New Rickenbacker Owner, Looking for Suggestions

[coolhandjjl]

I'd keep it. '93 was a good year. I have a 1993 4003s, the neck is slim and straight, everything is superb on it. Plus, a 4003 has easier to adjust truss rods compared to a 4001. There are some great 4001 basses on the forum, but you have to know what you are buying as not all are the same. IOW, some years of the 4001's are worth taking the plunge and buying, and some are not.

If you have an inspection period and can return it, consider that buying one of the desirable 4001's, 4001v63's or 4001c64's will cost substantially more.

IMO, the best 4001c64's are the last ones Ric made (after 4/09), as they have the new two piece neck. You will get the Toaster, the Horseshoe, and the heel is cut back as well.

If you prefer the standard headstock, then the 4001v63 is what you are after. I believe Ric changed the Horseshoe a couple of times during those releases, and the models from the last few years of production have necks that thickened up. Both the v63 and c64 have the better truss rods as well.

[rickenbrother]

Aside: Joey - thank you for your positivity. It is much appreciated.

You're very welcome. Having negativity the title or post can often keep a person needing help from getting answers from the best people who can help them.

I have now been put on Joey's hit list.

No John, I hate to either disappoint you or relieve your anxiety, depending upon how you think about about it, but you haven't quite made my hit list yet.

I say keep it AND buy a 4001!

This is what you will end up with, anyway, in the long run.

Yep!

I can get the sound Chris is looking for with my 4004Cii with a set D'Addario Chromes. In fact I can go from James Jamerson to John Paul Jones to McCartney to Bruce Foxton and and many more on that Cii with Chromes. Just depends on playing techniques, the way the controls are set on the instrument and use of bass gear. Lend me that 4003, I'll get that tone.

[Johntheson]

Cassius987 hit the nail on the head. A recorder bass is going to sound completely diferent from a raw bass. The recorder sound is always going to sound more full, and more like the sound on a CD. It's just a more polished sound.
John Sr.

[coolingitdown]

+1

I've spent many years hunting for Paul McCartney's tone on Sgt. Pepper, specifically "With a Little Help From My Friends." I'll never forget the first time I heard the isolated bass track and thought, "that sounds terrible!"

When the bass parts sit in the finished mix, however, they sound really good! And who knows what they sounded like before mixing and mastering? Different, for sure.

[pets0unds]

Hey guys. I'm using this primary for recording so I'm not even using a amp. So I've been mixing it into tracks/eqing and still not getting that sound. Just plugging it straight into an interface. How do Rotosound Jazz Flatwounds sound in a Ric vs.Thomastik?

[aerome]

I say....SELL IT!! and buy a 4001

I say keep it AND buy a 4001!

X2! You'll be glad you did!

[cheyenne]

I used to get so wrapped up in the "the" tone, that it seemed like none of my 4003's sounded like a Rick at all to me. (too much of a good thing I guess), I'd put them away for a while and play something else, then when I went back, I realized the tone was there all along.

Your brain tends to fool your own ears sometime.

[spongebob]

I've had 5 4003's, and they all have had their own personalty.

Some have sounded more 'Ric' to me than others, but being more 'Ric' would only be me comparing it to the recorded sound which so influenced me.

If every record had been made using my first 4003, then my idea of a classic tone would be quite different!

My new 4003, a 2011, is by far the nicest I've ever had...and the best sounding to my ears. Great all-round tone, and more presence than others I've had.

Ric tone really is in the ear of the beholder!

[coolhandjjl]

Hey guys. I'm using this primary for recording so I'm not even using a amp. So I've been mixing it into tracks/eqing and still not getting that sound. Just plugging it straight into an interface. How do Rotosound Jazz Flatwounds sound in a Ric vs.Thomastik?

I guess that's what the craft and art of musicianship is all about. Trying things, figuring out what you like, knowing how to get there, etc. But when it falls apart is when someone tries to nik someone elses sound. It will always be your interpretation, or your version of that sound. An homage so to speak, but never that exact sound.

[sloop_john_b]

The title might have been a tad negative but are we only allowed to post positive things here?

That is correct.

BTW, try some LaBella flats. Thump thump thump. My faves.

[pets0unds]

God I still need this tone like this: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bl4Run71laU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XRjf1B5sDYw