Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Japanese F*nders rock. No embarrassment there.

At any given time 50% to 75% of my basses are non-Rics ... at home I play non-Rics basses more than I play Ric basses ... but when it comes time to gig or record the ric basses do a better job ...

a p-bass and jazz bass are both good designs ... the problem with fender is they are inconsistent in the quality and building of their instruments ...

There are many fine instruments out there ...

I've always spread myself around, instrument wise. Although I've owned several Rics over the years, there was a long period when the only Ric I owned was my '72. I've owned all sorts of things; Wal, Jaydee (x2), Sei bass (x2 and soon to get a third), ESP Jazz, Tokai Jazz, early 70s Fender P, 2 Alembics (still got one - both have been awesome), Pedulla (great bass), and many more.

What worries me about both the CSs I've owned (and also the other Rics I've owned, bar the '72 and 4000) is that despite the wonderful aesthetics, I've always struggled a bit with the tone. It's not that I'm after more bottom, it's more a frequency thing (to be honest I'm not personally keen on the aesthetics of the Laredos etc, no offense meant!). My '72 is wonderful. My 4000 is great... but the CS always comes third. I play it; I would never dream of owning a bass I didn't play. But I play it more to give it an airing than through preference. I've yet to find a situation where the CS outdoes my other Rics, bearing in mind my personal preferences tonewise.

Bob, the 4000 is going to help fund my project as without selling it I won't be able to afford it. I'll doubtless regret it, but there's not really a way round it. I don't have the funds to get/keep both.

The P Bass I borrowed is actually for sale, and for not much money; maybe I shouldn't have borrowed it! Unfortunately I can't afford to get that without something else going. Obviously i'm aware of the problems/expense involved in getting another CS if I change my mind, which to be honest is probably the only reason I'm reluctant to let it go. But I wouldn't keep it just as an investment; (a) it's somewhat "mojo'd" and without case or cert (although I have a copy of the cert) so it's not so fantastically collectable, and (b) I'd sooner spend the money on something I actually was going to play.

Sometimes I wish I never tried other basses!

What was the Wal like, I played a Wal 6 string once, one of only two ever made. It was really easy to play and had a great Jaco sound to it. I always get GAS when I see a Wal for sale, but think they look really ugly. Love and hate at the same time.

Want low end on a Rick? Use flats. With flats my 4001 was a beast - and if I put enough of the bridge PU in the mix it clanked just fine.

Part of that might be that I've kept my 4001 capped. I would suspect a bypassed 4001 with flats might be all bottom all the time.

Oh, holy bottom. With Chromes on the bypassed '77, it makes a great reggae bass... more bottom than Jared before Subway.

I build my own p-basses, jazz basses, and fenderbird basses, then I have also owned Dean, Ibanez, Fender, Schecter, SX, Dillion, and others ...

I would like to get a Warwick 5, Musicman 5, and a few other basses ...

That's my problem Jeff....I'd always like to buy "a few other basses"!!! Unfortunately that usually means selling something else so I can afford to do it.

I initially had flats on my first Ric. They were on there for about 2 years...then I discovered roundwounds. Actually I remember the first gig I ever did was at my school. I played the flat strung 4001 through a Custom Sound 1x15 100w bass combo. Doesn't sound like much but you should have heard it! I had all the bass on, the bottom of the graphic way up, and the cab was a kind of folded horn thing; people sat in front of the stage said they could feel the air from it! Could barely make out a note I played, LOL! I've got a tape of it somewhere...

Bob, the Wal was a bit of a disappointment to be honest. I'd always wanted one because Leigh Gorman of Bow Wow Wow, one of my heroes, used one and got an amazing sound, one of my favourite ever. I px-d my Pedulla for it; it sounded great in the shop but just didn't really cut it in my band. I really regretted the px later as I preferred the Pedulla. Ironically a while back I was lucky enough to correspond with Leigh and his Wal (a Pro 2) is actually passive; he had an active one but sold it. My old Wal now belongs to a friend who uses it as his main bass and absolutely cherishes it, so at least there was a kind of happy ending. In some ways I wish I'd hung on to it though, I sold it around 1996 for £550 and it's now worth way over £2k, probably nearer £3k. I have to say I've since played several Wals and they've varied enormously so bear that in mind.

Interestingly many of the basses I've sold to friends have gone on to become their main instruments, so that pleases me a great deal.

Hey Bob (Little namedrop coming here) I was playing acoustic bass with Ian McNabb of The Icicle Works last weekend (now he has talent!!) but his regular bass player is Roy Corkill. I tell you this as Roy is a long time user of Wal fretless basses. He was the the guy that put the very distinctive fretless all over the Black, Colin Vearnecombe hits in the 80's. A great night was had for sure.

well when I moved to Denver I got a nice raise ... so more toys are in my future ...

Variety is the spice of life.

An Alembic is always something different to my ears. Still looking for a unusual 70's version, possibly a fretless, that gets it done...

A 63 Jazz is in the mix too. That sound is..well, just so old school r&b. Nothing beats it, if that's what you are playing.

Shaun, I think it's refreshing that you take a practical approach to your instruments. There's a lot of people who bemoan selling this or that guitar in their past, but c'mon...they wouldn't have sold them at the time if they didn't have a good reason, and they seem to forget that in hindsight. If you sell your CS, write down on paper in detail WHY you decided to sell it, and refer to it whenever you get the inevitable fleeting pangs of regret. Hell, sure I regret selling a 4000 for $250 way back when, but the bass had problems and I was pleased to be rid of it at the time. I sold a nice 330 to a friend for $650, and took a fair loss on it, but I never used the guitar and couldn't justify having it as a decoration. Those who don't have a bottomless disposable income need to consider the lost opportunities keeping a seldom-used instrument entails.

I love Rics and they are my favorite basses, but I have 18 basses all together and I can find use and purpose for every one of them

If RIC made a 5 string with decent spacing, I'd probably have all Ricks all the time, but to get my 5 string fix I've picked up a Yamaha RBX775 and a MusicMan Bongo 5. Both are active, something I wasn't sure I'd like, but a light touch(not my playing style by the way) really brings a lot out of these basses. My 4004C fretless could end up being the go-to bass though since it seems to do almost everything well. Did some ELP, Yes and Genesis last weekend and it sounded great, even bright. Played some classic rock with another band and it was in the pocket. The 4004 is the new J/Spector/Wall bass.

"I would take a bet that 50% of the guys that own Rics and who write on this forum own a P-Bass as well"

I own 5.