the cockroaches in a 100 foot radius, besides the mold, we'll see if it changes my writing style. Last year I got hit with hail. That's why I don't look at the little stuff. I want to see BIG KICKASS groundbreaking designs from RIC, not some rehash of what they already did. I think Bob Young wrote something about seeing things differently when he moved to Chile and started living life a bit more on the edge, where life is more tenuous. This killer black mold **** I'm dealing with is really messing my mind, and my pocketbook.
Here's how bad it is: I had a teeny tiny leak under the kitchen sink. The leak was so tiny that a spot no bigger than an inch or two across ever developed, and it leaked onto linoleum tile. The water went through a crack between the tiles and dampened the plywood underneath. I discovered the leak from green discoloration on the copper pipe rather than the water itself. I got the leak stopped. Later, I noticed that bugs were dieing where the leak had been, and nowhere else under the sink cabinet. No mold was visible, but there was a strange smell, more mediciney than a normal mold smell. It made my head tingle after breathing it. I had the plywood cut out. Sure enough, a small amount of toxic black mold was living on the bottom of the plywood. The mycotoxins came through 1/2" plywood and linoleum tile and nailed the bugs deader than dead as they walked across the spot. Now do you understand why the military uses the EXACT SAME toxins produced by these molds in chemical and biological warfare? Check it out, it's among the most powerful and deadly toxins known to man. Life is tenuous in Texas, guys. I have two state-of-the-art Swiss hyperHEPA air purifiers with toxic gas phase filters running all the time now, and a $95 spare gas filter in the closet, and a third Swedish dual stage electrostatic precipitator + HEPA air filter machine on order.
Bob, if things ever get dull for you in Chile, I can ship you some of this east Texas black mold. Maybe I'll put some in my 4004L Jetglo and start practicing DEATH METAL music. If RIC wants to do a limited edition run for those guys, I'll donate the toxic mold to put in them, so I won't have to listen to them much longer.
Here's how bad it is: I had a teeny tiny leak under the kitchen sink. The leak was so tiny that a spot no bigger than an inch or two across ever developed, and it leaked onto linoleum tile. The water went through a crack between the tiles and dampened the plywood underneath. I discovered the leak from green discoloration on the copper pipe rather than the water itself. I got the leak stopped. Later, I noticed that bugs were dieing where the leak had been, and nowhere else under the sink cabinet. No mold was visible, but there was a strange smell, more mediciney than a normal mold smell. It made my head tingle after breathing it. I had the plywood cut out. Sure enough, a small amount of toxic black mold was living on the bottom of the plywood. The mycotoxins came through 1/2" plywood and linoleum tile and nailed the bugs deader than dead as they walked across the spot. Now do you understand why the military uses the EXACT SAME toxins produced by these molds in chemical and biological warfare? Check it out, it's among the most powerful and deadly toxins known to man. Life is tenuous in Texas, guys. I have two state-of-the-art Swiss hyperHEPA air purifiers with toxic gas phase filters running all the time now, and a $95 spare gas filter in the closet, and a third Swedish dual stage electrostatic precipitator + HEPA air filter machine on order.
Bob, if things ever get dull for you in Chile, I can ship you some of this east Texas black mold. Maybe I'll put some in my 4004L Jetglo and start practicing DEATH METAL music. If RIC wants to do a limited edition run for those guys, I'll donate the toxic mold to put in them, so I won't have to listen to them much longer.
Sorry, Philip,
The Eastern Hard Rock Maple, the Vintage Pickups, and flat, Knife-Edge body construction are simply non-negotiable features on any RIC Bass.
I remain convinced RIC's future is rehashing the Sixties ad infinitum. I wouldn't want it any other way.
Garry
The Eastern Hard Rock Maple, the Vintage Pickups, and flat, Knife-Edge body construction are simply non-negotiable features on any RIC Bass.
I remain convinced RIC's future is rehashing the Sixties ad infinitum. I wouldn't want it any other way.
Garry
The ideal mix leaves the bass player louder than the rest of the band put together!
Hey, Alvaro, I have a really nice 4004L and I can get hold of the toxic mold. If anybody wants a Rickenbacker Toxic Avenger in DeathGlo with Grim Reaper pickups, I'm just dieing to fix you up. It will sort of turn into Textured BlackMoldGlo over time, but you might not be hanging around to see that day come.
Garry, I'm not expecting RIC to stop making the old classic basses, but to add a premium bass series that defines the state of the art would be nice. Like Ford has the Thunderbird and Chevrolet has the Corvette. I wouldn't expect RIC to sell over 1000 units a year. I thought it was Fender that was going to rehash the 60's ad infinitum?
Garry, I'm not expecting RIC to stop making the old classic basses, but to add a premium bass series that defines the state of the art would be nice. Like Ford has the Thunderbird and Chevrolet has the Corvette. I wouldn't expect RIC to sell over 1000 units a year. I thought it was Fender that was going to rehash the 60's ad infinitum?
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jwr2
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iamthebassman
- Veteran RRF member
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jwr2