Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Evolving from the 3001 bass, the 2030 Hamburg and 2050 El Dorado basses could be described as "budget" basses, but they had some interesting features. As far as I can tell, the pickups were passive, but the wiring between the recessed edge-mounted jack plate and the pickups included a circuit board and volume and tone controls for the two pickups. Necks were "bolted" (big wood screws) onto the bodies, and new humbucking pickups and a new bridge/tailpiece were added. The 2030 was unbound with chrome hardware, while the 2050 was bound (usually white, but I recall seeing a black-bound white model somewhere -- or was it a 2060?) with gold hardware. These basses were accompanied by similar guitars, the 230 and 250 with similar trim. First ones appear to have been introduced around 1984 and were superseded by the 2020 and 2060 in 1992 (which we'll get to later).

So let's post pictures and discuss the 2030 and 2050 basses!

Oh come on, that's fascinating stuff!

Ahh, the Hamburg and Eldorado Models, pretty cool.
...As we speak, I'm looking at the B/W pics in "Rickenbacker"..
I like that El Dorado. Probably worth a pretty penny or two.

Now does anybody that lives or visits here actually own these basses ??
Are you required to be an owner with image to partake of this Model of the Week thread?
If so, forgive me, I'm Outta...

Now we look at parallel Universes- First time I broke out the 4003 in studio session last night,
nobody said a thing- I was expecting something....

When you breed a 3001 With a 230 You get a 2030 -- With a funky back!

Curious as to how that 2030 SOUNDS-

Seems like it would THUMP pretty good-Is it a full 33-34" scale?

Also, what are those (Allen Head) openings in the middle of the back? Is that some kind of rear mounting access for
the pick-up control cavity or something??
Cool natural finish too.

Elnjaybass wrote:Curious as to how that 2030 SOUNDS-

Seems like it would THUMP pretty good-Is it a full 33-34" scale?

Also, what are those (Allen Head) openings in the middle of the back? Is that some kind of rear mounting access for
the pick-up control cavity or something??
Cool natural finish too.

The Allen Head openings in back are for adjusting the p/up height or (if you wind the Allens all the way to the left) detaching them.

It's a full-scale bass.

From left to right, my Fireglo 2030 with chrome hardware, Jetglo 2030 that originally came with chrome hardware which I replaced with black hardware(I no longer own this bass), Midnight Blue 2050 with black binding and gold hardware, and a White 2030 with black hardware (probably my favorite bass). I also own a Jetglo 2030 GF, which is actually closer to a 2020 than a 2030.

I don't think they sound that different from the 4000 series. Maybe a bit more testicular fortitude.

Silly question - why "Hamburg"? This is certainly not the Ric I associate with that bustling metropolis.

The 2030 is ugly, rude, and loud. There is nothing subtle about the model. Jeff Rath described it as sounding like a P/O'ed P-Bass. To be honest, I can't think of a better way to put it. Mine is a '91.

rickfan60 wrote:The 2030 is ugly, rude, and loud. There is nothing subtle about the model. Jeff Rath described it as sounding like a P/O'ed P-Bass. To be honest, I can't think of a better way to put it. Mine is a '91.

2030-front-sm.jpg

I'm thinking the "P/O'ed P-Bass" analogy is a GOOD thing!

That headstock looks great,
and that 4-bass collection...
Pretty amazing.
Can I be crass and ask how much a near-mint or dead-mint, or even "Good" condtion model of this type brings on the market??

Very cool looking instrument- WHERE do you guys get them???

I paid around $800 for the 2050 on Ebay. The Fireglo & Jetglo 2030s were acquired for about $500 each, one as a forum deal, the other on Ebay. I got the White 2030 for $250 at a Guitar Center.

Here's my 1992 2030 Glenn Frey bass. I found this one at Dirk Witte's in Amsterdam about a year and a half ago and am the first to own it. http://rickresource.com/register/user_i ... llsize.jpg Barry Witte told me that they had ordered 8 of them as soon as they became available and this was the last one left. You would think that there was something wrong with it for it to sit there for 15 years unsold, but that is not the case. It's a flippin' great-sounding bass with a strong, yet smallish, straight neck and perfect frets. The nice round contour on the body means that this bass is really comfortable on your right wrist whether you play over the neck, right in front of the bridge or you float back and forth from the neck to the bridge. The price for mine was around $1300, but I wouldn't sell it for twice that today.

Nice, chunky tone on it too. When I picked it up in Amsterdam and started playing through an Ampeg 8X10 and an SVT-3 or SVT-4 Pro, (I forgot which) a couple people gathered and commented on how great it sounded. I only had about 15 minutes that I could stay, so I put the bass back and started walking out. As soon as my hand left it's neck, some kid ran up and grabbed it off the rack! Funny...The thing sat there for 15 years, but as soon as someone plugged it in and played it...it sure got noticed! After I met my wife and a friend, I returned to the store a couple hours later and bought the bass.

Handy for me...I brought the bass right on the 747 I flew home on, put it in the nose-cone storage bin (free shipping) and got a refund on the VAT tax because I don't live in Europe. And when I got to customs in the States, I didn't have to pay any tax there either 'cuz the bass was made in the U.S.A.

Here are more pics:

http://rickresource.com/register/viewit ... ine%3Dtrue

The "2030" Glenn Frey bass is an oddity, designation-wise. I believe it came out at the same time the 2030 and 2050 had morphed into the 2020/2060, and it shares the same pickups, wiring, and controls of those models. It really "should be" the 2020GF, but it retained the older designation. Strangely, in one RIC pamphlet, it is listed as the "203GF" (missing zero) - apparently a typo. I was going to include the GF with the 2020/2060 family in a couple of weeks due to its shared features.