I only ask, because I yesterday snared myself a Fender Geddy Lee Jazz in a sale. I've got a lot of gigs coming up - some in not so nice places - so needed something so I don't have to constantly hammer the Rics, or worry about them in dodgy places!!
Obviously it's never a replacement, but just something else to rely on when needs be. I actually rehearsed with it last night...and it's good!!
So is it Rics all the way, or have any of you got your toes in the water of the dark side (ie other brands)??
Hmm.. Hope we are allowed to post competitor's stuff here. So, I also have a Stingray, Bongo, cheap Beatles bass copy from Rogue(which plays and sounds great, btw..)
My Ric doesn't go to gigs.. Too valuable to me..
G.
N.F.A. wrote:Hmm.. Hope we are allowed to post competitor's stuff here. So, I also have a Stingray, Bongo, cheap Beatles bass copy from Rogue(which plays and sounds great, btw..)
My Ric doesn't go to gigs.. Too valuable to me..
G.
I have an '05 Fender Jazz Bass, lovely instrument, and an ancient Kay P-Bass copy that weighs a ton. The Ric is so much easier to play well than either of them, especially the top half of the neck, so it most definitely DOES come to gigs!
My "other" bass is a '65 Jazz Bass that I've had for 20 years. It was the one and only that I used up until I got my 1st 4001V63 in 2004. Since then it's been Ricks all the way.
I had a beautiful Jazz Bass for a while, but sold it. Now I'm all Rick. 28 years with Ricks has made nothing else acceptable. The scale, the balance, the neck feel, the tone...I've played a million other brands. Some are very good, but none hold a candle to my Ricks. And I'm done searching.
I was on a kick where I thought it would make me more versatile to have a diverse stable of basses, but in the end I decided that I have all the versatility I need in my Ricks. I am lucky enough to have several different forms of Rick bass: 4 string hi gain w/RW, 4 string hi gain w/flats, 4 string vintage pickups w/RW, hollowbody w/flats, 4 string fretless w/flats, 5 string, 8 string, 4 string w/humbuckers, 4 string w/alternate pickup placement (4002). My favorites are still my '87 4003S's, but they're all great instruments and I think they provide all the versatility I need right now and then some.
There's no point in me gigging with a cheapie bass either. I just don't play as well on a bass that's not familiar. I have some older Ricks that have a bit of Mojo for gigs with tight stage space or in dodgy venues. I guess my only worry would be an outdoor gig and a sudden downpour. That would be a nightmare, but I'm sure I'd be able to get my Rick(s) out of the rain before they got ruined.
Last edited by rickaddict on Wed Jun 24, 2009 9:01 am, edited 3 times in total.
Ok... I've got quite a few, so I'll just go through my main "gigging at nasty places" basses:
MIJ '62 J (with CS '62 Pups)
'71 Musicmaster
Jerry Jones U2
'71 P
The J-bass is great to play and was dirt cheap, the Musicmaster is indestructible, the Jerry Jones is extremely versatile, and the P was my main bass throughout my garage/teenage venue/nasty pub band mini-career in the '80s/early '90s - it's seen way worse places than anywhere I would play now...
"I don't want to sound incredulous but I can't believe it" Rex Mossop
Ricks are just one part of my stable. Right now I have:
'72 4001
'73 4001 (for sale)
'05 4004
'64 Fender Jazz
'64 Fender Precision
'66 Fender Precision (for sale)
custom Fenderbird with a darkstar pickup
Warmoth fretless jazz-style
The past few gigs have been on my Fenderbird and 4004. The Fenderbird sounds awesome live in the mix. The only one I rarely play is the fretless. Well, and the '72 4001 since it's been in San Francisco for a while!
I'm not real sensitive to changes in neck profile, string spacing, etc., so I like to switch between basses. But let me tell you, going from the Fenderbird ('51 precision reissue neck) to the '64 jazz and back is a massive difference. It takes me a few minutes of playing to remember where the strings are! I've been playing the 4004 the most lately, though.
besides my 2 ricks, i have a black jazz bass copy made from various 70's,80's and new parts,and a danelectro hodad strung w/ghs flatwounds.(great sounding bass!) i would like to check out a lace helix bass sometime.....(neck through,natch)