Dawning Realisation...

[wints]

This thread really should have been posted in another Forum. "The Others, Tone, or General, etc..".

As ever the problem arises when one's opinion seems to be expressed with the "PP" effect. The "Perceived Personal"...
Once this has happened, it's downhill all the way.

I have a 64, and 74 J and P and love them both. Very different from the Ric stable, with that distinctive feel and tone, but in my humble, essential gear for any serious bassist.

[ajish4]

I'm addicted to my RIC's, no doubt.

I've played a LOT of basses, but NOTHING feels, sounds or looks like a RIC.

They are my #1, well #1-13 anyway.....

The "P" never did anything for me, I can't get around those necks. Come down to it, I guess I'm a NECK THROUGH snob.

I'd love to land a PRE 75 "Fenduh" Jazz, I really like the sound on those bad boys, especially the early to mid 60's era Jazz basses.
It's a classic bass, and as Wints said, every small stable should have one. I just can't get my head around the prices they are commanding!

I think Joey hit the nail on the head. Sounds like the "honeymoon syndrome" to me. When I get something "new", I quickly fall in love with it. Just having something different is cool for a change. I'm loopy over my T40's, and they are a great bass, but the MORE I play them, the more I notice their quirks.

There's room for everyone, but knocking or dissing RICS as overpriced is wrong, insulting people for their preferences isn't any better.

IMHO, enjoy your "P", but keep your RIC's, in time I'll bet you will be saying, "I'm glad I kept them".

[Starless]

As the original poster on this car crash of a thread, I can only apologise for stirring up some long-submerged angst amongst some of you. But then again, I'm not really sure what I should be apologising for. I merely offered some opinions on how my Rickenbackers compared to a non-Rickenbacker. These opinions therefore are quite entitled to appear in a 'Rickenbacker' forum. I suspect that, had I been less enamoured with the non-Rickenbacker, and expressed that opinion, I probably wouldn't have been asked to 'move along' and post my comments elsewhere. This is a forum, and (hopefully) not merely a love-in where any dissenting voices are banished to another place, or dismissed as 'novelty value' opinions.

When I posted some time ago about how the C64 had blown away my 4003, I don't recall anyone warning me that it was simply the novelty of owning a different bass, and that I would go back to the 4003 after a period of time (this hasn't happened). But acquiring a Fender and being blown away by it, is, according to some, merely the novelty of something different. The Fender isn't my first fretless bass so no novelty value there. The fact that it's neck is bolted on to the body and not thru constructed doesn't make a blind bit of difference to me when it's hanging around my shoulder in the playing position.

If my 'over-priced' jibe has ruffled a few feathers, then that is too bad, but I stand by that claim. Mr Hall himself admitted to hiking the prices in an attempt to cool demand. Not because of increased production costs or material shortages, but just to make interested parties go away and buy something else (and I can certainly recommend an alternative). For what you get in these two basses (great playability, great sound, beautiful finishing etc etc) the 'bang-for-buck' winner by a country mile is the Fender. If it helps smooth things along, then I'll re-phrase and describe the Fender as 'astonishingly under-priced'. Does that feel better?

I was playing my Macca bass again today, and it is still the business. Great machine, and i probably will keep it, but if I had to choose which one had to go in times of dire financial straits, then it would have to be.... bye bye Rick.

These are honest opinions, offered in the spirit of cordial debate, and if they are touching some raw nerves anywhere, then I think some people are taking blind brand loyalty just a bit too far.

Blinkers off, dudes!

[doctorwho]

... Blinkers off, dudes!

Ummm. is someone signaling a turn, or are the emergency flashers on?

[Flagg]

I dunno Graeme.......

Like you, I'm a "Old dude" (58). I played pro for 28 years, toured with 2 national acts, appeared on 6 albums and worked the Nashville "session scene" for a number of years. I was told by "reliable" sources years ago that "Fender was in the toliet"...trouble with that was that I believed this jerk....

Fast forward to 6 years ago and my return to playing....

My (first) purchase was a 4003.....then did the unthinkable....sold it in a moment of haste to a kid with more money than sense.....bought a Fender and fell in love. Benn playing several of the "higher end" basses ever since (MIA 75RI Jazz - MIA 62 RI P - MIA 57 RI P).

However, something was missing. found another 4003 and WHAMMO!!!! put all 4 basses together and I'm in bass heaven!!

So, (although I can hear the gallows being built as I write this) I have to say that (at least in my case) the combination of Fender and Ric has worked like a charm!! AND, as an added bonus, what could be better than this ALL AMERICAN combo!?!? Shoot - I can actually smell the ocean breeze!!

Sign me:

Dead Man Walking........

[ryan.jones]

in this one case, the rick would stink as badly as the fenduh

[ryan.jones]

so this case needs the mildew smell cleaned out of it before it is used again

[deblase4001]

I have and like both. But it's the Ric that I take to the gig 99% of the time!

[4stringnosing]

It all comes down to personal opinion, plus just what it is you're most looking for, i.e. feel, tone, prestige, price, honouring your bass-playing idol, etc. I do believe it's true that no one bass can be all things to all people. Personally, I'm shocked that Fender has any marketshare at all after sampling their newest products. Again, personal taste, but to me Fender is synonomous with "cheap-feeling" and "generic-sounding". My Yamaha BB1200 (which I play 3:1 over my 4003) is what Fender should be trying to emulate with their P-basses. (Ironic, of course, since my ~30 year-old BB is P-bass-inspired.) Having said that, I'm also rather surprised at how cheap the newly-revived BB's feel. Worse than Fender even.

Does this mean Ricks are the best? Not at all. If you're after a certain kind of sound, like Squire or Geddy, then there's no doubt that Rics are the best starting point. But as Geddy proved, you can get a similar sound from a different manufacturer by employing thousands of dollars worth of extra gear. He likes the Ric sound, but the Jazz neck, so that's his solution and more power to him.

In regards to value for money, I have the very strong opinion that Made in USA Fenders are highly over-priced and Rickenbackers are underpriced. Really, the 4003 should sell for at least $2K in my books, when compared to $1.4K for a Jazz. Jaguar XKE versus a Dodge Caravan, IMHO. People should remember, however, that the minivan is a far better choice for many, many families (mine included!) Maybe somebody can correct me if I'm wrong about this, but I've heard that a new Fender MIA doesn't even come with a hardshell case! Not a big deal in some ways, but highly indicative of a large corporation's attention to cost-cutting measures that leaves me wondering what else they've skimped on that might not be so obvious to the casual consumer.

Bottom line? Nobody's right and nobody's wrong (or "everybody's right and everybody's wrong" if you prefer!)

[VRICKY63]

My Pedulla ThunderBolt smokes every bass ever made !

[anoukane]

But it probably doesn't have the vintage growly twangy tone of a Ric.

[ryan.jones]

my ricks smoke everything but my alembics, nothing else smokes a series ii alembic, nothing

[ryan.jones]

some lakland and pedula DO come close to smoking a rick, though

[ryan.jones]

bass player idol... that's stanley clarke and ron carter, dudes.....

[wints]

You can't beat a used Alembic for value.

They remain head and shoulders above other basses.

Just don't buy one new....