Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

In this months issue of Bass Guitar Magazine the Rickenbacker 4001/3 tops the poll as the Number 1 bass you must play. The poll was out of 65 basses & Geddy Lee gives his thoughts on the bass.

Bravo!......and now,......yep,......4001 vs 4003......

(I'm gonna say 4001 - since the average 'young' bass player is much less likely to come across a very well-maintained one - and the number of 4001's will be dwarfed one day by the 4003's)

Which issue? On the website, the latest issue contents don't show the poll.

As a Rick owner that seems pretty obvious.

But as a bassist I'm stunned - can't tell you how many times I've heard "they're awesome-looking but I can't play them," "I like them but they're not for me," "they're not versatile enough," and so on.

Hello Paul it's issue 65 with Geddy Lee on the cover.

johnnysain wrote: and the number of 4001's will be dwarfed one day by the 4003's)

I'm pretty sure the number of 4001's produced was dwarfed by 4003's some time ago.

badeggs wrote:as a bassist I'm stunned - can't tell you how many times I've heard "they're awesome-looking but I can't play them," "I like them but they're not for me," "they're not versatile enough," and so on.

Yeah me too. I was also surprised when the 4003 got #3 a few years ago in Bass Player in "Best Basses Under $2,000" or something. The Modulus Flea Bass beat it out which was actually another surprise to me.

I have had a lot of personal success "converting" people to the idea that Rics aren't just pretty faces by just letting them play mine at gigs if they wanted, as long as they were good, respectful players that I had a chance to talk with first. One upright player was especially impressed at a jazz ensemble I remember, I let him play my 4003 for when his band did "Perdido" I think and without any prior experience he dialed it in perfectly for the big band sound. A couple of guys have offered to buy my basses on the spot and that's where I have to go ahead and ask them to calmly hand it over...

[quote][quote="badeggs"]But as a bassist I'm stunned - can't tell you how many times I've heard "they're awesome-looking but I can't play them," "I like them but they're not for me," "they're not versatile enough," and so on.
As a Rick owner that seems pretty obvious.

I too have found this to be the case among most bassists I've run into over the years. That's why I string mine with flats and play through 15" speakers. It cuts out some of the "treble edge" and IMHO makes the Rick more versatile for different genres of music. I love the reaction of other musicians who are surprised to see and most importantly hear how well a Rick can handle jazz, blues, Motown, or Reggae.

Wow, that is stunning news! And in a very good way!

Yeah, it truly is amazing how pigeonholed this instruments are. I'm glad the perception seems to be changing. The singer in my band never cared for Ricks, and I think he was a bit disappointed when I showed up to rehearsal with my 4003 the first time. But after I had really dialed in the setup and tone, he had to admit that is sounded pretty good and that it didn't have the "woody" and "rubbery" tone he expected from his experiences with Ricks. Now that I'm talking about running Ric-o-sound with effects on the bridge pickup, he won't stop harassing me about wanting to sound like Billy Sheehan, but that's a battle for another day.

(Veers back on topic)

Well, this makes me grateful I got both of the basses I wanted, because I'm thinking a number one ranking on a list such as this might have an impact on the backlog and wait time. Not a huge one, mind you, but an impact nonetheless.

I haven't gotten #65, yet, I just finished reading #63 and am about to start on #64.

I to have never understood the Ric bashing, the 4001/3 is a great bass I'm glad it won the poll.

So what did Geddy have to say??

Do you remember the first time you saw a 4001,Geddy?
GL The first time I ever saw that bass was in a Beatles video

When was the firsr time you saw one played live?
GL The first time I saw someone playing one was Chris Squire in the early days of Yes.

The rest would spoil it for you all enjoy the issue when you get it. The picture of the Ric bass they use is a 4001 C64.

The 4004 should be at the top of the poll with the 4001 and 4003!

In my opinion, a Geddy Lee Fender Jazz Bass is a must play- not one with the typical set up from Guitar Center, but rather one set up properly. The one I have has the nicest neck of any bass I have, including a 75 4001 and a 97 4003.