Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Susanna Hoffs??? mmmmmmmmm yum!with or without her Rickenbacker! Preferably with!
The Bangles have just played here in Melbourne, but i couldn't justify that sort of money.
I'll save my hard-earned 'til Mr. McCartney feels it's safe enough to risk a trip to Australia!

Billy Hyde in Blackburn, Greg. I did end up buying something from them but it was a mixer from their PA division.

A 4003 can out do a P bass or J bass

Er, sorry?

Define "out do"?

They're three incredibly different animals, mate.

Not to impune your opinion one bit, but you'll RARELY find any experienced/session player say one can "out do" the other.

A Fender does what a Fender does, and a Ric does what a Ric does... alas why all three models have lasted so, so long.

There are tones only a Fender Precision/Jazz could pull off which the 4003 coudn't. Fact. Vice-versa, too.

Aitch, the music stores in your area DESPERATELY need to get their salespeople to learn some people skills! What a bunch of morons! They obviously don't have a clue how to do their job (sell gear)
Whatever happened to the customer always being right?
You should inform the management of those stores that they need to shape up, then show 'em some pics of your recent purchases & tell them that "this is what you lost out on because your sales guys gave me attitude instead of the consideration they should be showing all customers".
It seems music stores are the only places where this kind of attitude commonly exists. They need to get their s**t together!

If you walk into a store to buy something, these people are SUPPOSED to be there to help you make an informed purchase, not run you down because of your tastes in ANYTHING. That's also COMMON COURTESY!
...end of rant...

The music stores EVERYWHERE are having this problem, as generations change and push the interests of their own age group.

We are now two generations past the Invasion. Rick has survived and prospered, catering to the boutique market, attempting to get a foothold in other market areas, and wisely pulling back each time. Meanwhile major manufacturers are getting huge and dumping hundreds of thousands of bellybutton guitars into music stores, where bellybutton salesgeeks go where the money is, and follow the line of least resistance:

"Hey, dude, whatch lookin' fer?" (As if he already can't tell by the hairstyle of the shopper! Longer hair=pointier guitar.)

"Y'know, Stratocas..."

"How much ya wanna spend, dude?"

"About five hunnert..."

"What color ya thinkin' of?"

"Red"

"Well, we gotta deal goin' this week on Red American Japanese Korean Standards with upgraded Deluxe necks with Rhodium frets and antique yellow lacquer--you got that, dude?--LACQUER, man, genuine NITRO, man! finish and antique replica decal. We relic it for you right in the store. Yeah, man, it's the one on the counter that the guys have been using for an ashtray...Right in yer price range (well, a couple hun' more, but we can work sumthin' out, dude..."

High fives all 'round, a couple of knuckle dusters, and Dude walks out with guitar ashtray wrapped in newspaper...

It's how it is out there' Dudes. Mom and Pop and smaller local dealers are gone, Dudes, and the Big Guys are only interested in bottom line, though they blather on about "superior customer service".

Still, anytime you're feelin' a bit down, carry your Rick into one of these SuperShops and open up the case.

The reaction will do yer head good, Dude.

Interestingly, you can't do that in SF GC. You leave your case at the door and only get it back when you leave, unless you are trading it in and need it appraised. Right, yeah. appraised.

They don't want to talk guitars. They want to talk sales.

BTW, I saw the Bangles at the '93 Orange County (CA) Fair. For free! And I was in second row--bleachers. Ouch.

Hey Dude,
This is Dude and I wanna order that red guitar/ashtray from you MAN are ya sure it's REAL LAQUER, Man, COOOOOL, hehehehehe!!? No man don't wrap it, it's pourin rain outside that'll do it good man!!
Paul

Paul, You are amazing. The insight to long hair and pointed guitars made me chuckle since I'm a long hair from the 60's. But it's all so true, the examples you gave hit the mark dead center. The average kid of 15 could hardly tune their guitar, but they could play EVH Eruption note for note. This made me want to close my doors to the public let alone walk into a G.C. It's all marketing, build em' cheap and sell em' fast. This is why we respect Rickenbacker so much. Tradition, quality, and price. John will never flood the market with an inferior product as F.M.I. and Nashville has.

>>ever since the late 70's all that's changed, 80to90% of what the biggies are playing is Fenders and Gibsons!! << The irony is, the "heard mentality" was probably worst from '72 to 78, when not only Gretschs and Rics and many others were locked out, but Fenders nearly almost as well. It was almost exclusively Les Pauls thru Marshalls...be it Frampton, the Elton John band, the Spiders from Mars, Kiss, Towhshend, Lindsay Buckingham and many lesser acts. The few exceptions were Springsteen, Steve Miller and Clapton, though only Miller was moving vinyl with the best of them at that time. So, thank the Lord that it hasn't been that bad since, even if rock radio has sucked here since the early 80s, lol. And at least in 78, the Jam, Petty and Robin Zander put Rics back on the map. And hey, they can't make them fast enough now, eh? Just wait until the Chinese and Indians start putting in their orders!

"Still, anytime you're feelin' a bit down, carry your Rick into one of these SuperShops and open up the case.

The reaction will do yer head good, Dude."

Happens _every_ time. First the eyes get big and then it's like "Whoa, Dude, a Rickenbacker, Sweet!"

I must admit to having a few conversations with the guy concerned (the Rick basher) and buying a few things through him - generally he's been pretty good. They were incredibly busy and I guess he didn't want just another chat - pretty sure they work on commission.

The place where the ****** lost out on the LIne 6 sale has a couple of nice blokes who do care and know their stuff but they were missing in action. The question I really hate being asked when I walk into a store: "Are you right, mate?"

The other place I went to was my local Rick dealer. I only wanted a couple of sets of Rick strings, but as usual the guy there took me on a tour of the shop, pointing out what was new in stock and what was on special - and he once again moaned about when the Ricks he has on order might arrive. Funny - I ended up consoling him!

I guess I have somewhat of a right to be looked after there - after all, I have spent about 20 large with them this year!

Hey, I used to be a pointy guitar guy, loved my Explorers! But even though I love Ric basses, never owned a Ric guitar.
To me, there is nothing like a Les Paul thru a Marshall. That was my main setup for 6 years or so, and just hitting an E or A chord and feeling it punch you in the gut was what kept me coming back for more. Then I happened on an Explorer, and it was too nice to resist. No pointy ones for me anymore, though Although if an Alembic Exploiter in the Explorer shape came my way, I wouldnt be too bummed.

some really overlooked Ric guitars are the 200 series ...