Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello.
It's question to more experienced Rick players I guess. As title says, how can I spot a good example of Rickenbacker bass? There are lots of great basses but it's not hard to find a poor one. Is there any tendency, like period when basses were very equal in it's performance, or topics like bright fingerboard seems to has better vibe than dark, or anything? This topic and Jeff's post was quite helpful to me but I hope anyone will chime in. I'd probably go with mid to late 70's one but I hope to find any kind of solution for a lucky purchase. I definetely can't stand present products because they sounds dull and too dark to me, I'm also not into a Squire's type of tone. Brightness, solid low end and growl is what I need to plug into cranked up valves. But anyway it's not question about tone but a quality. At least in place I live I have no occasion to try more than a couple of Rics.
Thanks.

I always check here first if I feel the need to get another Ric.
Most of the members here are pretty honest in their assessment and other members usually chime in concerning the condition and information on the bass.
Posting a WTB is also a good way to stir up something of interest.

Sometimes this site has a real bargain or two....overall I think the prices listed here are correct or even a bit on the high end but to me it is usually worth paying a bit more to know the history and an accurate description of the tone, playability, and condition of the instrument.

Sledz,

Check out my ownership list at the bottom of this email to see what basses I own. I like to think I have a pretty good cross section of Rickenbackers to compare.

You don't like the newer 4003's? They are some of my favorites!!

OK, all but one of my basses are strung with the same type, size and tension string, Circle K round wound 106-.045. Pretty damn close to factory gauge.

I'll leave out the 4002 since it by far sounds the most fierce, growl wise. My 1986 Shadow has the deepest growl. Snow White (a modified v63 with original horseshoe magnets and rewound pup) growls really well too, but you won't easily be able to find a bass quite like her due to her mods. My Blackstar is no slouch in the growl category but it has more of a bright punch.

I doubt there is anything specific with the Shadow that makes her sound the way she does. Other than the block binding and blackout treatment, I'm positive she's like any other 1986 4003.

If sound is all you are concerned about I hope this info has helped you. Over the decades, RIC has modified the body shapes slightly. Thick horns, slim horns, different neck profiles all vary from the 70's to now.

If you really want growl though, I highly suggest a 4002, tough to find but they are awesome!

Sepp

Yep here is a very good start.

A 4001 from the mid 70's to the early 80's is a real quality and very inexpensive instrument at the moment, I have a 74 which has a neck to die for, but I have an 80 4001 which is as sold as a rock and never fails to perform, with nice mid power pup's, certainly packs a punch, a little on the heavy side, but hey.

Stick around there are more views coming .

I have owned many rics through my life, brand new 4003,S Down to a 4001 77, i have came to the conclusion my personal favourite rics were made around 2005, the brand new 2012 rics have a different tone to a 2005 ric,the 2005 ,s dont have the vintage tone pot, which i never use anyway. thy have the feel of an older 4001 with the benefit of 4003 construction. cheers

Thanks for your comments, guys. I guess late 70s or late 80s will be the choice but need to research more. So btw, heavy or rather light ones tend to have better growl, rough punch and clarity?

T28, I haven't seen marked place yet, guess it's because I was not registered. It's my direction now.

Kopfjaeger, I've just found your YT channel and find the Shadow my fav one from your collection. Anyway I'd better crank up your Orange... even in the kitchen

geofio, there are cool modern 03s of course, but I'm just not a fan of that kind of tones. I'm definetely old stuff guy.

Rickenbacker have always been pretty consistent unlike other manufacturers and haven't had a Norlin or CBS period where the quality dropped .

sledz wrote: Kopfjaeger, I've just found your YT channel and find the Shadow my fav one from your collection. Anyway I'd better crank up your Orange... even in the kitchen

I guess I should have directed you to the YT channel so you could hear them for yourself, I just forgot about it. The Shadow is my "go to bass" now that I have drop D tuned my 2011 4003. Even played acoustically, the Shadow growls more than the others. I'm convinced it's in the wood!

As for my kitchen, I've gotten several compliments, thank you all! I did all the construction and the design. Took me way longer than I care to think about to complete. Being without a kitchen for a long period of time was a challenge! My wife will gladly convey her tales of woe about all she had to endure as I screwed around on the build! For the record, the living room/kitchen is the largest most open room in the house and the most acoustically pleasing! Hence the area I use for YT recording.

Sepp

I find it hard to really relate to a particular year to judge. Both my most hated and my favorite Rickenbacker 4001 are from November 1977, only separated by less than 100 in their serial numbers.

So short of playing it first, I do not think you can spot a good 4001 or 4003 on the basis of a year or visual characteristics. Living in Australia, where Rickenbacker prices are just insane, this means for me taking a gamble and ordering from the USA unplayed.

At least I purchased 1988 4003. It was described on ebay by "professional gutiar seller": "The neck is straight, the action is low and the frets are in good shape with plenty of life left."... rubbish. Bass came with 4mm strings action at 12 fret and serious fretbuzz above 15 fret. Neck adjusting makes just backbow and doesn't help. At least I succed to make 3mm (plus fretbuzz below 5th fret and above 12th) but it's still worst setup I've ever had (I usually play with max 2,5mm at 12 fret with no fretbuzz all along the fretboard). Frets are abused and so low there is no matterial to work on. My luthier agreed it needs new frets.

OK. What lacquer should be used to cover fretboard? Of course I'm not going to do it myself, but must know that so I can choose luthier who knows his craft.

PS. Luckily it sounds really nice, kind of cold but very punchy with great clarity and dynamics.

Ouch, that's a bummer but I would have said, if mentioned that ebay is the worst place to start to find a really good,....anything.

My first Ric bass was a 2004 4003 from eBay, when I was starting to follow through with my Paul d'Amour obsession. But it was a total lemon. I sent it back...

I got a 2007 4003 brand new later that year and it was amazing! I was not very experienced with setting up guitars back then but the 2004 just sounded dead compared to the 2007. Could have been setup or electronics, I don't know anymore as it's been way too long. In any case it definitely scared me off of eBay.

Since then I have played quite a number of Ric basses, approaching 100 I believe. Seems crazy as I used to feel like they were as rare as hen's teeth! Anyway, the experience has since taught me that even two basses made on the same day at the factory can probably be very different. Once I went to my local Ric dealer and played two 4004s made within weeks of each other and they could not have been more different in both tone and the way they played and felt. The other thing it has taught me is that a lot of "lemons" are actually just abused instruments that could be set up and repaired into something much better. My 1976 4001FL is a great example. It came to be very beat up and having a dull, lifeless sound. With some careful setup work and repair/modifications, it is now vying for top spot in my stable. I hope I never sell it.

sledz wrote:At least I purchased 1988 4003. It was described on ebay by "professional gutiar seller": "The neck is straight, the action is low and the frets are in good shape with plenty of life left."... rubbish. Bass came with 4mm strings action at 12 fret and serious fretbuzz above 15 fret. Neck adjusting makes just backbow and doesn't help. At least I succed to make 3mm (plus fretbuzz below 5th fret and above 12th) but it's still worst setup I've ever had (I usually play with max 2,5mm at 12 fret with no fretbuzz all along the fretboard). Frets are abused and so low there is no matterial to work on. My luthier agreed it needs new frets.

OK. What lacquer should be used to cover fretboard? Of course I'm not going to do it myself, but must know that so I can choose luthier who knows his craft.

PS. Luckily it sounds really nice, kind of cold but very punchy with great clarity and dynamics.

That is really too bad, but the neck can be straightened when it is in for frets, so that should be an improvement. That bass has conversion varnish as the clearcoat on the whole bass, so whoever you find to do the work will have to know how to work with the material. There is a LOT if info on conversion varnish and the kind to use if you search for it here on the RRF. And Welcome!