Remember When?

[AndyM]

True story: I knew the Beatles and some others played Rickenbacker guitars. Did not know Ric made a bass and had not seen one up to the summer of 1967. I had sold my gear and was heading to college in the fall. The band I'd voluntarily 'retired' from [they had visions of being pro rock stars] called me because they had an out of town gig and my replacement couldn't make it. I got to use his gear which was a 4001 plus a full sized Vox Beatle bass rig (as we call them today) complete with the chrome stand and big cab.
To tell you the truth I didn't like that setup. I had been playing a 60's Precision through a Traynor YBA1 + 2-15 cab. At the time I thought the 4001 was an ugly duckling. Fast forward to 2010. I saw a movie poster http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0446029/ and couldn't take my eyes off the fireglow bass.

It was a matter of a couple of months before I purchased a 4003 in Montezuma brown.

So, back to the original post's question - I saw my first 4001 in 1967. I don't have any pictures from the time I played it, so it might have been some other model like a 4002, but I really doubt it.

[Kiddwad57]

Maybe it's Live and Let Die? After reading the synopsis it seems the most likely. Wouldn't that be ironic. Time to rent the dvd and find out.

[teeder]

I had seen pictures of Sir Paul's MMT bass, but that was it until my brother Mike brought home a '74-'75 4001 in Azure. This was about 1976 when I was 10! I remember my two oldest, guitar-playing, brothers telling me "Ricks" were the Les Paul Custom's of the bass world. That was a powerful statement back then.

[beatlefan]

It was the winter of 2002...I had just started playing guitar the year before and was obsessed with hitting every pawn shop/guitar store in the county. Back then there was a little guitar shop downtown that I'd passed by many times and this time I stopped....rows and rows of every type of guitar I could imagine but no Ricks....as I talked with the owner, I brought up Rickenbacker and he said "I have a '67 335 in mapleglo in the back that I just got in, but it has the wrong pickups in it and needs some real work" ..... well, he brought it out and said $600.00 and you can take it home right now. I got the Visa out and took it home that night.....it was the first Rick I'd ever seen in real life AND the first I'd ever owned.

[BigJohnAZ]

It had to have been 1976, saw BTO and Styx live at the old Chicago Stadium. CF Turner and Chuck Panozzo. I really didn't get into their sound until Geddy Lee, then I actually started playing bass and HAD to have one. Bought my '77 in 1981 or 1982 and still play it.

[paologregorio]

I don't remember exactly when i t was but it was love at first sight.

[cjj]

The first time I saw one in person was the first time I played one and then the first time I bought one...

[lucky]

1988 I had been learning/playing for about a year & a friend of mine, who was Ric obsessed to the point of having pictures of Ric 4001's on his walls/door. Either way he bought a second hand early 70's JG 4001 for about £250 . I was blown away by it the way it looked,felt and played, plus how good you looked when the bass was on you. Still think of that when I see a Jetglo 4001/4003.

[rickenbottom]

1988 I had been learning/playing for about a year & a friend of mine, who was Ric obsessed to the point of having pictures of Ric 4001's on his walls/door. Either way he bought a second hand early 70's JG 4001 for about £250 . I was blown away by it the way it looked,felt and played, plus how good you looked when the bass was on you. Still think of that when I see a Jetglo 4001/4003.

Ummmmm RIC obsessed and having pictures, well in my office. Is that bad

[spongebob]

I suppose my first sight of a Ric was seeing Motorhead in '88....then again twice in '89. Last couple were really up close as well!

Had to wait until 1992 to actually hold one - I saw a refinished 4001 in a music shop in Aberdeen, Scotland, and dived straight for it.

I couldn't believe how thin it was - in my head, they were much bigger! I'd been obsessed with the tone forever, but never seen one in the flesh up close.

Got to briefly hold a checkerboard bounded '73 a couple of years later, but had to wait a few more years until I could afford my first....of many!

[sloop_john_b]

Nose pressed against a shop window on 48th Street in the fall of 2000.

[Kiddwad57]

I was blown away by it the way it looked,felt and played, plus how good you looked when the bass was on you. Still think of that when I see a Jetglo 4001/4003.

It seems that as good we all look wearing a Rickenbacker bass, it takes a very powerful personality to outshine or even equal the cool of this most iconic of basses. You know, the folks who enhance the Rickenbacker rather than the other way around. In most photos it is so easy to fixate on the bass rather than the person playing it. Exceptions are the obvious folks like Squire, Lee, McCartney, Lemmy and the less obvious players like Chris Brubeck or Paul Simonon. Roger Rossmeisl sure made one heck of an artistic statement in his design and John Hall has done a fantastic job of maintaining the legacy of these instruments.

[vulcan_creedler]

First one I ever saw was a yellowed white 70ies 4001 BT, at a music fair.
I didn't even dare to touch it. I was very impressed by it, almost to the point it felt like being sacred.
I remember thinking the body was very thin, compared to other basses.
Years later, when I was at StLucas (art school) I had to do a project on my favourite colour and I named that 4001yellow.
Nobody understood where that came from, but that's how impressed I was.
And now, more than 25 years later I'm still impressed by these basses, day after day.

Well - my 70's 4001-yellow (white) 4001 is still up for sale, here in London

But back to the thread, my first real acknowledgement of the whole Ric thing, was actually a Hondo-II 4001 clone, that my flatmate had in 1983! I had already been a huge motorhead fan, but Lemmy's basses kind of by-passed me at the time. I had this foolish notion of playing 6 thin strings, back inthose days of hair metal FFS!!!! Fast forward 30 years, and 3 ric basses!

[coolingitdown]

I'll play...

The first Rickenbacker bass I ever saw in the flesh had to be one of two places:

There's a Beatles tribute act called the Fab Four that plays Beatles songs from all eras. During their middle period set (Revolver-Magical Mystery Tour), the bassist (a natural righty who learned to play lefty for the role!) uses a Rick. Initially, it was just a lefty 4001 or 4003. Later on he acquired what appears to be a PMC bass and had it painted in with the MMT paint job. If it wasn't there...

I joined my first proper band at 19 years old in 2001. The singer/guitarist of my band also played guitar in another band. Their bassist used a 1971 4001 white with black trim which belonged to the other guitarist in the band's father. I asked if it would ever be for sale. No such luck. It would be 9 years before I acquired my 4003.

[bitzerguy]

Opening the case and havingthe Ricosmell waft over me on the first instrument I ever bought sight unseen or played. It was my 2004 660/12 shipped in from Rhoads Music. I will never forget it.