Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

The lightest rics made are ...

60's 4001 or a 4004C with the oil finish ...

something about that 4004!!

I've never had to hold up the neck of any of my 4003s while playing. My latest may be my heaviest, it's about 9 1/2 lbs., but it's well balanced.

Guess I'm Hercules because I don't think my 2030 is heavy at all.

after moving the band's subwoofers and pa rack and power amps and 4x12 cabs and drums and lights and bass amp and all the rest ... those skinny little ric basses seem to weigh nothing at all ...

I agree with that, Jeff! The heaviest bass I ever played was one of those '70s model Les Paul Studio models... They had active pickups(before active pickups were cool) and all manner of coil taps and switches all over the place, but man what a back-breaker!!!

Before my back problems I never had any trouble with any bass; used to be into bodybuilding somewhat, though not to anywhere like Kenneth's level. I thought that would always be the case, but it was not too be.

The heaviest 4 string bass I ever played was probably a cocobolo Series 2 Alembic, very closely followed by an ESP Jazz I had (it sucked),and the first of my 2 Jaydees (2nd one wasn't so bad). The heaviest bass I've played was a 6 string Alembic series 2 with comfort (i.e. wide)neck option. Fantastic bass though. Played a 6 string Warwick Thumb that was pretty hefty too. All of the above were 12lbs upwards. Oh, and my first CS was by far the heaviest Rick I've played, and I've played dozens. Thankfully the new one is a good deal lighter.

I can deal with the overall weight, but having a neck heavy bass (for me anyway) means i cant play for long periods with the same level of dexterity that i can on a more balanced instrument.

If you find Ric basses (at least 4000-series) to be neck/headstock-heavy, you can always do the mod that lots of people do on T-Birds: put a strap button at the base of the neck, and use that one, instead of the one on the top horn. I have a friend who did that to his, since he likes to play with his left hand at about shoulder level.

You can also add a strap button higher up on the rear edge of the bass for the same effect and it looks better than putting one on the neck.

Hmmph - I don't know about heavy Ricks, my buddy's 4001 is a featherweight compared to my current axe - a Dean Hollywood Z. That's a lot of maple on that crazy body shape, and it's gotta be two inches thick! Although, I believe my original bass was even heavier - a Mexican P-Bass copy (Hurricane) that clocked in around 15 pounds!

"... a Mexican P-Bass copy (Hurricane) that clocked in around 15 pounds"

What?! That must be a new record for a non-doubleneck bass. What was it made of, cast iron?

I knew a gut that had a Hurricane & it was a heavy little bugger too. Sounded terrible & really heavy.
I really like the old Gibson RD Artist basses. The ones with the Moog electronics. I've never played one, but I think they look cool. They are supposed to be notoriously heavy & complicated though.

peavey made an ugly 2 pickup bass with a lame looking headstock back in the 70's that felt like 20 pounds ...

I actually had one of the Peaveys.