Your first Rick tales

[BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS]

my first rick 4001, a jetglo geddy model MJ-4844 . I had an uncle in conn. buy it for $400.00 back in '78. put it thru a bandsaw in '79 in shop class, cutting off the body wings to replace with heavy birdseye. then when I became disinterested , I scavenged all the parts and threw it in the garbage ??? a moment of insanity ??? lol.

[johnallg]

my first rick 4001, a jetglo geddy model MJ-4844 . I had an uncle in conn. buy it for $400.00 back in '78. put it thru a bandsaw in '79 in shop class, cutting off the body wings to replace with heavy birdseye. then when I became disinterested , I scavenged all the parts and threw it in the garbage ??? a moment of insanity ??? lol.

Well, yeah.....

[Rickmich]

First and only Rick I've ever owned... 4001cs #50

Early 90's... I had been trying to play guitar for several years, and could never seem to get past terrible! So out of frustration with guitar.. and a huge admiration for Yes music and Chris Squire that had been growing for about a decade, I decided that I might try bass.
In general, I had no interest in bass, but it was that Chris Squire tone that made me say, "I want to make that sound!". So I went into one of my favorite music stores at the time, and started looking at basses.. mostly Fenders and the typical assortment. Funny thing was that I didn't have a clue about bass gear, or what was actually responsible for the tone I admired so much. So after talking with the owner, he takes me to his stock room and shows me a brand new, never even displayed, Rickenbacker 4001cs, # 50 out of 1000. It was beautiful!
Prior to seeing this Chris Squire bass, I had no intention of spending that kind of money. I Can't remember exactly, but it seems like I paid about $1300 for it. Needless to say, I took it home.

Here's where things went terribly wrong! I started feeling guilty. I really couldn't afford it. I didn't even have a full-time job at the time. As much as I loved it, I decided to take it back to the store just a couple weeks after getting it. Of course, they wouldn't return it as new, even though everything, including that unforgettable certificate, was as mint as the day I took it home. I took a loss of about $350. I bet they sold it as brand new to the next owner.

I've made plenty of mistakes in my life, but not many cause me as much regret as that decision. It really came to a head a few months ago. I was listening to some tracks from 'Fish out of Water', and thought, "That bass should be hanging on my wall"! I started to get this ridiculous idea that i might be able to track it down. It actually shows up on the RickResource registry. Registered in North Carolina, 2008. I've considered posting: Wanted 4001cs #50 of 1000. Yeah, I know, its crazy.

Sorry for rambling, but thats my Rick tale.

[dricard]

My friends of course had heard about RIC basses, and knew that Paul McCartney used one, Geddy of course, but lesser known users such as Maurice Gibb (ahh, the Holy Grail...) etc.

I decided I wanted one and would blow what was 3 paychecks at the time.

Went to the local music store and asked if they had any RIC basses in their system. This was before the internet, folks.

They had what they claimed was 3 4003 basses, a "Black, redglo and cream". Cream sounded interesting, so I asked for them to send that one to the local store.

Played it, it spoke to me, but smelled like a musty cellar. Probably was in its case for a few years. It looked like it was tobacco stained, but, the back of the neck was worn through to the undercoat of white. I really liked its patina. SO, I bought it for $500. 9/14/94.

I still have it, and restrung it about 15 years ago with Roto 66 SS rounds. Neck is perfect, it sounds really nice and plays very well. It's in the registry, OJ7200.

When I die, its going to a close friend...it's been a close friend to me in return!

[riverboat]

In the early '70s I decided to switch from guitar to bass so I got a jazz bass copy and joined a prog rock band. The guys in the band said I had to get a real bass and their ex bass player had two. One was a very old p bass and the other was a rick wich I chose. But I didn't have all of the money so I said he could hold on to my guitar until I paid it off. Two weeks later when I paid it off I forgot to get my guitar back.When I tried to call him to get my guitar he wouldn't take my calls and when I called him at work the forman said " no, he's working" and my band mates who knew him were sure he was geting ready to split town and sell it. The keyboart player said he could get him on the phone. He called the factory where he worked and said "Hello, this is the F.B.I.and I need to speak to ------" Well he got on thr phone and I got my guitar back but that's not the end of the story. About two weeks later a very big intimidating F.B.I. agent came knocking on my door and we had a nice long conversation on why it's not a good idea to impersonate the F.B.I.. I still play this bass. She's a 73 checkerboard wavy grovers jetglo 4001 still in pretty good condidion. And I love her.

[inhuien]

In the early '70s I decided to switch from guitar to bass so I got a jazz bass copy and joined a prog rock band. The guys in the band said I had to get a real bass and their ex bass player had two. One was a very old p bass and the other was a rick wich I chose. But I didn't have all of the money so I said he could hold on to my guitar until I paid it off. Two weeks later when I paid it off I forgot to get my guitar back.When I tried to call him to get my guitar he wouldn't take my calls and when I called him at work the forman said " no, he's working" and my band mates who knew him were sure he was geting ready to split town and sell it. The keyboart player said he could get him on the phone. He called the factory where he worked and said "Hello, this is the F.B.I.and I need to speak to ------" Well he got on thr phone and I got my guitar back but that's not the end of the story. About two weeks later a very big intimidating F.B.I. agent came knocking on my door and we had a nice long conversation on why it's not a good idea to impersonate the F.B.I.. I still play this bass. She's a 73 checkerboard wavy grovers jetglo 4001 still in pretty good condidion. And I love her.

A visit from The Man and intrigue, I don't think I can top that.

[RickByrd]

Yes I remember it well, it was fall 1965. In Santa Barbara Calif my first band i was booted out for i had a cummy lyle bass and a harmony 420 Amp. I had just joined a folk rock band so we went to the local Music.shop i walked past the fender's gibson's and Vox till I saw a 4005 fireglow I played it and feel in Love with this Curvy sweet bass. Dad said you need a bass amp i got a 65 fender black face bassmen. as my new bandmates had Fenders. I still have that bass today also picked up a midnight blue 4001 no binding and have here 17 basses. my band picked up the name The JetSet after the Byrds old name.

[Gilmourisgod]

I had borrowed a POS no-name p-bass copy from a friend, with an absurdly high action, hoping to emulate Chris Squire. Needless to say, my first efforts were abysmal. I went and saw Yes at the Boston Garden in 1978, and a guitarist buddy told me what Squire was playing. I saved money from summer jobs, and went to E.U. Wurlitzer, a long-defunct music store in Boston, and bought a 79' Jetglo for $400 with case. Everyone who saw that bass remarked on it, and I was the envy of all the local high school bass players. Everything else felt like a piece of junk by comparison. I was literally in love with that bass, which made me want to play it constantly. I played it through college, and as a Senior started gravitating towards funk and fingerstyle more than pick style, and couldn't get the sounds I wanted out of it. I stupidly sold it for the original price, $400, and almost instantly regretted it. I bought a first-generation G & L 2000, a fantastic bass as far as quality of build, versatility, etc, but it never made my blood rise like the Rick. Maybe it's just nostalgia, but I've never bonded so immediately and intensely with a physical object before or since. If anybody sees an old 4001 with a cheap plastic diamond set into a dent between the bridge surround and the neck pickup (that's another story), she's mine!

[ricosound]

I worked with a band in the early 80's that the bass player had an Azure 4001 with a badass bridge like Geddy. In fact he introduced me to RUSH and YES music. All I had was a cheap Conn brand Jazz copy that I was trying to learn on at the time. Several years later I came across a '68-72 in a pawn shop in about 1990 for $200. It had 3 strings, no nut, and a 3" fretboard seperation. I thought the checkerboard binding looked different than anything I had seen but I also thought it looked "older" than the ones I lusted from the '70s. I fixed it with wood glue and made a nut out of some plastic stock and added a fourth used string that my teacher had. I put the Badass on it and threw out the original cast bridge. I sold it for $250 and thought I did great making $50 profit and bought a real Fender Jazz

I have come to learn from this forum that it had the trasitional green hi-gain and was very restorable. I have spent the last 15 years looking for another and it is what led me to this forum in the first place. I have had many basses since but that was the one that got away. I don't have the serial number and all I have is this one grainy picture I scanned.

[bassduke49]

Was that a Jetglo or was it one of those "Eggplantglo" Burgundy ones? I think we'd ALL love to have that one back!

[ricosound]

Was that a Jetglo or was it one of those "Eggplantglo" Burgundy ones? I think we'd ALL love to have that one back!

Jetglo
I finally gave up on it when the high side of the 20th fret popped up so the G string was pretty much worthless. If I knew then what I know now it was totally fixable and restorable.

[1a12]

Mid Eighties: In High School near Atlantic City NJ, I was drawing pictures of Rickenbackers in my notebooks. Beatle roots obviously, but oddly never associated the 4001 w/ them, it was always the guitars. Hardcore punk was getting a bit of my attention and there was a group called the Youth Brigade and their bassist used to sling his 4001 pretty low & looked very cool, at the same time I had also seen "Give my regards to Broad St" with that fab clip of "Not such a bad boy". Not only did Paul look so cool, but that live recording was tasty. My local music shop in Atlantic City was called Irv's music where I would eventually work 10 years later. There were two 4001 basses hanging up, a newer Mapleglo w/ high gains, and the slightly more used looking "rental" bass 73' transitional year, with wavy grovers and toaster, no checkz or full inlays. The bass had a bit of a story with it being rented all through it's life, and who knows who used it playing in Atlantic City. It was $50 bucks cheaper, and played and sounded nicer. Paid $350 in cash with my busboy money, had the bass for a full year with no amp until I could afford one. Still have the receipt, and more importantly, the bass. Which is still the alpha in the stable.

[gray]

Mine was a 4003 JG, an 04 I think, that I randomly picked up at Wade's in Milwaukee, WI. It had an unusual fretboard. The grain color was not evenly distributed, having a very large, dark patch in the middle. It didn't look like any others, and the bass had a very deep voice. I sold it in Chicago. I often wonder where it is now.

[dricard]

I still have it, and restrung it about 15 years ago with Roto 66 SS rounds. Neck is perfect, it sounds really nice and plays very well. It's in the registry, OJ7200.

Meant to put a pic of it up.

1975 4001

[rickboy88]

I am 52 years old now. When I was in my late teens, I set my mind to buying a Ric bass. It was between a fireglo and jetglo 4001S for me. I ended up deciding to get the jetglo (see avatar) in early 1984 when I was 22. It was made in 1982. I got it mail order from Guitar Trader in Red Bank New Jersey. The box said "Fragile Glass - Handle With Car" or something close. The box is still stored in the basement. The jetglo was Geddy Lee and the REM bass player effect and the dot inlay was due to the Paul McCartney effect.
I didn't get a credit card until I'd moved to Colorado when I was 23, so I saved some money and used my tax refund from early 1984.

I had a close call with it in the mid-90's when the house I was renting was broken into. They kicked in or used a crow bar on the front door and took stuff they could grab fast. I'd stashed my two basses (also a red mid-sixties Hagstrom) in the lower level bathroom some months prior. They only hit the main room and master bedroom for "obvious" stuff. The lower level of the tri-level had the basses, computer, stereo equipment, etc., so it could have been worse. I was fortunate. I can't imagine how it would have felt to lose it. It was bad enough to lose the watches, high school ring worth very little, VCR's - it was the mid-90's, stuff like that. I took measures after that to lessen the probability that it would happen again at that house and my current residence.

I still have the jetglo 4001S, along with 3 more Rics (also mapleglo '82 4001S, jetglo 2030, and jetlgo 4003) and various other basses. The other Rics were acquired from 2005-2010 give or take. Thus far, I have been able to stop at four Ric basses. Having a small house helps with slowing down the purchases!

I'll include an image of it with the 4003 sister.