Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I'm an aging (54) rocker, and it's great to see this discussion group. I've got a 72 Rick 4001 that used to be Mapleglo, but I got it used and attempted to refinish it myself. I found out that strippers eat plastic, but was able to save the binding and position markers. I airbrushed a dark stain for a gradual sunburst, then overcoated with polyurethane. I recently have pulled the old Rick from under the guest bed and put some money into replacing parts and strings.

I appreciate all the cumulative knowledge on this board, and look forward to participating.

Welcome "back" and aboard, Paul.
Have fun here.

Hi Paul,
Welcome to the board.

You're never too old to play a Rick ... I'm 40 something and still out there giging with 2 bands and working a day job .... I got 4 Ric's these days ... I love my 4003s5 ... it is great for modern music ...

Hi Paul,I'm new myself (and an aging rocker), I've just turned fifty in March, this is a great forum, I've learned a lot in the short time I have been here. I have a 72 4001 also, a Jetglo Fretless.

Hi and welcome Bob. I have a '72 4001 Fireglo. I'm a few years from 50 and play in a blues band as well as doing the day gig. I also keep busy working on demo projects both as a recording engineer and a bassplayer/vocalist.

When I was a teen I bailed out of playing sports to play music for two reasons; First I loved music more than sports and second, I knew I would be playing music long after the jocks had hung up their cleats or what have you.

Hi Robert (my wife calls me that), I play a lot of blues also, I thought I was the only blues playing Ric owner out there, haha. There seems to be a lot of 72's out there, was that an especially prolific year for Rickenbacker basses, or is it my imagination?

I really don't know if '72 was a prolific year or not. Maybe Mr. Hall can fill us in on that.

I read somewhere there was an increase in sales of 4001's in the early 70's attributed to the popularity of Yes and Chris Squire but I have no idea if it's true, though Yes became very popular in '72 with the release of both Fragile and Close to the Edge.

No need to feel old! The guitarist I'm in a band with recently turned 50 (I'm but a "young" *koff* *koff* 35), and he still out-rocks most kids half his age. The only thing that shows his age is, unfortunately, his hearing (so if you're a young rocker and don't wear earplugs now, *please* consider picking up a set).

1949 was an exceptional year ....

John

Just an obsevation, but I'm 50 and my hearing while not perfect is pretty good for having stood in front of SVT's and Ric's for twenty eight years. But I've seen a lot of guitar players lose their hearing. I think that a guitar's frequency range is closer to that of the human voice than a bass, (except of course Johnny Cash's) so they tend to lose their hearing in the critical vocal range, which is of course very noticeable, (huh?). On the other hand I had a friend in the seventies who had an early seventies 4001S and used two SVT heads and 4(!)(8X10) cabinets, and his guitar player used two hundred watt Marshalls. His hearing loss was definitely noticable, but for the most part we bass players are lucky in my opinion. I also try to stay away from loud snare drums, cymbals and loud guitar amps, I cherish my hearing, if my ears start to hurt, I will do whatever I can do to get away from the cause. Pain is an indication of damage. And so is the "radio getting louder and louder as you drive away from the gig" syndrome. And worse yet, is: "When did I turn that radio on?" 1953 was also a great year.

I'm thinking '55 was a decent year as well but I'm probably delusional.

Unfortunately I have tinnitus which can be a real pain to deal with sometimes. The time I first noticed it I hadn't been playing in a band for about a year but had just finished treatment for a sever sinus infection. The infection was treated with a couple of rounds of Sulfa drugs and it turns out tinnitus is a known side effect of these drugs.
I had always taken good care of my hearing and avoided being in the way of loud sound or noise sources and I wore earplugs when playing most of the time before tinnitus entered the picture.
I do manage to continue to play as well as record and mix demos for bands and solo acts, it just takes me longer to mix now. My ears have a tendency to get "spongy" quickly and I need some time in complete silence to tone down the noise in my ears. Over all my hearing is pretty good in spite of having tinnitus.