Newbie 4003 Query

Vintage, Modern, V & C series, Fretless, Signature & Special Editions

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thor
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Re: Newbie 4003 Query

Post by thor »

Kopfjaeger wrote:NICE! I'm glad it worked out. Yup, I too was hooked by the Tube Ampology design and its function. I too learned with a pick many many years ago and in my early days, I was "pick primary". My first puick was selected by a music teacher and I remember it as looking and feeling like a thick piece of stiffened felt.

I try to use a pick now and it it just feels awkward. Yes, more sharp but awkward. Perhaps practice will smooth that out but right now I'm not finding the need to add it.

Sepp
:D I find it odd how you go through phases - when I started playing I really found it very difficult to achieve any sort of dexterity with my right (picking) hand at all and was much happier with a pick and could easily master 8ths and triplets etc (but found 16ths pretty tricky :roll: ), but now it is the complete opposite, I adopted playing fingerstyle when I was playing with a mostly blues orientated band and have for the last 15 years played fingerstyle - it's only now having got the ric that I almost feel I should play with a pick again - but it feels completely un-natural to do so and also, at the moment, very cumbersome?

I think I'll carry on with fingers and see how I get on with my sound - I haven't been able to get my gig rig out and am not gigging until the 7th Jan - so watch this space and I'll report back! :D
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doctorwho
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Re: Newbie 4003 Query

Post by doctorwho »

Kopfjaeger wrote:NICE! I'm glad it worked out. ...
+1!

Pete, as you have already observed, this Forum has an incredible wealth of information! :)
It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing. - Seneca
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thor
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Re: Newbie 4003 Query

Post by thor »

doctorwho wrote:
Kopfjaeger wrote:NICE! I'm glad it worked out. ...
+1!

Pete, as you have already observed, this Forum has an incredible wealth of information! :)
It certainly does - I'm a firm believer that there's no such thing as a stupid question - if I don't know then I'd rather ask!

I'm certain there's far more knowledgeable people than me around :)

A great source of information and interaction IMHO.
:)
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thor
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Re: Newbie 4003 Query

Post by thor »

Update - last night I played my first gig with the the 4003 - have to say not what I expected at all! :shock:

I generally use various guises of Jazz Basses and the last couple of months I'd been using a Geddy Lee signature, I plugged the Ric into my amp to see how it sounded and was blown away by how much bottom end it has, and sustain that seems to go on & on!?

I use a MarkBass F1 head and a 151P/102P Traveler Cabs, I ended up rolling the EQ flat to start with as there was way to much bottom end - but still had to roll a fair amount of bass off the EQ until I was happy with the what I consider to be the "proper" Rickenbacker tone. Got loads of positive comments from bandmates and audience alike.

Have to say I tended to use the treble pick up mostly, probably around 75%, but there was a couple of instances where I was using both pickups and strangely (to me anyway) I used only the neck pick up on one song - then switched over to both pups again as my ears preferred the blend - I tend to favour a bias towards the neck pup on the Jazz?

All in all the bass sounds amazing, really low end bass, nice clear mids and highs, really easy to play (since fitting the Tube Ampology surround), very lightweight and a lovely fast neck - equally as fast as the GL Jazz.

Very Happy! :D :D :D
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cjj
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Re: Newbie 4003 Query

Post by cjj »

Welcome to the wonderful world of Rick basses!
:mrgreen:
I have NO idea what to do with those skinny stringed things... I'm just a bass player...
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thor
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Re: Newbie 4003 Query

Post by thor »

I'm amazed how big the bass sound was - a few years back I borrowed my bass tutor's 4001 bass but don't recall it sounding anything like this 4003, that was typically quite clanky and very trebly?

it's great - shall not be parting company with this one regardless. :D
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rickenbrother
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Re: Newbie 4003 Query

Post by rickenbrother »

thor wrote:Update - last night I played my first gig with the the 4003 - have to say not what I expected at all! :shock:

I generally use various guises of Jazz Basses and the last couple of months I'd been using a Geddy Lee signature, I plugged the Ric into my amp to see how it sounded and was blown away by how much bottom end it has, and sustain that seems to go on & on!?

I use a MarkBass F1 head and a 151P/102P Traveler Cabs, I ended up rolling the EQ flat to start with as there was way to much bottom end - but still had to roll a fair amount of bass off the EQ until I was happy with the what I consider to be the "proper" Rickenbacker tone. Got loads of positive comments from bandmates and audience alike.

Have to say I tended to use the treble pick up mostly, probably around 75%, but there was a couple of instances where I was using both pickups and strangely (to me anyway) I used only the neck pick up on one song - then switched over to both pups again as my ears preferred the blend
I'm amazed when I hear people say that they think Rick 4001/4003 do not have enough low end. When I got my first 4001 back in '81 I had been using a '76 Fender Precision. Everyone including the band and members of the audience commented that the 40021 projected sound better and there was more low end than with the the P-bass. I had not changed any eq or other settings. I have a Markbass Little Mark Tube head. I set all of the eq to flat when using my Ricks. I use the two filter controls (VLE & VPF) for tone control.
JETGLO should officially be renamed JETGLO ROCKS! :-)
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thor
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Re: Newbie 4003 Query

Post by thor »

Hey Joey - I have to say the maintenance pages (and in particular the video on how to adjust the truss rods) really gave me the confidence to set the bass up just how I like it - thank you, it must have taken a considerable amount of your time to do and I'm sure there's plenty of folk that have referred to them. I was really concerned about adjusting the truss rods as you hear lots of horror stories about people screwing the necks up.

I also tended to use the VLE/VPF filters to dial in the tone I wanted - really pleased with the Ric on the whole. :)
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