What's YOUR attraction to Ricks?

[suedehead71]

Ricks truly stand out from the 'rest." strats are a dime a dozen, and quite frankly, IMHO, hideous. i do Not get people's attraction to them at all, but obviously, i'm in the minority on that one, as it is easily the world's most popular and copied guitar.
as a kid, i used to love the way Rickenbackers looked, (thanks to beatles and byrds) but knew nothing about guitars. when i hit my teens, the glut of horrid guitars in my price range dictated the scope of my vision for instruments, and it wasn't until the mid 90's that i saw a Rick in person and fell in love. it's like it just Leaped from the wall screaming :here i am, baby! nothing else in the world quite looks like Fireglow, after all, and the contrast of the white pickguard against that lovely red finish just hypnotized my eye. of course, it was a right handed model, and there began my nightmare of finding the right Lefty model for me. over the years i've been through a 650 Colorado, a 330FG, a 360WB-FG, a 325 JG, and a 360V64/12 (the only one i still have, which wasn't sacrificed in a sad succession of ebay sales to make the monthly payment of $2,000 rent on a house in san francisco when my wife at the time lost her job).

they are classic, beautifully fantastic, made without compromise in an age of slapped together dreck, timeless, infectious, and for a guitar synonymous with The greatest and most influential band of all time, shockingly absent from a more prominent role in the guitar scene. OH WELL, world; the loss is yours and the gain is the Rick brotherhood's.

[Rickygirl]

Those are seriously cool pics Mark!!

...and yes, chicks dig them!!

Chicks dig Ricks

[kiramdear]

...and yes, chicks dig them!!

+1

[winston]

Chicks who dig them are cool! IMHO of course.

[Rickygirl]

We love ya Brian

XX

[sgstandard]

I was a huge Jefferson Airplane fan, and I always liked Paul Kantner's Ric. Beyond that, Their entire design approach was "outside the box", and kinda art deco in appearance. I just love the 2-tiered, space-age pickguards, the way the neck is WAY HIGH off the body, and the way the pickups just seem to rest on top of the body, as opposed to being sunken. And, of course, the SOUND!! Yes-s-ss!!

[doctorwho]

Chicks who dig them are cool! IMHO of course.

+1!

I can't believe I missed this thread for so long. My attraction to Rickenbackers, to reduce it to its simplest form, is that they are more like works of art than mere musical instruments.

[cheyenne]

My attraction to Ricks...hmmm............Are you saying that they make other basses??????

[cheyenne]

Seriously though, back in the '70's when a few guys and myself decided we wanted to start a band my first influences were Gene Simmons, Tom Hamilton, Mike Anthony, I loved the guy in Foghat but his name escapes me. I had an after school job, and persuaded my parents to let me trade in my trumpet that I played in concert band, and got a Hondo II Pbass copy. (the only thing I could afford). Not a bad bass, played pretty well, and I strung it with D'Addario half rounds because the guy at the music store told me thats what everyone used. Then one day, a good friend of mine asked if I ever heard of a band called YES, I said NO, well the first song I heard was Long distance runaround, and the rest is history.

Its not surprising to me looking back at it now,how distinct the Rickenbacker bass stuck out in those early recordings. I mean face it, you had Kiss, Van Halen, Aerosmith, Foghat,ect... They all sounded pretty much the same, (although the guy from Foghat had it going on with his Jazz bass), but when you put on a YES or RUSH album,, its like,,,, WAIT JUST A MINUTE!!! these guy's have some kind of special weapon happening here. I WAS SOLD ON RICKENBACKER...

I think the early recordings of Rick basses were the best. Raw, uncolored, just the guts, emotion and touch of the players themselves cutting through in a not-so-tech world.

[bartyclue]

Here is my $0.02.

The shape is exotic..like a European sports car. The sound is unmistakeable. Particularly from the basses. Theres a video on here of a forum member playing the intro from Rush's hemispheres. Not only is the performance outstanding but the sound of this bass sends shivers down my spine. Give it a look see. I can recognize a ric anywhere just by listening alone. they are that distinct. I can only do with that with certain fenders.

http://www.youtube.com/v/p2TOi4MvoOI&hl=en_US&fs=1

[brian_l]

Even though I was born in 1971, I grew up listening to the Beatles, The Who and other British Invasion bands, most of which played Rickenbackers. I was first attracted to the look, because I really do think they're the best-looking guitars out there. Then, in 1990, while I was a senior in high school, I finally played one, a ruby red 330 with chrome hardware and white plastic parts. I absolutely LOVED that guitar, but unfortunately my father wasn't too keen on my trading in my recently-purchased Gibson Les Paul for it, so I had to pass on it. Even though I like Les Pauls (I own a nice 1969 goldtop), the Paul felt heavy and clumsy by comparison. The Rickenbacker just seemed to be better balanced and a lot easier on my shoulder. The sight of a Rick in a music store always draws me to it to the point that I ask to play it. I can walk by walls full of Fenders and Gibsons but a Rickenbacker will stop me dead in my tracks everytime.

[Trav]

Mod, Modernism, Mod iconography Rickenbacker is up there with Vespa as a design icon - Well that's what did it for me

[daromilian]

I've always thought they were great looking guitars but have never seen any of the shops in my area carrying them. I played a 620 while on vacation and have been searching for one since. Loved it! Come post # 30!

[eljayski]

as with other posters, rics represent so much of the music of a formative time in my life ('60s)

the rickenbacker reputation for quality and refusal to compromise on quality for the sake of higher production volume

they look kooler than kool

somehow, having a ric makes it seem like ya know something other guitar players don't.

if i played well enough to attend jams (which i don't), i think taking a ric would scream "cachet" !

i am blessed to have a fine herd of top-drawer axes from fender (custom shop), gibson (cs), and a couple of boutique builders of T and S style guitars. they are all wonderful. my latest acquisition, FG 360 is wonderful, too.

[dean712]

The 4003 was my first real bass guitar, and I chose to buy it because they look cool and my favorite bassist, Geddy Lee, got such great tone out of his back in the 70's.

16 years later, I have Ricks as well as Fender and Music Man in my bass collection, but I keep going back to the 4003. The tone is a big reason. I've recorded all bass tracks for our band's two studio CDs with 4003's. The Rick tone works well live too - with the aggressive fingerstyle I play - I get the best compliments on tone when I play the 4003. Plus they look really cool.

I will go to my MM Stingray sometimes - I like the oil finish on the neck, and the neck profile is better for some songs.

The 4003 is #1 for tone and looks for me, though.