Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Okay im in the market for a new bass. And all this time i was thinking id get a ric ya know? But Iv played some of the new ones. And they just dont really do it for me. Infact theres actually only one ric iv played that i liked. I feel in love with that one however. One of the greatest basses i ever played. I was just wondering if its just the ones i happened to play (2 of them) that wasnt so great. Or if the new ones all around werent as great as befor.

My 4003 (bought new in 2003) looks, feels & plays like a dream.
If you buy one new you should get the shop techie to set it up to your preference (action etc)

Well i have a guy to do all that stuff for me. He seems to think i should hold out for an older one... 70s till early 90s or so. And not worry about it being beat up a little. As long as it plays good. But i dont know. Im one of those people who can never make up their mind.

How they're set up can make a HUGE difference. A few of my Ricks played terribly until I figured out how to adjust the truss rods, file the nut slots, adjust pickup and bridge height, etc.

Some of my worst ones became my best.

many of the new Rics in music stores are not set up good ... a bad setup on a good bass makes for a bad playing experience ... there are a few bad rics out there but that is rare ... the Ric quality control is quite good ... I have owned 60's, 70's, 80's, 90's, and 00's rics ... most of them were very good when setup correctly ...

Exactly my point Jeff ... and Rics are not a straightforward set-up !! I initially took mine to a guitar tech with a good reputation, but the nett result was awful (fret buzz, high action etc) - he then admitted he'd not done a Ric bass before. Thats when I took it to the shop I ordered/bought it from - the tech there had Ric experience, asked about my style of playing etc, & I left the bass with him for a couple of days -it has played like a dream ever since (over a year, with three string set changes done by myself with no further setting up required)

setting up a bass is an art ... and different brands require a different approach ...

Why doesn't the factory set them up right before they ship them. The would be one up on everyone else!

They do, but then they sit in warehouse an age, then get transported all over the world going through many temperature, pressure & humidity changes - these are the factors that affect the set-up !!

Jacob-

ya didn't care for the 4004 series? Guess it depends what kinda tone you're after.

After being a Roger Glover 4001 fan for 30 years I gotta admit that the newer RICs are easier to set-up correctly.

Easy solution: buy more RICs

"They do, but then they sit in warehouse an age, then get transported all over the world going through many temperature, pressure & humidity changes - these are the factors that affect the set-up !!"

That's true, I don't think most humans would survive the shipping conditions that the instruments go through as they travel from the factory to the consumer.