Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I had, and now so sorry I sold a great 4003S/5. It was jetglo/BT. Super cool and a great player. I would either buy a used Ric, I wouldn’t convert or wait for Ben to come out with something new. In the meantime you could pick yourself up a Lakland 5er. Pretty cool bass imo.

My vote is for the "try out any decent fiver" before making your ultimate decision. It can be a lot to get used to. The A string is in the middle, what?

Kiddwad57 wrote:...The A string is in the middle, what?

Would you prefer a different string be in the middle?

Just having a string be a "middle string" takes some getting used to!

Kiddwad57 wrote:My vote is for the "try out any decent fiver" before making your ultimate decision. It can be a lot to get used to. The A string is in the middle, what?

bassduke49 wrote:Just having a string be a "middle string" takes some getting used to!

bassduke49 wrote:Just having a string be a "middle string" takes some getting used to!

Jeff, that's what I'm talkin' 'bout!

Here's another one with the D in the middle:

There are quite a few bassists who string their electrics E-C, Matt Garrison is a big proponent on that.

Then, there's this guy!

On the topic of 5ers... I have no interest in a low B. But as a Peter Hook fan (I know that he had a 6er), I'm wondering if could you just do a high B on a 5er instead?

Could you string any 5er in that way or would you need a new nut?

grogic wrote:Could you string any 5er in that way or would you need a new nut?

Sure, but I highly recommend balanced tension strings like those sold by Kalium. Since you're probably not playing bar chords, I'd think it better to have a high C string than B string.

It's notable that Chris Squire never seemed to own a Ric 5-string, or at least I've never seen a picture of him playing one, maybe that's true with Geddy too. I can't think of another major artist who played one, but maybe I just haven't seen an example. They turned to other brands purpose-built for 5 strings. I've literally NEVER seen or touched an original Ric 5 string in person, seen one for sale in a store, or heard one played live, and there have to be some good reasons for that. The lack of a stock 5-pole pickup and slightly kludged custom bridge parts tells me John Hall's heart was never quite in it anyway. Add to that a tendency to develop bridge lift or "negative neck angle" problems, and it seems like an experiment doomed to failure. Short of a demonstrable big demand, I doubt there ever will be a 5 string under JH's management, maybe Ben?? If I had the spare coin, I'd buy one of Rath's 425 conversions, they aren't even much of a premium over a new 4 string, and his attention to detail and function looks excellent. I play Rics primarily with a pick, so the tight string spacing doesn't bother me, but I can see how it would for some people.

i'll vote next week when i get this one.....

Gilmourisgod wrote: If I had the spare coin, I'd buy one of Rath's 425 conversions, they aren't even much of a premium over a new 4 string, and his attention to detail and function looks excellent.

Jeff's conversions do nothing to address the negative neck angles cause by the extra string and the big neck pickup route. His modded tailpieces don't get replated, leaving exposed zinc that tarnishes and can be a bit rough, and still leaves the E & D strings at steep break angles between the saddles and the end of the tailpiece. The bridge inserts he has machined from aluminum don't get chrome plated, or even polished. He also crams the extra tuner in between the D & G tuners, then cocks them all at angles to keep them from interfering with each other. There is a reason his conversions don't cost much.

sloop_john_b wrote:

aceonbass wrote: ...............PS:What's "acid jazz"?

I think of it like funk / disco music with some jazz elements. Jamiroquai would be a good example.

Stuart Zender is one of my all-time favourite bassists; love those first 3 albums.

kulit17 wrote:i'll vote next week when i get this one.....

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i returned it back to the seller....(which by the way was a nightmare). it had a twisted neck, amongst other things......
after i got my refund (not including any of the shipping costs) i noticed he posted it in eBay? with same description. told him perhaps he should update his description of what i found, but he declined and said it all got fix (i've seen no pictures proving this)

That could very well be an illusion caused by the different height of the nut from low to high strings.