Rickenbacker vs Fender (Side by Side)

[rickenbrother]

How many different brands of J-basses (or P basses or Strats or Teles) do we need?

[cassius987]

I have owned three Jazz Basses which have all been sold, and now I have four Rics, in addition a MusicMan S-Ray (sold), a econ-o-Spector (sold), a Cort Jazz-faker (stored back home) and a borrowed Hofner copy (Poppa's) a few times. So that's where I come from with regard to past perspective basically.

I went to GC last week and tried all of the basses in stock as is my habit... I found yet again that the Precision Bass was ultimately more my type than the numerous Jazzes in stock, and that the EBMM Basses trumped both (especially the Big Al). I also enjoyed a few of the Epis and a really nice (cheap!) Warwick Corvette 5er. But none of them ever really do it for me like a Ric, which, like John Martin said, has several different "voices" that can all be taken advantage of, whereas so many other basses only seem capable of a handful of tones, even with an active preamp sometimes. The Ric 4003's voices are all nicely "musical" right out of the box and just tweaking with the bass's passive controls will do a lot to play with them.

As for the "$2,000 question", I agree with John Biscuti that you could use that $2K to get one of each (I'd go with an 80s 4003 and an 80s P Bass...) and probably STILL have some change left over but if you're looking to buy new I'd go with a new 4003, especially the new 2-piece neck variety which looks really promising. They don't cost any more new than the Deluxe Jazz Bass you posted if you shop around for good prices--I have repeatedly tested this and I can find a new 4003 for right at $1600 in mere minutes every time I try lately. Occasionally even less. I would go with the Ric because I think it has a superior sound (why else would I own FOUR?), and because generally speaking from a history of ordering stuff online and occasionally returning it I have had better luck with Rics "sight unseen" than Fenders. "One" of my Jazz Basses was actually three because I had to send the first two back. But that's not say that's never happened with a Ric bass bought sight unseen either, I'm just going off of my personal experience.

Good luck with whatever you get and happy groovin'...

[cassius987]

How many different brands of J-basses (or P basses or Strats or Teles) do we need?

I agree with you mostly--I get sick of a seeing a new iteration of the exact same Jazz Bass reviewed every month in Bass Player Magazine, for sure. Not to mention going to music stores and ABing Laklands, which are supposed to be great, against Fenders and not really hearing much difference. But I've never played a Sadowsky or Lull or what have you... they look like they could be pretty fun. But if I were going to get a Fender bass, I'd probably get a true Fender, because nothing about the competition has blown me away yet. I'm not even sure if all of these copies have really helped improve the original Fender bass designs because the "real" Fenders are still basically the way they were to start out with, with the occasional improvement that was brought in by an in-house designer. Kind of like what's gone on with RIC, actually. Which ultimately leads me to respect the original Fender design a little more than a souped-up copy that costs twice as much and is chasing the vintage sound...

I guess I'd like to see a little more options offered by RIC occasionally and a little less by Fender (& Friends) to get a broad spectrum between the two instead of an extremely concentrated group on one end and a scattered yet highly redundant group on the other... but that's not the music market we live in today.

[antipodean]

How many different brands of J-basses (or P basses or Strats or Teles) do we need?

The more the merrier!!!!

[dean712]

My biggest gripe about the Rick is the lack of a thumb anchor above the neck pickup.

it's called the edge of the pickguard; my thumb has been there for years.

Me too! The edge of the Rick pickguard is a perfect thumbrest - I don't know if that was intentional in the design, but it sure does work out great.

[dean712]

One very important thing to keep in mind when comparing a J-bass to a Rick, is the feel of the neck. The J-bass has much more taper to the neck (skinny on top, wide at the bottom), than a Rick which has little taper in comparison. The P-bass has less taper than a J-bass, closer to the Rick neck taper.
Some players, especially me, hate the accentuated taper of a J-bass neck. Some love it for how thin it is on top.

My thought is exactly what Joey said - the neck taper of a Jazz and a Rick are so different (neck texture could be different too, depending on the Jazz's neck finish) that the neck feel alone will drive most players one way or the other.

I personally switch between Rick 4003, MM Stingray, and Fender Jazz, although the Jazz is my least favorite neck of the three. You really ought to get your hands on them to evaluate the different feels of the necks, though. I think the Rick sounds and looks best of the three, but the Stingray neck is most comfortable for the full variety of songs I play in my band, so thus I switch back and forth and can't decide...

Ricks sound and look best, so if you like the neck, go that way for sure....

[FretlessOnly]

On my '80 4001, my thumb was there; for 17 years. The finish was great except for a wear spot almost down to the wood. Besides, I like a nice beefy thumb anchor.

[bge66]

Okay - trying to figure out how the hell you guys are holding the pick if your thumb is resting on the edge of the pickgaurd....

Worked in MI for years, so I got seriously jaded when it comes to new basses - really never dug any of the Mexi or American J or P bass - they aren't bad, per se, just totally lacking character. The American vintage reissues are better - but don't come close to the real vintage fender stuff. In the bang for the buck category - I'd go for a used 4001 (can usually find something on CL or Ebay for $1200-1400) then look for Japanese reissue stuff from a few years back. There was a 75 reissue that was fantastic - ballpark $600 new about 15 years back. But Fender ended up moving production on a lot of the reissues to Mexico - just make sure you know what you are getting.

Reality is - they are completely different feeling basses, so play,play and play some more. If pressed, I'd say go with the Jazz first - you can coax more varied tones out of it - then save the money for a Ric - because nothing else sounds like it.

Now, if you had $2500 to spend I might have a nice 'road worn' 73 Jazz for ya

[cassius987]

Okay - trying to figure out how the hell you guys are holding the pick if your thumb is resting on the edge of the pickgaurd....

Ever hear of a thing called "fingerstyle"?

If pressed, I'd say go with the Jazz first - you can coax more varied tones out of it - then save the money for a Ric - because nothing else sounds like it.

Gotta disagree with you here. Like I said earlier I find it easier to get multiple voices out of a Ric than a Fender. Nothing wrong with buying either bass in either order though..

[bge66]

I've always found it easier to add the 'grind' to a Jazz Bass than to get rid of it in a Ric.

But totally agree that one can't go wrong by owning both.

I'm lobbying for bringing back 'thumb style' Cause I'm all... (okay, never mind)

[gbarchus]

When comparing the quality of a Fender Jazz bass to a Rickenbacker, I think you need to compare the American Vintage Series '62 Jazz bass.

http://www.fender.com/products/search.p ... 0190209806

Gale

[windchimp]

For $2000 you can get a sweet used 4003 and a MIM or MIJ Fender that will be equally as good (if not better) as a $1500 Fender.

You all may laugh, but I liked this better than any NEW Fender I've tried...and for PENNIES ON THE DOLLAR!

http://www.squierguitars.com/products/s ... 0326702521

I'm NOT comparing this to a VINTAGE JAZZ....but it equals most new stuff they make today!

Or for a couple more bucks the Classic Vibe line - I have the '50's P and if it stands up to the Fender version quite nicely. One could have a brandy-new 4003 and one of the Squiers easily for right around 2k. IHMO the only significant difference between the Squier CV line and a Mexi Fender is the $$$$, as a matter of fact the Squiers seem to be consistently better quality wise than the Fenders which in recent years have been somewhat hit and miss.


...but I'll still laugh at you Tony!

[woodyng]

chimin' in kind of late here with a few thots....i played a recent mia fender p that had a really cool tonal circuit and was very smitten. it was very well made,played and felt great even with daddario chromes on 'em (sorry not my favorite strings). i balked at buying it for $1000,mostly because of finances/need,but surely would loved to have had it. in the meantime i got my jazz copy bass repaired and am really loving it-i regularly rotate basses i take to practices,and the jazz has really been doing it for me lately,sounding very crisp and full. in your situation if you wanted to spend $2k for ONE bass,i would probably say look for an earlier ('88-'92) v63-you really can't go wrong there. i say this because i am partial to unbound necks and bodies on basses in general,both my ricks are that way,even my jazz bass has a p-ish type unbound neck with rosewood fb.

[nattiep]

Get the Rick and then a cheaper Fender. I have a MIM Fretless jazz and it's a pretty good bass.

As for getting several tones out of a rick.. I dunno what I'm doing wrong but I get clank and then deep lows with the underlying clank. That's it'

[FretlessOnly]

To be completely objective, Ricks are prone to clank, and one of the biggest causes is action that is too low. Couple this with aggresive fingerstyle (that's me!) and, well, you get the picture.

So, assess your style -

1) a - pick
b - fingers
2) a - high action
b - low action
3) a - mellow attack
b - hard attack
4) a - non-fingering hand attack near bridge
b - non-fingering hand attack near neck

If you answered b to any one of these (or even if you answered a to all), you may need to mitigate clank. It certainly can be done. Consider raising your action slightly. Also keep in mind that if you play hard and near the neck, you need to attack the strings more parallel to the face of the bass. This is more difficult with fingerstyle than with a pick due to the hand configuration needed for both.

Just a few thoughts.