Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

OK, time for a little "reader feedback." What do you folks think?

Rickenbacker Basses
50 Years as Rock's Bottom

2007 is my target publishing date, and the 50th anniversary of the Rickenbacker bass guitar (model 4000 in 1957).

Sounds good......when can I reserve my autographed copy ?

I like it! I do think an alternative might be "at" instead of "as". maybe not, but it made me chuckle.

Yeah, I thought about "at," but it might sound negative. It's a play on words, but either one would work.The phrase "at rock bottom" was originally "at rock's bottom," IIRC, to describe being at the very lowest point in one's life. "At" rings more truly in the ear because of that phrase, but "as" better describes the instrument's purpose. I dunno, I'll think about it.

I din't know that. I thought rock bottom was an empty creek, and that meant at the lowest point of your life. I haven't heard the term rock's bottom til now.

Ehh. I dont know. I like it cause it kinda refers to the Bass. However it kinda seems like your putting it as not as good or something. I thought that at one time Ric's were the standard pretty much. But then again... i wasnt living at that time so i guess i wouldnt know as much huh.

Can't wait how many pages will the book have.

Hi Paul - great title! I haven't forgotten the Rick collection pics - they're all lurking on a flashcard awaiting my brother's skills to send you the things! (if only I hadn't spent all my time playing Rickenbackers, I might have come to grips with sending pictures myself...)

Paul, "at" would sound negative. I'd stay with "as". By the way, you could call the 1957 4000 "the oldest Rick in the book". Good luck. Can't wait!

I like it Paul. Save me a copy.

Way too early to come up with a page count. I've got the start on a couple of chapters, and a pretty good plan in my head, but it's going to be a while before I get the length established. I've got lots of photos and more coming from a lot of forum members, but I do hope to be allowed into RIC's photo archives for the more historical stuff. This is still two years off, so I beg your patience.

I like the title Paul, for whatever it's worth.

2 years seems long when you look ahead - however, look back two years and it seems like yesterday...

How about "Boyer's Field Guide To Rickenbacker Basses". You can include detailed color drawings of the birds, er, I mean basses, showing their range and playing habits. Sound patterns would be helpful, such as "growl-snap-bonk" so we can tell what version it is when it is hidden among the moshers.

And then we could have a range map for each type and color, with little dots scattered around the globe in the locations where they happen to reside.

Nah, maybe not.

Interestingly, I actually plan to use some concepts from bird field guides when showing the different models and historical changes: leaders with callouts, etc. I've been a birder since I was 10 and find that when it comes to identifying a species, it's great to have a good field guide. That's why I want that concept in the Rick bass book, too.

Paul, whatever the title, it will be great to have a copy, hopefully autographed by it's author. I'm really looking forward to it.

I'm hoping you will take a cool pic of my 4004/5Cii basses at the So Cal confluence, so that model can be represented in your book