Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

kiramdear wrote:If that black rick makes you feel more serious and spend more time playing then it's worth its weight in gold. And it doesn't hurt to impress 'em as well, in a business where image means so much, like it or not

Oh yea image is a lot in this business, that is a fact. And here I am sitting here talking about my first Ric and I have a 1988 Yamaha RBX200 in my lap (black on black /rosewood) that is actually one hell of a bass. Ive never been one to only go by whats written on the headstock. If I like the bass I play it and own it if I can. But yea, that matters too in this business but Id never own something I didn't like only because of what it says on the headstock.

Also I wouldn't be ashamed to tote a humble headstock if the tone and feel were outstanding. That says a lot about a player as well.

And, too, I've actually soured a "casual " audition by bringing a prestigious instrument. Go figure

kiramdear wrote:Also I wouldn't be ashamed to tote a humble headstock if the tone and feel were outstanding. That says a lot about a player as well.

Let me say the tone and feel of a Yamaha bass is amazing!!! I don't know where Ive been all these years but I just recently became aware of Billy Sheehan. I watched that blazing 8 minute solo of his on Youtube not long ago and I was curious as to what bass he was playing. I found out it was a Yamaha and I was like 'wait, the motorcycle company?' O_O Well I didnt care for the looks of the model he uses but its sound was awesome. I found a poor pitiful and broken one (wiring not body or neck) on eBay that I really liked the body design of and grabbed it. Several long hours of cleaning the stickers and the dried beer and lord knows what else and a basic Pbass wiring kit from StewMac and I plugged this baby in and hit my first note on it. I was blown away! The tone, the growl, the feel and speed of the neck... WOW is all I can say...LOL WOW... and then I find out the RBX line is one of the 'lower' lines of Yamaha basses... no way.. LOL.. but as much as I love it, I will let it go towards a Ric. Least it got a new lease on life so to speak with me. ^_^ (if you saw the before and after pics..not the most drastic basket case to restore but for my first time around rescuing a bass, I think its not bad ^_^).

Awesome, fellow DIY girl! I have a a short scale squier guitar that I modded into a dangerous and versatile weapon, and I've done setups and minor repairs even on my ricks. Partial credit to the guys' good advice and diagrams here. Check out Joey's Bass Notes online for a great info and DIY resource, for example. I restored the stereo jack on my 4001 with one of his charts. And if I can do it, sister, anyone can Nah, but he sure kept me from botching it up

kiramdear wrote:Awesome, fellow DIY girl! I have a a short scale squier guitar that I modded into a dangerous and versatile weapon, and I've done setups and minor repairs even on my ricks. Partial credit to the guys' good advice and diagrams here. Check out Joey's Bass Notes online for a great info and DIY resource, for example. I restored the stereo jack on my 4001 with one of his charts. And if I can do it, sister, anyone can Nah, but he sure kept me from botching it up

I had a lot of support from TB on this Yamaha!! I was so curious about them but didnt want or have a lot of money to blow on one (Yammys can run the whole range of prices Ive found) and then I find this poor thing for $25 on eBay. I asked around about the neck specs and went for it. I have been wanting to learn how to work on basses, do my own set ups and maintenance and this was an opportunity to learn some and try out a Yamaha. It boy did it pay off. ^_^ It will be a sad day when I see it go, I really love this thing and am proud to play it and be seen playing it but sometimes you gotta do what you gotta do. I know my Yamaha RBX4 A2 is going no where and I will proudly sit it next to the Ric I eventually get and be equally proud at owning both of 'em. ^_^

And I know I will need some advice and support here for sure on the Ric I end up with too!! ^_^

Yeah, I'd hang on to both of them. You always need one to drag to the tailgate party, or for backup. I'm getting an eighties' Yamaha guitar for christmas, a cool surf-style model. I can't wait.

I find it really gratifying to work on my guitars because they respond so well when you do just the right thing to them

kiramdear wrote:Yeah, I'd hang on to both of them. You always need one to drag to the tailgate party, or for backup. I'm getting an eighties' Yamaha guitar for christmas, a cool surf-style model. I can't wait.

I find it really gratifying to work on my guitars because they respond so well when you do just the right thing to them

I agree. Its nice too to know the shape this thing was in when I first got it and then to see and hear it now. And you know you can take some credit for it and you really get to know the beast and get it to respond to you just right! ^_^ Oh and it wouldn't take much to talk me out of selling it for the funds for a Ric. I really do love this bass and I love the looks on friends faces or neighbors when they hear this monster and see 'Yamaha' on the headstock... I just grin and go 'yup its the motorcycle company, thankyavery much.'

And yea if nothing else, its a 1988 RBX. I have yet to see another one for sale so I might be hard pressed to replace it if I did let it go and then tried to get another one down the road. I do have other things I can let go for funds so perhaps I will put it down on the list.

Oh yea, by the way, get ready for a fun bass!!! Yammys are great from what I know of my somewhat limited experience with them. They are light weight, the necks are not the thinnest or narrowest Ive ever touched (though at least the RBX line is pretty thin and narrow anyway) but theres something about them that make them fast and very comfortable. Some people do have a slight problem with the way the knobs are laid out ad something about the angle of the neck to the bodyy/pups or whatever. They have a slightly different feel to them then most other basses but its a nice feel and they aren't exactly huge as basses go. I don't know all the models of them save the couple of RBXs I have so I don't know how the BB line and other lines are but I think you will really like the Yammy you are getting soon. ^_^

No, sorry, it's a six stringer guitar I'm waiting for. But I have played some mid to upper priced modern Yamaha basses that were rock solid.

Here's one I'd be eager to get: the BB1200, I believe, as played by Macca himself. They go for close to 2K now

Other than that, though, I will mostly these days go for the vintage styling of a rick or hofner. Never cared for fenders but I use to love my Gibson Ripper.

kiramdear wrote:No, sorry, it's a six stringer guitar I'm waiting for. But I have played some mid to upper priced modern Yamaha basses that were rock solid.

Yea I realized it was a guitar you were talking about after I posted that. My bad, I have bass on the brain tonight LOL

kiramdear wrote:

Here's one I'd be eager to get: the BB1200, I believe, as played by Macca himself. They go for close to 2K now

Ive heard good things about the BB line but I tend to like the body style of the RBX line more. I learned a lesson about the looks of a bass and the importance of it. No matter how much I think we try to tell ourselves that looks don't matter, its the feel and the sound and how we play it, the cosmetics do play a role. I started out with two red Peavey Foundations and I am not a fan of red and red basses. Try as I might, as well as they sounded and felt, I couldn't get past the fact they were red and of the second generation headstock design (rather a step down compared to Peaveys earlier headstock design back then) and wasn't truly happy till I got a black on black 85 Foundation. Oh don't get me wrong the 92s (a 4 and a 5 string respectively and a perfectly matched pair) were awesome players and there laid my dilemma, great basses, not thrilled with their looks so I looked around till I found one I loved the look or more. ^_^

And Im getting pics of my RBX200 to post here in a minute.

I agree, styling is very important and very subjective. Although I did love my Ripper in spite of its being sooooooo homely

The pics are too big to load here so I just left the links to them in place:


Heres a pic of my RBX before and after:

Before (and it honestly was a lot worse in person):

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc29 ... es/RB1.jpg

And after I got done with it:

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc29 ... BXzjpg.jpg

And yea I used to not be into Fenders at all and it was because of my nightmare first bass which was a lawsuit Fender Pbass copy but then I saw a Fender 'Cowpoke' and heard so much praise about Fenders in general I decided to open my mind and take another look at them. And I discovered they are really awesome basses. In fact my Squier Vintage Modified Jazz I got by 'accident' while I was testing out Fenders at my local music shop one day. I gave it a spin and was so impressed I ended up getting it LOL

Heres my one and only Fender (next to my T40)

http://i213.photobucket.com/albums/cc29 ... T40_P3.jpg

Wow, she really cleaned up nicely. Great job! The styling is fine, actually better than a lot of models from that era to my taste, not too pointy looking. I'm just kinda stuck in the sixties, I guess, which is sad because I've passed up a lot of great instruments and great bargains by being so picky. But like we agreed, looks are very important to the feeling you have for playing the bass, and that's the only criteria I have for wanting one, beside the tone, which is infinitely malleable nowadays anyway. Cool Peavey and Fender too. Girl, you are already well-armed. Love your straps too

Hey I'm logging off to zzzzzzzzz good luck!

kiramdear wrote:Wow, she really cleaned up nicely. Great job! The styling is fine, actually better than a lot of models from that era to my taste, not too pointy looking. I'm just kinda stuck in the sixties, I guess, which is sad because I've passed up a lot of great instruments and great bargains by being so picky. But like we agreed, looks are very important to the feeling you have for playing the bass, and that's the only criteria I have for wanting one, beside the tone, which is infinitely malleable nowadays anyway. Cool Peavey and Fender too. Girl, you are already well-armed. Love your straps too

Thanks for the comment on my job with the Yammy. I do love the RBX style with that chunky big upper horn and the little lower horn that on the 4 A2 faces the other way. It just looks so cool to me. And yes my two red Foundations taught me a lesson and I am picky now as well. Though I did make a slight exception with my T40. I wanted one with the rosewood fretboard but that burst was so pretty on that one and dark I took it. ^_^ And thanks, that Fender is just wild! A cross between the P and the J right down to the neck. A shame they only made them for a few short years.

And yea I'd like to think I have some good basses in my stable. Having more then one is good though I think I went a bit overboard in the number this time. LOL But the ones I can't live without are staying in my quest for my Ric. Lesson learned there when I got rid of the basses I had the first time around when I played.

And the two nearly identical Levy straps (the one on the cowpoke and the one on the RBX) were finds off eBay. What these straps were new and what I got them for barely used is just wrong LOL. The strap on the T40 is one I had made in my quest for finding a good strap for it. That strap is now on my VMJ and that huge honking levy 'bass' strap they have out is on the T40 now instead. Yea, I like Levy straps. ^_^