An Introduction, a picture, and a story

teeder · Post by **teeder** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 6:57 am

Scott,

It looks like your bass has some nice wood too. Do you have any close-ups of the body, and what year is it?
Thanks,
Kevin

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Fri Apr 16, 2004 7:50 am

We use the Ohio hello in Ma. all the time when driving.
They have many ways of saying hello in lima, haha!

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 2:52 am

Mine is a '00 model. I bought it new from a shops unsold stock down in Tennesee. The grain isnt real remarkable, fairly plain actually. It does have one cool swirl in the grain that reacts with different lighting, just to the left of the toaster at the corner of the pickguard.

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 3:23 am

Welcome aboard, Kevin.
Like father like son, your boy has excellent taste in music and guitars! I believe he'll be an awesome player in a few years.

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 5:09 am

Kevin and Scott, those basses look great. I always tended to prefer the fireglo V63s, but I think you're beginning to convert me.

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 6:28 am

BTW Scott, I noticed you've got a newer 4003 as well as the V63. What are your thoughts on the differences (particularly soundwise)? I'd like another CS or a V63 but they're becoming pretty expensive, and at the back of my mind am considering a 4003 with a neck toaster (with 1/2 inch spacing).

teeder · Post by **teeder** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 10:11 am

Scott,

That swirl is what I was seeing. My brother just got a C64 the same week I bought my V63. It has the same type of swirl, but on the shoulder. I love wood with a little character.
Thanks for sharing.
Kevin

teeder · Post by **teeder** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 10:23 am

Paul,

Thanks, I hope he continues to have the interest in music that he does now. It's a lot of fun sharing the music that I grew up on and seeing the same excitement in him.

Shaun,

I've always been torn between FireGlows and natural. The Maple Glow's seem to have better wood on average, and I'll take wood grain over color any day. That said, the best is both, a beautiful red on flame maple!

Kevin

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 12:02 pm

Mapleglos usually are heavier than the others too.

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Sat Apr 17, 2004 3:46 pm

Shaun, I bought "Marie", my fireglow '01 4003 to use as my main Rickenbacker player. The trans red 4004 CII and the V63 usually stay home. The CII has its own voice, darker, punchier, and the V63 sounds like "Marie" only on steroids. All are great basses but voiced differently. I also have a 4001-4000 conversion bass that sits in my living room that I use to figure out tunes., I got into this one real cheap and it turned out so good I dont think I would sell it for anything.....Heres a pic of "Marie" in action.

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 2:27 am

Kevin, a fireglo on a nice flame is pretty special, and I agree about the wood. In fact that's probably the main problem with the couple of mapleglo V63s I've had a chance of buying; I wasn't convinced about the grain. I guess one will come along eventually.

Robert; I wonder why that is? I've only ever played 2 fireglo V63s, and they were medium weight. My CS on the other hand weighed a ton, but in my experience Ricks vary drastically even from the same year. I recently tested the weight of about 5 different brand new 4003s and they ranged from featherweight to back breaking. As I've got a bad back, I really need those featherweights!

Scott, had a feeling you were going to say that about the 4003 compared to the V63. Unfortunately as its the "steriod effect" I'm after (it's for live use and I need some real balls to cut through in my band), that tends to suggest I'll have to go with a CS or V63 after all...oh well!

The only time I've been able to do a direct comparison was with a somewhat earlier 4003; must admit the V63 won that hands down. I love the combination of the power and punch of that back pickup combined with the depth of the neck pickup;I love that relative hollowness they seem to have as well. The combination has always appeared to be more emphasised in the V63/CS in my brief experience.

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 8:58 am

Maybe I phrased that wrong. The V63 has more output with the horseshoe PU, and as a result, has more treble bite. But I agree with Jeff Rath, the newer 4003 models have a better, more usable tone. If I had to pick any of my Ricks to play with my band I would go with my 4003 fireglow. It is deeper sounding, very punchy and retains the unmistakable Rick tone. How do you run your signal to the board? I mike my cabinet and also run a direct line, advice I picked up here.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sun Apr 18, 2004 9:42 am

I also think the new 4003's are great live basses, they cut through with bottom, mid and top, a very round present sound.

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 9:09 am

Thanks for the update Scott. Hmmm, that really leaves me quite torn! I can get a 4003 far cheaper than a CS or V63 (although I do prefer the aesthetics of those 2; bring back full width crushed pearl inlays and that may change!); I wish I could do an A/B of a 4003/CS/V63 (should that be an A/B/C???). Its a bit of a poser; I could get a 4003, but might not be happy with it. On the other hand, I know I'd be pretty happy with a CS(and assume the same of a V63) having had one before;I sold it for other reasons than the sound. But what if the 4003 is better for what I'm after? I could save $1000 or more! And then there's the C series of course...my '99 4003 8 string was a little fatter and more powerful than my 72 4001, but was less powerful and trebly than my 4000. It sounded great, but I got the impression that without the octave strings it may not have been aggressive enough for me,given that I play very lightly. Heck, I'm just going to have to play a few (that's as good an excuse as any)!

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Mon Apr 19, 2004 9:13 am

BTW, Signal is either miked, direct or both depending on the gig. To be honest I prefer miked though.