Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Tonight I went to a jam not playing bass tonight, but flute and singing and stuff, and there was a guy there playing a bass that a friend of mine, his aunt, got him at a yard sale. NOthing wrong with that! He sounded great! But afterwards, we were talking about equipment, I and was telling him that I was playing bass and he asked me if I had one and I told him about my 4001.

So he said, "don''t spend too much on a bass, you should be able to get one for about 100.00"

I had no idea what to say! I bring this up here, at my support group, to make sure that it is ok to appreciate quality instruments at any stage of your development. OMG, why would I want to NOT have a nice guitar? Like you dont know the diff? Like you don't deserve a nice one? I dunno. I just felt guilty all of a sudden about my instrument fetish! Am I ok? Do I need to hock my instruments and get some ****** ones?

Note: I do see some players using some pretty sad stuff and sounding good. Just my choice to buy something nice..........I don't carry a plastic purse, either! What do you other addicts think about recommending that someone get a 100.00 axe?

Hi Kaia,

Wow, this post should bring lots of responses.

Firstly, I think that if your a decent player, you could pretty much make most any bass sound great. I've seen both sides of the coin. Fantastic players with lousy basses, lousy players with fantastic basses!

IMHO, it all comes down to where your comfort zone is. I have had some REALLY CHEAP basses, a $179.00 Lyon, and a $119.00 fretless I don't even remember the name of anymore. BOTH were very nice players and they got the job done for a LONG time. I didn't get the attention I do know when I reach for my RIC, but as I said, they got the job done. I recently picked up a $180.00 MIM Jazz bass and I'm having a lot of fun with it!

If it feels good, and you are comfortable playing it, go for it.

It took YEARS (and I'm talking 20+) before I was able to get my first Rickenbacker. Fast forward another 5 years, and I landed my first Alembic. It wasn't until I hit 43, that I kind of went nutty. Possibly this is my mid life crisis. If so, I'm glad it was basses and not something else!

Also worth a mention is that that you would be hard pressed to lose money on these basses. If you take care of them and hard times befall you, it's like having money in the bank!

Another comparison would be having a nice basic car, that got you from point A to B without much trouble. It got the job done. BUT, then one day, you drive a (fill in the blank) big buck luxury car. It still gets the job done, but with more comfort and it just handled better. After enjoying the high quality luxury car, it is kind of hard to go back to that econo box car.

I don't thing you should feel guilty about working hard to obtain a quality bass that you really enjoy.

Just have fun and enjoy playing whatever you have. Just my 2 cents worth!

For the longest while, my guitarist buddy (we've been playing together for about 15 years...) loved taking P.O.S. guitars and making them sound scary-awesome thru the god-given graces within his hands. He liked being able to (kinda) brag about playing on a $150 Squier and having seasoned pros and music afficionados alike come up to him to ask what "vintage" his axe was!

While his weapons of choice are now in the $300 to $500 range, he's kinda come around to the "dark side" of appreciating the qualities of a finely crafted (read: expensive) guitar. But he still hasn't taken that final step; OWNING one.

The fact is, if you want a $100 bass, then thats fine. But the truth is, if you want to sound and play better, then buy a quality bass. And a Rick IS the top of the pile, IMO.
Put a Rick in the hands of someone who is used to playing a cheaper bass, and you'll usually find that all their little mistakes and spaces in technique will be made clear, that his $100 bass would hide.
People who say, "I only need a cheap bass, no point spending the cash", usually can't afford a quality instrument. And again, thats fine, we've all owned a cheap one at some point.
Get a quality bass and all of a sudden, technique and tone will get better. Plus a Rick looks dang cool....
Don't feel bad, be proud, you own THE best bass you can get......

I think cheap, good playing guitars are more common than good playing/sounding $100.00 basses. A decent bass must have good solid construction, and have a straight neck. With that foundation, you can sorta get by with cheap pickups maybe.

I think we all know someone like that, people that say "I wouldn't drive a car like that", but let them get a better job or promotion and the next thing you know they're driving that very model car. It's just part of human behavior. Some of us that can't always afford the best dream of one day owning the best while others dispel the dream by convincing themselves it's not necessary.
I was showing a friend at work some pictures of my Ricks when another guy came up and said "oh dude, you should get an Alvarez 5 string like my brother has". We all gotta start somewhere and we don't all share the same passion. If he's content owning a $100 bass, that's fine. As for you - follow your own heart and don't be persuaded by others.

Whatever happened to the days of buying a good used 4003 for $350?

Back in......1985 I bought, I think it was a mid-70s 4003 for $400. It had a couple of dings, but the front and back were immaculate...

While I love the incredible music store finds ($200 for my Fender Jazz 5, thank you for putting me in the store that day), they are really not that common. People are realizing more and more that if they have something of value, it is going to cost.
And....well, a Ric is a great value when you think about it. The prices are only now starting to go thru the roof, as are a lot of other brands top-end instruments. But, for me, I love a good, inexpensive instrument,I don't have to worry about it as much.
If people today saw the **** we paid that money for in the old days...wow. People starting out now have much more options and better quality for a starter instrument.

Amen Steve.

Back when I started playing,there was Fender, Gibson and Rickenbacker. Now just browse through a Musicians Friend (or simalar) catalog. THE CHOICES!! Not just basses and guitars, but amplifiers and effects also. Hell,, you dont even need an amp anymore as long as you have a Sansamp or a Pod or something.

While looking for a new amp my brother was shocked to hear I was looking to spend close to a grand. The fact that my Laredo cost $1200 raised eyebrows in my family.

Fact is, most non-musicians (and not that serious "musicians") don't understand what a good piece of gear is worth. Heck, when I got my 4001 in HS my dad was surprised to find out that electric guitars are made of real wood. "I thought they were made of plastic" he said...

That said, from what I've read there are fairly decent student instruments out there now for the $100 - 200 range. The SX line of basses have gotten a fair amount of praise - for $150 you can have one with a hard shell case. With a PU replacement some swear they sound equivalent of the basic MIM Fenders, maybe better.

I might just get one for the holiday season, when we do a lot of private gigs with a lot of drunk idiots. Why risk trashing my $1200 Laredo in a situation like that?

But it is true you get what you pay for...I'd NEVER expect a $200 guitar to play or sound like my Laredo or 4001. But it might be a run for the money against my MIJ J Bass, which was only $350 new in 1992...

And like has been mentioned, some folks can make the worst instrument sound good. I have a beat up old trumpet...when I was serious on the instrument I got raves about my tone, and how I got such a good tone out of such a beat up horn. Now I sound like a broken down 40 year old with a beat up horn when I play it! But I'm not sure I'd sound much better with a $1000 Bach trumpet...

My take: cheap gear just limits your ability to learn & play better. You'll still get there, but it'll take longer & the journey will include more frustration.
If you can only afford a cheap guitar, then don't worry about it, you'll get a decent one later when you can afford it.
If you can afford a nice professional quality instrument, then why would you not buy one?
There's definitely no need to feel guilty about having good taste & the ability to satisfy it!

My first bass was a plywood POS I got for $175 used in 1979. Who would trade any Rick for that?
My first Rick {'76 4000) I saw in the music store window as I was walking past & said "I gotta have that!", so I painted 2 houses that summer to pay for it. My 4001 was rescued by a friend & I got it cheap because it was somewhat beat. For my 4080 I took out a loan.
I don't feel guilty because other guys I know can't afford really nice basses. Hell, I can't afford them either, but I bought them anyway!
I'll always have them & the value will be there when my kids inherit them.

Hi Kaia, the fellow is right for himself, but not for all.

I would think it depends on what you want. If you are working on a farm, a pair of jeans from Wal-Mart would be just fine. If you are hanging with the Hilton's, hello $500 designer jeans. Both cover your backside, but arguably one pair will look, feel and fit better. Whether it's worth the money only you and your circumstances can decide.

I own a set of Peavey basses, $98 & $128. Perfectly fine instruments that I've used in some of the finest knuckle dragging establishments in the Detroit area. Majority of the patrons, and fellow musicians, are oblivious to what I'm playing, or if I burst into flames for that matter.

I also own some beautiful Ricks and Alembics, some cost more than my first house. If I drag one of them to a gig, again no one really notices, except me, the fit, feel, look and sound. Oh yea, if a forum member was in the crowd, I'd have some attention and a friend that would actually be interesting to converse with.

I'm serious on that point. There is a real Rick brotherhood, as displayed here, which is a wonderful adjunct to ownership. Doesen't seem to matter if you play guitar or bass. If a Rick owner is in the room, they will seek you out. Not so much when flying the Peavey. Also I don't normally set the Peavey on a stand next to the TV so I can stare at it during the evening.

One other thing. A chick with a Rick (easy boys)is hot! See Andrew's post.(sorry, tried to stop myself)

Hmm, I may get some flak for this, but with the odd exception I don't think it makes a great deal of difference what you pay; it's all down to whether the instrument works for you. As Jeff Berlin more or less says, you shouldn't need to pay $4000 dollars if a $400 bass does the job. A few years back I spent a couple of grand (UK) on a custom six string, which was a great bass. A friend who had decided to take up bass asked me to go with him to a shop to try out a few cheapies he was looking it. One of them was a £200 Aria; I played it and it played and sounded every bit as good as my £2k custom, in my terms. It didn't look as nice, and wasn't as well built, but it was well built enough for the job. Sure, most cheapo instruments don't feel so good in the shop, but a decent set up can change that. Cheap or expensive, if it doesn't work it doesn't work. And if it does, it does. I've played cheap basses that in many ways were as good as my Ricks; in fact I've played one or two (Epi V and Jack Casady spring to mind) which I found (for me) possibly played better. But they don't look like Ricks, and I love the Rick vibe, and of course the sound is unique. I have a friend who bought a 4003 because he'd always wanted one, only to find he much preferred his Status, which whilst not a cheap bass was nowhere near as much as his Rick.

I would say however that the 2 Alembics I've owned really do feel like something else entirely; they're beautifully made and virtually play themselves. But then again that's how I perceive them; someone else may find them not to their taste at all, despite how much they cost.

After saying all that, you shouldn't feel guilty for liking expensive instruments! I could've bought an extremely good bass for a lot less than my Alembic cost, but I wanted that particular bass, and as I spend 8 hrs a day doing a job I detest I figure I owe it to myself to indulge occasionally!

So he said, "don''t spend too much on a bass, you should be able to get one for about 100.00" .

To me it just seems like this fellow is the frugal type and feels that if you have the talent you can make just about any instrument sound good. He's not the type to be passionate about a particular brand of instrument like most of us here are.