Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

on the flip side I have 15 basses and only one of them is a modern design ...

lol...good one Jeff. There is a similar discussion in the bass section under NAMM show I think looking at different pics of basses by Ritter, Zon, FBass, etc. and how they all look ugly when compared to a Ric or Fender.

I understand your point Jeff.

One of the things that still amazes me about the forum is how split we are concerning flatwound vs. roundwound strings.

I've never given the mute a second thought though, I just crank it down and dont use it.

I always take the pup cover off.

And as far as the cut cap is concerned, I like it. It is a choice, like the mute, you dont have to use it if you dont want, and many new players have never known the 4001 tone.

They say change is good, I think JH and BH are just trying to blend the best of both worlds.

I do however think there is a need to get the 5- string in the stores. The 5 is a major player and is here to stay.

They did however offer an 8-string for a good many years. How many other "name brand" makers offered these?

The 5 will come.

I always thought Zon basses were gorgeous. One of my dream basses is the Zon Legacy Elite 4, with those custom Bartolini pickups and passive eletronics. They're hardly modern looking, though, unless you count graphite necks . . . but really, how many mainstream modern basses today have that? Modulus . . . and that's about it. Personally, Fenders are not really all that good looking. The thing about Fenders though, is that they're really never ugly, which is less than can be said for Manne or Elrick or Warwick . . .

"basses by Ritter, Zon, FBass, etc. and how they all look ugly when compared to a Ric or Fender"

Watch it there Jason!

I love my Zon.

The basses I like most are 4003, 4004, 2030, p-basses, jazz bass and other older designs ... but I also prefer 5 strings, modern hot passive pickups, round wound strings, line 6 bass pod effects, ...

So I am half retro and half modern ... I love modern music and 5 string basses but I like the retro distinctive tone of a single coil Ric bass or the growl of a p-bass ...

Easy there Jeff, when I saw your band, I figured you for 36. Your groupies, hmmm....there were about 36 of them.

Is it just me or does Mr. Halls ownership and personality influence your Rickenbacker admiration? I like the fact that he is outspoken, direct, and a signal minded determination to run the operation the right way, his way.

As a result, I am comfortable spending good money on his product without fear of a sellout. It appears as long as he is in charge, you will not see a cheapening of product or service, nor will you find hundreds of offshore specials lining the shelves of the local stores.

The instruments, the owner, things like this forum, all add up to make the RIC experience what it is , Fun!

I think if, when any of us were little kids, we would have guessed that at our parent's age we'd have 15 basses or how ever many guitars total and even playing rock or pop or prog at all would have been to much for our little brains to process. Life is good.

The prestige in owning a Rickenbacker guitar (or two) hit home this last weekend when I went into a music store. The salesman asked me what kind of guitar I played and when I said that I played Rickenbackers, he exclaimed "wow" and that wasn't in a sarcastic way. The very mention of the Rickenbacker name is usually enough to stop most guitar salespeople dead in their tracks. When you tell them that you play a Rickenbacker, they know you are a serious musician, or at least one that knows fine guitars, so they immediately take you to show you the good stuff in their store.