Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi all,
New kid on the block. I am a member of Talkbass and was turned on to this forum from over there. I've been playing 6 string guitars off and on for 40+ years. I was challenged to take on the bass guitar for our new praise band. I've been playing for a little over a year now. I went through a number of purchases, sales, and trying out bass guitars to find the 'fit' for me. Once I tried the violin bass guitars, I knew those would be the ones for me. I currently own a Hofner CT. Being an old Beatle fan, it was the perfect choice beyond the comfort and fit. Rickenbackers have always caught my eye, especially since Paul also played one of those, but the prices have always been too high. I can't afford anything much over 800. In my conversations at TB, I found out that they used to make a short scale Rick. I will only ever play short scales with the short arms and small hands I have. I also found out that the 3000 is the only short scale they ever made and that you can pick them up every now and then at an affordable price. Since I'm new, I know I can't access the market place. However, I will continue to search Ebay and other venues in the mean time.

1. Why are the Ricks so much more expensive than the other so called top named brands?
2. Did the 3000 come in only one style/color?
3. The other bass I've seen that come close to retail prices are the Ernie Ball Music Man bass guitars. How does the Rick do side by side with those?

Any advice or information you can provide from your experience and expertise would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

Jack
Jack

jack1953 wrote:1. Why are the Ricks so much more expensive than the other so called top named brands?

Are they? A new Fender MIA bass is around $1250 new right now IIRC. A new Ric is only a few hundred dollars more. Maybe you're just looking at the MSRP of $1900 and assuming that's what everyone pays. Not only that but Gibson just reissued the Ripper and is charging more for it than I think RIC charges for *any* model of bass, even if you paid full MSRP, with the exception of the 4001C64S which is around the same price as the Ripper. If any of the American guitar heritage company needs to get slapped around for the price they charge for their stuff it's probably Gibson. RIC's prices seem bigger than they are because people often think MSRP is equal to street price, but the street price is heavily marked down. It just can't be published in catalogs/online storefronts.

jack1953 wrote:3. The other bass I've seen that come close to retail prices are the Ernie Ball Music Man bass guitars. How does the Rick do side by side with those?

I think a Ric compares the most closely to a standard P Bass with more balls and a clearer tone, and with several more electronic "frills" in the wiring. I can also channel Marcus Miller's Jazz Bass tone with mine thanks to the two-pickup comb filtering sound. The similarity I hear between Rics and MusicMan is in the MusicMan Big Al bass. Both have a really great passive tone, never mind the Big Al's 4-band EQ. But which one is better is your choice to make and no one else's.

jack1953 wrote: 2. Did the 3000 come in only one style/color?

Welcome to the forum, Jack.

The 3000 was made in only one style, but was made in all the standard colors that were available at the time. There aren't many of them out there, There wasn't a big demand for them.

Hi Jack and WELCOME!

I saw your post on TB and was hoping you would find your way here.

Just for kicks, I did a two second search on GOOGLE for a Fender Jazz USA model. Came up with this.....
http://bass-guitars.musiciansfriend.com ... D=26040646

$1500.00 I know they go higher, much higher if you look at the Fender Custom Shot stuff.
As Joshua was saying, perhaps the MSRP is throwing people off. I know for a FACT you can find brand new 4003's in the $1600.00 area.
PLUS, the 4003 is a neck through the body bass.

I believe there is a 3000 series on Ebay currently for a BIN of just over $900.00.

There are some great deals out there for standard 4003 basses, you just have to be patient and keep your eyes open. If you keep your eye on Craigs List, you will see the odd $700.00 RIC pop up.

I wish you well in your search, and again.....WELCOME!

cassius987 wrote:

jack1953 wrote:1. Why are the Ricks so much more expensive than the other so called top named brands?

Are they? A new Fender MIA bass is around $1250 new right now IIRC. A new Ric is only a few hundred dollars more. Maybe you're just looking at the MSRP of $1900 and assuming that's what everyone pays. Not only that but Gibson just reissued the Ripper and is charging more for it than I think RIC charges for *any* model of bass, even if you paid full MSRP, with the exception of the 4001C64S which is around the same price as the Ripper. If any of the American guitar heritage company needs to get slapped around for the price they charge for their stuff it's probably Gibson. RIC's prices seem bigger than they are because people often think MSRP is equal to street price, but the street price is heavily marked down. It just can't be published in catalogs/online storefronts.

jack1953 wrote:3. The other bass I've seen that come close to retail prices are the Ernie Ball Music Man bass guitars. How does the Rick do side by side with those?

I think a Ric compares the most closely to a standard P Bass with more balls and a clearer tone, and with several more electronic "frills" in the wiring. I can also channel Marcus Miller's Jazz Bass tone with mine thanks to the two-pickup comb filtering sound. The similarity I hear between Rics and MusicMan is in the MusicMan Big Al bass. Both have a really great passive tone, never mind the Big Al's 4-band EQ. But which one is better is your choice to make and no one else's.

My bad, I guess what I was actually referring to, but did not specify, is that, outside of Gibson, which I agree are way overpriced, Fender and Music Man make models well under a grand in price. Now I realize that you get what you pay for, but those lower end models do sell. I know for a fact, if Rick made a short scale model around the 500-750 range, I'd be all over it!

The Rick on Ebay is a 3001 and isn't a short scale. I will only play short scales.

Jack

I will keep my eye out for a 3000. If anyone in here has one they want to sell please let me know. Thanks to all.

Jack

jack1953 wrote:My bad, I guess what I was actually referring to, but did not specify, is that, outside of Gibson, which I agree are way overpriced, Fender and Music Man make models well under a grand in price. Now I realize that you get what you pay for, but those lower end models do sell. I know for a fact, if Rick made a short scale model around the 500-750 range, I'd be all over it!

The main reason you don't see a budget Ric bass is because their factory's capacity is already maxed and they are already backlogged just making the standard bread and butter. Besides, those cheap instruments you're referring to aren't made in the U.S. and RIC has no plans to outsource. I can speculate though that if you ever saw a less costly Ric bass (but not less quality as I know John Hall has said he does not want to cheapen the brand) it would only ever be due to them buying new factory space (doubtful), and it would really just be a bare-bones version of the standard 4003 most likely, and it would probably hover around $1,000 in today's market. But I don't think that's ever actually going to happen because as I said, they'd need a new factory and staff to make these instruments while they continue as normal in Santa Ana and they have said they don't want to expand.

Jack good to see you made it over from TB.

Peacefrog35 wrote:Jack good to see you made it over from TB.

Thanks Peace. Whenever I get someone to by my Hofner CT, I just might grab a Rick 3000 if one comes down the pike. Do you own a Rick?
Jack

That's awesome. Yes, I have a 1997 Fireglo 4003. It's actually with a luthier being set up now. He cleaned the whole thing, repaired the built in mute, cleaned the board and frets and restrung it and did a little bridge work. All this for like $100 bucks. Its ready for me to pick up,but I didn't make it before he left the shop on Friday. I will get it back tomorrow. I'm really excited. He will be my go to guy if my Hofner ever needs anything. I saw some of his work in his shop and he is really great.
The Ric is so nice, I can't wait until tomorrow!

Peacefrog35 wrote:That's awesome. Yes, I have a 1997 Fireglo 4003. It's actually with a luthier being set up now. He cleaned the whole thing, repaired the built in mute, cleaned the board and frets and restrung it and did a little bridge work. All this for like $100 bucks. Its ready for me to pick up,but I didn't make it before he left the shop on Friday. I will get it back tomorrow. I'm really excited. He will be my go to guy if my Hofner ever needs anything. I saw some of his work in his shop and he is really great.
The Ric is so nice, I can't wait until tomorrow!

Did you just get it? I'm really torn about spending the money for one! I've tried the 34" basses and I'm just not comfortable with them. I wish Rick still made a short scale. How do you do going back and forth from short to long scale?
Jack

Going from short to long scale and back isn't a problem if you do it often enough. The "practice makes perfect" maxim definitely applies.

antipodean wrote:Going from short to long scale and back isn't a problem if you do it often enough. The "practice makes perfect" maxim definitely applies.

Keep in mind I have been playing bass for only a little over a year, even though I've played 6 string guitars off and on for 40+ years and these forums have been a blessing for me as I have learned so much about the bass.

Outside of having the obvious advantage of having more notes, just what is the advantage of the long scale and why most folk prefer long scale to short scale?

What would be the challenge of playing both?

Thanks

Jack

jack1953 wrote:Outside of having the obvious advantage of having more notes, just what is the advantage of the long scale and why most folk prefer long scale to short scale?

First of all Rics are 33.25'' scale, not 34''. You can feel a difference--I often go to GC and try out the MusicMans and Fenders to flirt with the idea of getting one, especially one of those sexy Big Al basses, so I am often reminded that my Rics are slightly easier to play than these 34'' scale basses. As for "more notes" I don't think that is true. Scale has to do with the two-octave length of the instrument, and how many notes are available is a function of fingerboard length, divided by the scale length.

The thing most people claim is that a longer scale--up to 35'' or more in some cases--"tightens" the notes up so they are clearer and sound nicer, especially in the case of a B string. What this really is is added tension, because the further you stretch a string of a certain composition at a certain pitch the more tension it will pick up. If you tune up your normally EADG bass to FBbEbAb, you will hear the difference. So a longer scale often has a better sound. The truth is though that anymore, there are a lot of great basses that all sound good in the 30-35'' scale range. The people who claim you have to have a 35'' scale for a B string to sound good have probably never taken the time to realize that lots of 5-string sets have woefully small B strings which naturally gives them too little tension, for which the longer scale compensates. But they could also just size up that B string.....

cassius987 wrote:

jack1953 wrote:Outside of having the obvious advantage of having more notes, just what is the advantage of the long scale and why most folk prefer long scale to short scale?

First of all Rics are 33.25'' scale, not 34''. You can feel a difference--I often go to GC and try out the MusicMans and Fenders to flirt with the idea of getting one, especially one of those sexy Big Al basses, so I am often reminded that my Rics are slightly easier to play than these 34'' scale basses. As for "more notes" I don't think that is true. Scale has to do with the two-octave length of the instrument, and how many notes are available is a function of fingerboard length, divided by the scale length.

The thing most people claim is that a longer scale--up to 35'' or more in some cases--"tightens" the notes up so they are clearer and sound nicer, especially in the case of a B string. What this really is is added tension, because the further you stretch a string of a certain composition at a certain pitch the more tension it will pick up. If you tune up your normally EADG bass to FBbEbAb, you will hear the difference. So a longer scale often has a better sound. The truth is though that anymore, there are a lot of great basses that all sound good in the 30-35'' scale range. The people who claim you have to have a 35'' scale for a B string to sound good have probably never taken the time to realize that lots of 5-string sets have woefully small B strings which naturally gives them too little tension, for which the longer scale compensates. But they could also just size up that B string.....

Great explanation! Now, what about the challenge of playing both a Hofner and a 33,25 Rick, which is what I would be challenged with, if a decent 3000 doesn't come down the pike! Is the challenge basically adjusting to the difference in 'reach'?
Also, I don't know whether or not you've ever played a Hofner, (Peacefrog has and he would be a good one to answer this) but how do the necks compare as far as thickness and width with the Ricks? The Musicmans I've played have a much wider neck than the Hofs do.

Jack