Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I need to know how the side markers on a 75 RIC fretless neck are. I was thinking about buying one and I usually play a fretted neck. Are they spot on or are they off between frets like a fretted neck?

A '75 should have the dots right where the frets would be. Unless it was a custom order or modded that it the way they did it then.

My '75 4001FL has the dots on the side of the fingerboard exactly where all 20 frets would have been if it was fretted. The dots on the front of the fingerboard are where they would be on a 4001S
My '06 4003FL has the same dot pattern on the side and front as a fretted 4003S.

I’d much prefer your 75 setup Joey! I need all the help I can get when it comes to playing a fretless!

the dots on my 4002 fl '82 are the same ..right where the frets should be...front are where they are normally

That 75 that just ended on Ebay had a 1/2" pickup spacing....Damn!

I guess I'm weird on this forum...when I played Andy Winters FL I was disoriented from all the side dots.

I'm just a traditionalist who likes a few dots on the side and nothing on the fingerboard!

yes...i dont care much for markings either..i just ignore them

Good to see you back Ginger!

It actually took me a while longer to get used to playing the '75 with the dots at every position than it did to get used to the markers on the '06. At first, like Ed said, I also found the dots at every position to be disorienting.

It's best if you can do like Ginger said, try to ignore the dots...gotta practice in the dark. LOL

hi ted...ty hon

ahh ya dont notice em after a while..i think fretlesses are like all other basses..once you get to know her, you dont pay much attention anyways visually

Practice my fretless in the dark...hmmm...there's a suggestion!

I have a hard enough time with the Laredo on a darkened stage with it's 4mm neck inlays. It's been 7-8 years since I played that fretless as #1, after 3 years back on bass I'm JUST starting to get to the point where playing it occasionally with the band is not an intonation adventure! At least by my standards.

Although there was a gig in Dec 2004 (few months after I switched back from guitar) where I ended up playing the FL for most of a gig - my 4001 was buzzing far too much to deal with. It went OK, although I did pop a D string on the J bass that night...

But as I pick up the J right now and try some riffs and scales I find that I can totally ignore the neck as I play and get decent intonation. As Ginger says, once you get to know the instrument.

And heck, if I had that FL 4002 of yours Ginger, that would be my #1!

shes been my main bass since she arrived in 1982 ed

Nice Jaco lines Ginger...Wait a minute. Deja Vu...

Practice, practice, practice....

Ed, I agree! Those FL markers are way too confusing. New and old. I wish they had always kept the original marker system like the fretted basses.

Learning with your ear is a far more productive curve than the visual, which is of course, the main way the majority learn.