Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I was trading off my Ampeg b210sp for an Ampeg B2r and a 4x10 Hartke cab today, and brought my Rick along to test. The fellow said he couldn't stand Rick's because the E string is a lower volume than the A. He showed me what he was talking about and sure enough I heard a difference. Now, I have never noticed it with my playing, and I thought that you should be able to adjust the p/u's to fix it, but he sold his and he has no Ricks in the store.

I haven't been by in a while, but I am gearing up to finish up that carcass I started a few months ago. I can't decide between replacing the wings with curly maple, or just finding someone to do a good fireglo on this one. I would have a lot if "holes" if I go with the current wood.. I will have the issue of a trc coming up also...

It would also have to be natural to really appreciate the curly. I don;t know if fireglo would show it off enough.

Anyway, I thought it was interesting that this fellow didn't like the sound at all. He likes the new active stuff, I guess. I said I once owned a Pedulla and he didn't care for those either!

I have seen (or rather, heard) that volume problem on some 70's 4001s and early 4003s. RIC seriously improved the pickups through the 80's and 90's. None of my newer Ricks have weak bottom. I plan to install newer high gains in my '80 4001 at some point to round out the sound better. I will say though that some 4004Cs have a balance problem with the E string. This is just a guess but it seems to have something to do with how close the E string is to the edge of the pickup.

i know several who dislike them.

I would assume most P bass guys wouldn't like them as it is nowhere near the same sound. I happen to dig mine!

I used to get complaints about the sound of my 1968 4001 ... and I used to get a lot of compliments on that sound as well ... but the modern Rics get compliments about 90% of the time ...

I still see Rick as the "Apple" of basses, with everything that entails!

PS, I'm a pc geek, and yes, I think the best OS is OSX. MS keeps me employed.

That's weird that he hates Rickenbackers AND Pedullas . . . they sound so completely different, though both are the two best basses I've ever played . . . and Pedulla comes in third for "best sound", just after a Wal. Rickenbacker is first, of course.

When I got my Ric, I brought it home and immediately heard that the E string was quieter than the others . . . so I adjusted the bridge pickup, and now it sounds fine. I finally managed to get it to the perfect height where it has enough volume, but I don't keep hitting the polepieces.

When people hate Rickenbackers, it's usually because they have some stupid idea that they always sound EXACTLY ONE WAY. I've never known a person who disliked Rics EVEN after they had played one.

I've had that problem with several 4001's and 3's and have always been able to get the strings' volumes balanced by fooling with the set up. One bass I couldn't and sold it about 5 years ago and highly regret it now because I know I could get it right and it was a mint 75 Fireglo with old features otherwise. That was much more common on 4001's than 4003's.
I can do a decent P bass sound if I want it. Use Fender SS flats, you'll get that sound and develop muscles at the same time.

"Whatever" regarding people who "hate" one type of bass or another. I've played excellent P Basses and a few dogs...I've seen a few mangled Ricks that weren't really good players anymore...

I never noticed any lack of volume on my E string on either the 4004 or the 4001; I suppose I'm lucky or deaf. In fact, depending on the room, sometimes the G at the 3rd fret of the E string might actually BOOM on my 4001...kind of a bright spot on the neck.

Most of those balance problems are due to PU height - I recently put some SD's on my J Bass and I had a problem with the E string being too powerful. Took about half an hour to get it balanced well.

And Bob Young is right...put some Fender 9050's on a Rick and you'll out P Bass a P Bass AND get a great hand workout!

A Rick is a strange animal. I've tried other peoples setups, tried them in stores, and came away thinking, Wow, how can these people play these things?

It takes me about an hour from the time I get a new Rick, to get close to where I like them to play and sound. The whole process takes a couple of days.

Change strings, remove the pickup cover, adjust the rods, file the nut, intonate, check the action, adjust pickup height, intonate again,,,,it all has to be done. I get them real close, then in a day or two when everything settles in, I'll make the final tweak, only then,(IMHO) are they good to go.

But, once you get them where you want them, their rock solid and only need a minor tweak with the seasons.

But,, then again thats my style. Someone who plays heavy probably couldnt play my basses.

I read a piece of advice from Jeff Berlin along time ago and he said, "Dont play so hard, try lighter strings, and turn up your amp".

Good advice.

Rickenbackers are unique and some people don't like unique things. There was a thread over in the Fender Forum talking about whether the continued success of Fender basses was due to them being good or just tradition. I tend to think it's more of the latter because people have heard the P-Bass sound for so long that they've accepted that sound as an industry standard. There were some who acknowledged Ric's build quality, but you could tell people wanted that traditional P-Bass sound and I think some couldn't even think that a Ric could sound like something other than the Geddy Lee or Chris Squire.

by the way, up until i owned my first one, i didn't like them at all. i only bought one to rock out like motorhead in my tribute band. then the love happened.

"I read a piece of advice from Jeff Berlin along time ago and he said, "Dont play so hard, try lighter strings, and turn up your amp". "

Gary Willis has been ssaying that for a LONG time now. I "tried" to play his custom Ibanez bass a few years ago, it was impossible due to his extremely low action. But watch him play it, incredible!

Found a guy who hates Ricks?

=

Found a doofus!

I agree with Scott ... I takes a while to get the right setup on a Ric bass but when you do it is awesome ... sometimes I will let a Ric bass sit around and not play it for a month or 2 or 3 and due to humidity changes it needs a new setup again ...