Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi !
I play the bass guitar on a 4003 bass and I'd like to know which Rickenbacker amplifier is the best recommended for this bass guitar ? (Which models were used with this bass guitar before amplifier manufacture was stopped in 1989 ?)
Thanks a lot for your answering back.

Kris.

Welcome Kris. Your post likely went unoticed by the bass players. Try looking here.

I own a Peavey Classic 400 tube amp which produces 443 watts rms at either 4 or 8 ohms along with a Peavey Pro 410 cabinet. I use a early 1970's 4001 and can't say enough about the great tone I get from this combination.

If you specifically want to know which Rickenbacker bass amp to use with your 4003, you should be aware that Rickenbacker hasn't offered amps for over 15 years now. When they did offer them, they didn't sell very many compared to their competitors.
You might find a RIC RB-35 combo or RB-120 combo around if you are lucky. They always sounded great with RIC basses.

Hi Kris Welcome,
I've used Ampegs for years, SVT's and V4-B's, B-15's etc. If you like a nice solid bass sound these will do it for you. I think a Ric and an SVT were made for each other. All these amps are also tube amps. The SVT is a 300 Watt Rms. tube amp with a matching 8X10 cab and was the first modern bass amp with a tight punchy sound, 99% of amps and cabs are descended from these, and they are still made, but they are called SVT classic now. If you are looking for something small Ampeg also make smaller lighter heads and cabs. Gallien Kruger (sp?) makes some nice sounding stuff too. But if you want solid, go ampeg. They were also the first real amp made specifically for bass, the first one were made in the 40's for upright basses. The name came from the pickup that they put in an upright basses peg which they pivot on.

By the way John,
Where did you get that 72 4001 with the horseshoe pickup? That is one beautiful bass. I have had a picture of you holding it since last year and now I find out you are a member of this forum.

I've been a member of this forum for quite a few years now Bob, but as you can see by my number of postings, I don't post often. Thanks for your comment you are right, this bass is a beauty.

The original bridge p/u was close to dying a few years back so I bought a horseshoe p/u from RIC and dropped it right in. I didn't want to install the much larger horseshoe surround that came with the p/u. So I kept the original surround on the bass to keep it more original looking. The horseshoe fit right in without any modifications to the bass.

I also bypassed the .0047 cap when I installed the horseshoe which really gives the bass added balls. Other than these minor mods the bass is original and in great condition.

By the way, my bass was made in April of 73 (MD). Making it one of the last Ric basses to be made with late 1960's features. I got my years for 72 L and 73 M mixed up when I sent that pic in. I guess I was having a "seniors moment" at the time.

Thanks for your recent posts Jon. You really have to get out and post more often.

Peter, I really enjoy your site and I drop by every opportunity I get. That can be (and usually is) many times a day. I'm happy to contribute if I feel that i've got something valid to say.
Being a long time 4001 owner (30 yrs) I guess I could find a few more things to comment on.
Thanks for the encouragement.

Thanks to everyone who answered me.

All the best to each.
Kris.

I had the same question as the original post. I put it in the Bass section and got a lot more responses. No one has given me any comments on Ashdown bass amps. It sounds like an Ampeg is the way to go for a Ric bass, but I can get a pretty good deal on an Ashdown. Does anyone in this section have any experience or comments on the Ashdown MAG series of amps??

Rick,
I have not played or tried the Ashdown MAG series but I can vouch for the ABM series allowing very nice Ric-Tone. I do have an ABM C110-300 Combo amp that's just a killer mini with Pyramid flats on a V63. I also have an Ampeg V-4BH with a pair of Bag End S12-B's,which allows very nice Ric-Tone. And if neither "Baby Bear" or "Mama Bear" is quite right for the gig I take out the Mojave Framptone Amp Switcher, fed from the Thru Out of the Avalon U-5, running both amps and giving the sound person three line feeds, D.I., Tube D.I., and Hybrid Tube/S.S. D.I., and let them have fun.

Only a Rickenbacker amplifier is good enough, period. Anyone?

You'd think that if that were true, more would have been sold, and they would still be in production today.

I've loved my Ric's for a long time, just like Music Man, but I disliked their amps too.

All my Rick's sound awesome through my Trace rig. I've never played thru a RIC amp however. The ability to control tone via the 12 band graphic and dual band compression on the Trace offers nearly unlimited sound options. Anyway, I'm loving it.
By the way Ashdown was started up by Mark Gooday formerly of Trace Elliot.
http://www.hostultra.com/~bassistsreview/ampmanufacturer/ashdown/ashdown.htm

Thanks very much for the story link Robert. Very helpful.