BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS wrote:
as far as music style, if the bass is tuned to a lower pitch, the strings will get floppy, then the action has to come up, which defeats the purpose of having a rick in the first place. a badarse bridge mod or other types will tighten this up a bit by not having too much unused length of string behind the saddles. playing heavy metal, you tend to hit a lot harder, so the tighter the string, the better. other types of music, there is no need to hit as hard, so the standard rick setup works well. instead of doing major surgery, i decided at that time to hang up the ricks and get a tighter bass fot the music style i was playing professionally.
Did you try a heavier gauge (or a higher tension) set of strings, Ron?
I keep a .130 B string on my 4003S/5, and it's not too floppy.
FretlessOnly wrote:I find the 4001/4003 to lack one simple feature: a thumb anchor between the two pickups would be perfect for me. I need my thumb to be a good inch away from the E string, so I use the upper edge of the pickguard just to the right of the neck pickup for a thumb anchor and play pizzicato just to the left of the bridge pickup. It's not an ideal setup for me, but that's where the strings respond best to my style (on all of my basses, BTW), so I make do.
Have you considered a thumb rest on the pick guard, John? I think if you found one with a solid (not hollow) back, you could stick it on the pick guard with a good, heavy, double-sided tape. Then you'd be able to remove it and clean the goo off if you wanted to return the bass to stock.
seyesbass wrote:
Fingerstyle isnt as comfortable with a 4001 so that often becomes a factor.
Yeah, that statement struck a chord (!) with me as well.
There is no better, more comfortable bass to play finger-style than an S model 4000 series with the pickup cover off. At least, I haven't found one in my 30 years of searching (and that includes the P and the Jazz, too).
The neck, the string spacing, the body size/shape, and the balance (both on the strap and on your lap) of an S make it the perfect bass for playing finger-style.
Yes, you are right. I have a standard american series Fender bass and a 4001c64s and they are both Exellent. The sound of the 4001c64s sounds alot like a modern bass. I like better the 4001 than the Fender. maybe becuase of the style and Confertable Neck.
dear mr. addict... a .130 was designed as a b string so it's not going to be floppy unless you tune it down a half step. i'm talking 4 string 4001 tuned a half step down with regular 45-105 will get floppy when you crank on it. yes i tried 110 - 50 and worked ok but that was getting away from the rick sound. this was in the late '80's. i then kept the 50-110 for my other basses tuned a half step down until '95 and then again 2001-2003. my other brand 8 string was also 50-110 with respective octaves.
now all my stuff is back to a440 with 45-105 rotos or canadian long and mcquade store brand swedish steels.
BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS wrote:
a .130 was designed as a b string so it's not going to be floppy unless you tune it down a half step.
I know. In my mind, I was suggesting a fatter string to go with your half-step down tuning, with the analogy that if a .130 isn't floppy as a B string on a 4000 series bass, then maybe a larger (than what you were using before) string would have been appropriate for your half-step down tuning. But I see below that you did in fact try a larger string and did not like the sound, so the point is moot.
BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS wrote:
i'm talking 4 string 4001 tuned a half step down with regular 45-105 will get floppy when you crank on it. yes i tried 110 - 50 and worked ok but that was getting away from the rick sound. this was in the late '80's. i then kept the 50-110 for my other basses tuned a half step down until '95 and then again 2001-2003. my other brand 8 string was also 50-110 with respective octaves.
now all my stuff is back to a440 with 45-105 rotos or canadian long and mcquade store brand swedish steels.
FretlessOnly wrote:I find the 4001/4003 to lack one simple feature: a thumb anchor between the two pickups would be perfect for me. I need my thumb to be a good inch away from the E string, so I use the upper edge of the pickguard just to the right of the neck pickup for a thumb anchor and play pizzicato just to the left of the bridge pickup. It's not an ideal setup for me, but that's where the strings respond best to my style (on all of my basses, BTW), so I make do.
Have you considered a thumb rest on the pick guard, John? I think if you found one with a solid (not hollow) back, you could stick it on the pick guard with a good, heavy, double-sided tape. Then you'd be able to remove it and clean the goo off if you wanted to return the bass to stock.
Sorry for the double post, but I have thought aout such a thing, but I anchor so heavily that what I reall need is a moon-shaped piece of lucite that can be screwed in using one of the PG screws - this might ruin original value, but I am considering this for my two FLs, but not my 75th DCM.
Can we have everything louder than everything else?
seyesbass wrote:... I thought a Rickenbacker Custom Shop would satisfy a market that is hungry for basses such as the 60s Rose Morris exports with all the original attributes.
One day maybe...
Isn't cjj's latest aquired 4003 (see thread: "The Fed-Ex Truck Stopped By...") a custom shop Ric?
the volvo v70 has beautiful lines...just like the 4000 series has beautiful lines. i think all v70 vehicles should be equipped with the 4000 series bass as an standard option !
Casiraghi22 wrote:So Rotosound is the best choise for a rick?
the best choice of string for your bass is the one you feel is best. ( then we get to give you a good slap across the back of your head for making a choice that is not one of ours ! ) we only offer our opinions here from experience. you make the call.
Cjjs is a "Custon Shop" Rick only if it has a custom made new aluminium bridge/tailpiece,magnetised shoes, light as a feather and as close as an RM original as you can get without shelling out £20,0000 etc etc....
Casiraghi22 wrote:Why do bass player artist Dont use Rickenbacker bass? they mostly use Fender jazz bass or P-bass. Why?
Advertising and promotion through artist endorsement.
I believe that's the one and only answer... That's for instance why some artist have gone from Rics to other brands after they are famous... I guess they simply don't want to avoid the hassle of having to send their instruments over to luthiers for repairs or stuff like that, when a factory eager for promotion wouldn't mind repearing / sustituting a bass...
Casiraghi22 wrote:Why do bass player artist Dont use Rickenbacker bass? they mostly use Fender jazz bass or P-bass. Why?
Advertising and promotion through artist endorsement.
I believe that's the one and only answer... That's for instance why some artist have gone from Rics to other brands after they are famous... I guess they simply don't want to avoid the hassle of having to send their instruments over to luthiers for repairs or stuff like that, when a factory eager for promotion wouldn't mind repearing / sustituting a bass...
That's IMO though...
Cheers!!
what do you mean? Lets say I become famous and I use the Rickenbacker bass always......ahhh Im confuse!!!
Isn't cjj's latest aquired 4003 (see thread: "The Fed-Ex Truck Stopped By...") a custom shop Ric? 
