Do all the basses made from April 2009 on have thin necks?

[rickaddict]

My '83 4002 is a little baseball batty, but I put up with it because IT IS A 4002!!! Kind of like a super hot significant other that can get away with being obnoxious because she is super hot.

Ha! True, true. Doesn't your 4002 have a replaced fretboard though? Maybe they put a thicker one on.

Aside from that, I'm pretty picky. I've sold a Mar '73 4001 and a Shadow because they just didn't cut it. Pretty picky.

I've heard mostly good things about late 80's necks, but a few complaints too. I like mine a lot! I haven't measured them front-to-back but I suspect they are thicker than both my late 70's necks and my C64S. In girth though, they are about the same size maybe a touch smaller than my 70's necks, and much smaller than my 2006 4003 and 2003 C64S.

But some people are all about the front-to-back thickness and others (like me) are more concerned with the overall girth of the neck.

[jdogric12]

Ha! True, true. Doesn't your 4002 have a replaced fretboard though? Maybe they put a thicker one on.

Don't know. It's had so much work done, I can't keep it straight anymore. Woody might know.

[teeder]

Geez, Josh! I'm sorry if I annoyed you!

I've been playing and semi-collecting basses for over 30 years now. I guess I like what I like. I'm equally comfortable on my Jazz Bass as I am on my smaller-necked Ricks, but I really don't like basses if the necks are even slightly larger.
It may have to do with the basses I learned on. My first was a Hofner, which had a tiny neck. The other bass in the house at the time was the '65 JB that I eventually bought from my brother. To me, it still feels better than 90% of the JB's I've ever tried.
I sold one of the most beautiful 4001V63's I've ever seen because it's neck size made it expendible. That after owning and playing it exclusively for about 2 years. I was never comfortable with it.
IMO, why put up with a bass you're not comfortable with when there are so many others out there.

[cassius987]

Joshua-- I thought I remember you commenting on how great the neck feel is on your friend's 4002? That's what I'm talking about, especially down by the nut! All of my late 70's Ricks (4001's, 4002, 4005) feel virtually the same to me, and my late 80's Ricks are pretty similar too. They probably feel "just right" to me because my first Rick and only bass for some 20 odd years is a 1980 4001. Any who...blindfold me, and I guarantee you I'll be able to tell a late 70's 4001 from a new 4003 over and over again.

I don't remember ever saying I liked the NECK better than other basses; as I recall what I love about that bass is its sound. If I said "feel" it was probably in relation to the tone. I talk about the "feel" of a sound sometimes, synesthetically... Let me reiterate, his 1980s 4002, a 1972 4001, and several 4003s and 4004s from late 2005 onward, have all felt roughly the same to me. It may very well be "just me" but it causes me a lot of confusion when I see people--Ric players or non-Ric players--commenting on how important thin necks are, etc. Especially because my 2008 and 2009 measure very differently (thin and thick respectively) yet I am not aware of a difference in feel.

My '83 4002 is a little baseball batty, but I put up with it because IT IS A 4002!!! Kind of like a super hot significant other that can get away with being obnoxious because she is super hot.

Hey, if you ever decide it's not hot enough to justify ownership anymore... please put me on your list of people to notify that you are selling it. I adore 4002s ever since getting to play Scott's--not for the neck but for the ridiculously versatile tonal palette.

IMO, why put up with a bass you're not comfortable with when there are so many others out there.

Absolutely, Kevin. It's just my personal blindness to this issue that causes me some frustration when--on this forum or any of many others--I read someone's post totally writing off a newer bass because it's just not thin-necked enough, or in some other way not quite vintage hip enough. But if that feature really IS such a huge barrier to enjoying the instrument then you or anyone else has every right to say, "Nope, that's not for me!" I just get irritated because I start to wonder if people have just decided thin=better and that's that. I think we miss out on a lot if we just decide to chase the same goal all the time. Anyways, you didn't annoy me... your comment just resonates with thousands of others I've read and puzzled over and I reacted, for probably the second or third time in my history of reading said comments.

I often feel like a black sheep, when it comes to some of these musical instrument preferences... Elsewhere because a lot of people think Rics are superfluous instruments built for rich ninnies (and yet they laid a bunch of cash down for a bizarre-looking Alembic or another boutique instrument ), here often because I am quite in love with modern Rics and yet most people seem to cast them aside as inferior to the "golden era" of vintage stuff, or what have you. Maybe it's just my personality to feel alienated! I'm sure that's quite possible and even probable.

[rickaddict]

My own opinion is that today's Rick basses are still fan-frikken-tastic instruments, larger necks or not. I'm guessing RIC increased the girth of their necks to lower their failure rate, and there's nothing wrong with that. Actually I'm glad to see that RIC learns from its mistakes...re-evaluates, and improves their designs from time to time.

I'm just an old fuddy-duddy that loves my older Rick basses and continues to prefer them! I can play my old ones more accurately with my eyes closed. The strings are where I expect them to be (spacing) and I think the neck girth also affects my perception of where the frets will be as I make my way up and down the neck.

I don't mean to insult those who prefer the newer necks (it might happen accidentally though!)

And about being a black sheep...Don't sweat it Joshua! We're all black sheep in this Fender-centric world we live in! We like to be different and we know better! That's a good thing!

[ajish4]

My own opinion is that today's Rick basses are still fan-frikken-tastic instruments, larger necks or not. I'm guessing RIC increased the girth of their necks to lower their failure rate, and there's nothing wrong with that. Actually I'm glad to see that RIC learns from its mistakes...re-evaluates, and improves their designs from time to time.

I'm just an old fuddy-duddy that loves my older Rick basses and continues to prefer them! I can play my old ones more accurately with my eyes closed. The strings are where I expect them to be (spacing) and I think the neck girth also affects my perception of where the frets will be as I make my way up and down the neck.

*(quoted from another of Jeff's quotes) Is it a big deal? To some players no, to some yes from what I can tell here. Maybe it has to do with my fingering, where the bones are in my fingers, or where my calluses have formed, but the older necks are just more comfortable for me to play.

Right on Jeff....

Also, please keep in mind that ones age and health play a part as well....at least for me that is. I've had many health related issues that have had an effect on my back, left arm and hand strength as well as arthritis.

The thin necked RIC's are just more USER FRIENDLY if you will. When I was younger, I played an upright and never gave neck width a thought. But as I've grown older, anything that can make playing easier on the body is greatly appreciated. I've owned MANY Alembic basses, but decided that due to my back the their weight, it was better to move on to something else easier on the old bones.

I was just saying last night, that IF RIC would just make a bass with a SUPER THIN NECK ie 60's era reissue with the VTC and all the benefits of modern electronics and build advances, it would be the best of both worlds for me. I need the reliability of a new or newer instrument but with the FEEL of a vintage one.

I love my 4004cii, but I can't play it with any speed like I can my older 4001's. It SOUNDS great, and she's a keeper, but the neck makes it more difficult for me to move around quickly on. I love the sound so I work around the neck size. I just use it for the more ballad type songs.

A RM type reissue with the neck of a 64 feel and modern electronics is just a RIC dream for me. I'm not that into the FWMOP inlays or CB binding, cool yes, necessity no....but give me a sweet "S" style bass, thin neck and modern electronics....and I'm in for a fretted and a fretless version.

[rickenbrother]

When I was younger, I played an upright and never gave neck width a thought. But as I've grown older, anything that can make playing easier on the body is greatly appreciated. I've owned MANY Alembic basses, but decided that due to my back the their weight, it was better to move on to something else easier on the old bones.

You're just getting decrepid aren't you, T!

[cassius987]

Thanks guys, I hope none of my remarks were inflammatory. If I would ever want to emphasize anything in this aforementioned Fender-centric world it's that instrument choice is highly personal and there should not be some kind of social judgement on those who go against the grain; likewise those who are with the grain should not be judged. It's a personal decision that involves many "silent" variables in each individual and no judgement should be passed on anyone for their decision unless it somehow involves the detriment of others, like making a bass out of a human corpse (although that would be awfully metal wouldn't it?).

Man, I tried to make a nice post and all I ended up doing was talking about a Cadaver Bass. What is my problem...???

Okay scratch all of that. Anyways I'm sorry if I ticked anyone off.

[jps]

.....I ended up........talking about a Cadaver Bass. What is my problem...???

Problem? No problem, that might be the perfect bass for playing Grateful Dead music with.

[marc61]

It's funny..I can't stand the feel of a Jazz bass neck. For P-bass, I actually like the C neck, and that baseball bat feel, but on a Ric, I enjoy the wide flat feel.

Call me odd, I've been called worse

[rickenbrother]

It's funny..I can't stand the feel of a Jazz bass neck.

I could never get comfortable with a Jazz bass neck either.

[jps]

I can deal with one just fine.

[rickaddict]

... like making a bass out of a human corpse ...

Bwaaaaahaahaa!

Cadaver bass!

I didn't care for the neck of my Jazz Bass either. So I sold it. Great bass, but IMHO didn't hold a candle to my Ricks.

And I don't judge Fender guys. Sometimes they sound great. The ones that get lost in the mix and/or sound like they're under a mountain full of pillows frustrate me and make me want to show someone the Ricken-light, but I don't automatically think that someone is a goof for playing/liking Fenders.

[teeder]

I'm glad most people are like sheep and go straight to the $enders and not Ricks (no offense Mr. Hall!). I like being the only guy in town playing a V63 out!

[rickenbrother]

And I don't judge Fender guys. Sometimes they sound great. The ones that get lost in the mix and/or sound like they're under a mountain full of pillows frustrate me and make me want to show someone the Ricken-light, but I don't automatically think that someone is a goof for playing/liking Fenders.

I don't judge them either, though I've been judged enough by some of THEM with their comments about playing a Rick!!