Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Active / passive........Apples / oranges......RickenThunder !

I think it's true that Ricks have less of a bottom end than many other basses.

Ricks have plenty of bottom end. I've noticed that some amps/cabs (usually small combo amps) just can't properly produce the low end that Rick basses have.

Hey Mitch, good to see you made it over here!

Rickenbacker basses, at their best, are capable of producing the most mind-meltingly awesome bass tone of all time

Ethan, this is probably one of the most eloquent descriptions I've heard describing a Rickenbacker's sound.

As for bottom end, I agree with Joey, it's hard to get decent low end unless your amp and cabinet are capable of it.

I had an Eden, an Ashdown both at 300 watts, and a B2RE at 450. No comparison to when I plugged my bad boy into an SVT Classic, with the same 4x10 Ampeg Classic cab.

Hey Joey, I love your DCM bass, it looks good with you playing it at a gig. Rock out my friend. One thing about RICs and low end, in my opinion, the lows from a RIC bass seem not to have that high mid/bass tone that other basses are famous for, but what do I know, I'm just a old brain dead rocker from the 70's. LOL

Thanks, Jim!

Ricks can do really good lows while also producing very clear/defined mids/highs. What I first noticed after getting my first Rick was how easy it was to get a tone that inspired me to reach as a player.

I've been practicing through an SVT-3 Pro (450W into 4 ohms) into a cab with 2-12" for a few months, not powering the SVT-2 Pro (300W all tube into 4 ohms) for the shorter spans I've had time for, and had a really nice sound dialed in. Today I went back to the 2-Pro and was immediately impressed with the deeper and tighter sound of the Rick (also into 2-12" drivers).

I also noticed more and tighter lows with more sustain when I put the washers under the tailpiece (gotta try a piece of maple!) and also drilled out the pockets the bridge allen screws sit in so they go to the wood. Actually more definition across the tonal spectrum too.

I usually find myself rolling off the bottom end on my 4001V63, so there!

A lot of us do have multiple brand instruments; I have instruments (guitars and basses) from RIC, Yamaha, Zon, Rick Turner, Alvarez and Fender.

BTW, I used to have instruments from Carvin, Gibson and Alembic.

I own two Ric basses made many years apart (1982 and 1998). I'm quite happy with the low end of the '98 4003, and it is indeed more powerful there and has more output in general than the older 1982 4001S, but the 4001S has a bit more "crystaline" sound that I also like a lot. They are a good pair to have depending on what your mood and the situation might be. I like them both the way they are.

The caveat to that is that I installed two series .0047 uF caps in the 4003 for more bass roll off on the bridge pickup (still plenty of bass from the neck pickup). It was pre-vintage tone push-pull pot being from 1998.

I'll never forget the first time I played my then new 4003 out...at a jam with 3 guitars and a rather loud drummer. Things were turned up a bit. I plugged into a rig that belonged to the bass player host of the event (he played active Fender and Yamaha basses) with the volume where he left it....all you could hear was the Ric, with loads of bottom. As I reached to turn the amp down the other bass player says "jeez that thing's got some PUPs!"

Says it all.

Maybe we should saunter over to a Fender forum and comment about how generic and tame Fender basses sound.

I still have a soft spot for Fender basses. Even though the last two instruments I have either ordered or bought have been made by RIC, I still like the looks of the Fenders. The G&Ls are nice, too, though I've never actually seen one in person. When I was looking at basses a couple of years ago I called Sam Ash to see if they would get any G&Ls in and the sales guy said they didn't sell G&Ls. He said the website is totally different from the store. I thought that was horrible because I wanted to play one. One of the reputable dealers (relatively) close to me had a used 4004 in that I played and a couple weeks later I ordered one.

I don't see any value in bashing someone's opinion over instrument preference. All instruments have their place and everyone a preference. These different sounds are the things that make music interesting!

agreed,nukebass...i have had bunches 'o'basses over the years,currently own 7 very different ones,including a 74 setneck 4000,and they all have good and bad features-one of my favorite basses to record and play is a supercheapo danelectro hodad-people look at it and laugh,but then have to admit it has a killer sound...

Amen ! Play em all !