| Author | Message | ||
| tncaveman
Junior Username: tncaveman Post Number: 40 Registered: 2-2011 |
My old friend's name is Rick, and he's about 36 years old. We've been best buddies since 1981 when I was 17 (that makes 30 years together) I haven't played my '75 Rickenbacker 4001 more than 2x since I adopted my Rogue bass last winter. This week, I put some shiny new strings on Rick, and we had a little practice session in the basement. It's really amazing how cool my Rick sounded. But similar to the Alembic - crisp, clean, punchy, and fun to play. Today at church, I played Rick, and we had a good time. Sounded awesome. A little heavier feeling because he's not quite as balanced as my Rogue (I need to name her sometime soon). So, how may of you have or have had a Rickenbacker? Stephen PS - there's a pic of me and Rick on my profile. I need to get a newer picture up there soon. | ||
| terryc
Senior Member Username: terryc Post Number: 1727 Registered: 11-2004 |
Ricky's are not my thing BUT that bass looks absolutley immaculate!!!! Obviously a well cared for bass and not thrashed 'Motorhead' style. | ||
| 811952
Senior Member Username: 811952 Post Number: 2064 Registered: 10-2003 |
I had a '76 Ric' that I sold (along with 11 other instruments) to help fund my Alembic back in '81. I wish I still had it (although I certainly don't regret the Alembic in any way). I did replace the bridge/tailpiece with a badass, and did the routing myself. Really a fantastic instrument. One day I'd like to think I'll have another, and would be happy with one that's beat-up even. I think they're the sexiest shape in bass guitars. John | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 979 Registered: 1-2005 |
I love Rickenbackers! I currently own three - a '76 4001 from around the same era as yours, a '93 4003S/8 8-string, and a 2004 4003. I always loved the way they looked - some of my favorite players are Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, Roger Glover and Lemmy. My '76 has very low-output pickups, but they sound great. Especially with new strings! Here's a picture of my first Ric (the '76) and my first Alembic - an '85 Spoiler/Exploiter since sold:  I like all my different basses - I find that I play differently on them. Long scale, short scale, flats, rounds, 4- 5- or 6-string, I love 'em all! | ||
| dlbydgtl
Intermediate Member Username: dlbydgtl Post Number: 117 Registered: 7-2008 |
I have a 1979 wine Rick a 5 string blue Rick and a 4 string fretless natural rick. Yea, i like them. | ||
| benson_murrensun
Senior Member Username: benson_murrensun Post Number: 552 Registered: 5-2007 |
I had a 4001 V63CS - the Chris Squire model. It was a great player, but I sold it because the market value was very high (I doubled my money on it), I was hesitant to take it out to venues, and because the neck was very skinny and I don't prefer that shape. I would definitely consider another Ric, but it would have to be a 5-string nowadays. | ||
| eligilam
Advanced Member Username: eligilam Post Number: 342 Registered: 2-2006 |
I wish I could take credit for this collection, but I found it from Alembic Club member "fish" (fish, you still out there?) from a few years ago. I'm still envious.  I got my own Ric 4003 new in 1991 (just celebrated my 20th anniversary with it now that I think about it). When I bought it, it was paper-white, and now it's mellowed to a nice parchment-like cream color. Man, I love that bass---built like a tank. I haven't had to adjust anything on it in over 10 years. And, again recognizing and respecting that this is, indeed, the Alembic Club, I say this yet again: "In my Guit-army, the Alembic is the general and the Rickenbackers are the ground troops." Cheers! | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 3049 Registered: 10-2002 |
Coincidentally I saw YES in concert last thursday in Glasgow. I managed to get 3rd row seats right in front of Chris. He played his original cream 4001 for the lion's share of the set and it sounded fantastic. I'd say most of what I heard came from his rig and not the PA - he was using a selection of marshall, SVT and SWR amps and cabs and was VERY loud but every note from his rick was crystal clear. He also brought out one of the limited edition Fish Out of Water Ricks for a couple of songs. Seeing and hearing his rickenbacker playing reminded me why I took up the bass in the first place - Chris was my first Bass hero and I always lusted after a 4001. Trouble was, once I had enough money to buy one i was really looking for a five string and I found I didn't really like the feel of the Rick fiver - the neck was too narrow to make playng 5 strings comfortable. Ended up with a 5 string Epic after some trials. Odd that ;-) Some day, if I ever go back to 4 strings i'll be looking for a 4001. Graeme | ||
| jacko
Senior Member Username: jacko Post Number: 3050 Registered: 10-2002 |
I do feel like I'm already an honorary member of the rick club already - here's my '79 precision.....  Graeme | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1107 Registered: 10-2006 |
I've loved Ricks since the bassist in my high school bands replaced his P-bass with one (about the same time I discovered Mr. Squire & company), but I will admit that I haven't crammed my head with detailed arcania about them as I have with Martin, Fender, Gibson, & Alembic; can someone tell me what the difference is between the 4001 & 4003? Thanks. Peter | ||
| tncaveman
Junior Username: tncaveman Post Number: 41 Registered: 2-2011 |
WOW Graeme - I've never seen a Rick/P-bass hybrid. Does it sound like a Rick or a P-bass? I had to choose between a P-bass and the Rick back in 81. The Rick was 400 bucks and the P-bass around 300. I obviously went for the Rick and never regretted it. Luckily my Mom lent me the money and I payed her back in less than a year. I was just a kid and only played with some teen friends - nothing serious. About 5 years ago I started playing rhythm guitar in our church praise band. It was actually the first time I had ever played in front of people. And then our bass played quit and I pulled my old friend out. Got some new strings and it really hurt my fingers at first LOL Several years later, I'm better than I ever was when I was younger. I just wish I could remember more theory. I'm hoping to relearn some stuff this winter, since my son is starting to play bass. And, the purchase of my Rogue really accelerated my playing. It is a little easier to play and sounds great, also. It increased the amount of practicing that I do at home for sure. BTW - 12 Rick basses and two acoustics (I did not even know they made them). That's unreal - I wonder how many Alembics he has??? Stephen | ||
| eligilam
Advanced Member Username: eligilam Post Number: 343 Registered: 2-2006 |
@cozmik: From rickenbacker.com: "What is the difference between a 4001 and a 4003? Sometimes it is tough to distinguish these two models based on external appearance, however, early 4003 basses had a two piece pick guard. Other more subtle differences are with regard to the truss rod design and the wiring schematic. While both instruments had dual truss rods, the 4001 one had "old style" rods which only had nuts on the top, whereas the 4003 has nuts at both ends of the neck. Due to the different rod styles, a later model 4003 will have larger rounded holes at the end of the neck to accommodate the nuts, while an older 4001 will have small rectangular holes. In addition, the 4001 was wired with a capacitor on the treble pickup, which cut all the low-end sound out of the signal. In the 4003, this design feature was dropped." | ||
| cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member Username: cozmik_cowboy Post Number: 1108 Registered: 10-2006 |
Thanks, Will. Oh, and another question - I've seen some with checkerboard body binding; what year(s) did they use that? Peter (Message edited by cozmik_cowboy on November 15, 2011) | ||
| 811952
Senior Member Username: 811952 Post Number: 2066 Registered: 10-2003 |
4001's also have a skunk stripe the entire length of the instrument. 4003's necks are all maple (3-piece I think?). | ||
| eligilam
Advanced Member Username: eligilam Post Number: 344 Registered: 2-2006 |
@cozmik: I'm pretty sure the cutoff year was 1973. As far as I understand, that was the year that several key functional and cosmetic changes took place, including: Change from checkerboard binding to "solid" Change from sharktooth fret markers going all the way across the width of the fretboard to more recessed Tuners changed from Grovers Neck "toaster" pickup changed I'm going purely on memory for this stuff, so I may need to be corrected. I do know that 1973 is sort of the magical year cut-off for price jumping for really expensive vintage Ric 4003's to less expensive vintage...mainly, it seems, for several of the changes mentioned above. | ||
| southpaw
Advanced Member Username: southpaw Post Number: 254 Registered: 12-2004 |
I got a couple of them, one just like hieronymous. A Rick is always a nice addition to any collection. Flats on one for an old school McCartney sound, rounds on the other. | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 980 Registered: 1-2005 |
Here are my other two: Would love to get an Alembic 8-string one day... | ||
| eligilam
Advanced Member Username: eligilam Post Number: 345 Registered: 2-2006 |
Harry, that eight-string is awesome... My dream Rics-to-be-obtained list includes: 1. Blackstar 2. Lemmy signature model 3. 4080 doubleneck Of course, the dream Alembics-to-be-obtained list is much longer... | ||
| hifiguy
Advanced Member Username: hifiguy Post Number: 327 Registered: 10-2006 |
By the time I'd been playing bass only a few months I had a brand spanking new '72 Fireglo Ric 4001 w/checkerboard binding and a toaster at the neck. I HAD to have one because my hero Chris Squire played one. I played that Ric pickstyle with Rotosounds for nearly twenty years. Discovered Jaco (very late, in the early 1990s) and moved to playing a Vintage Series Jazz and a Warwick Corvette fingerstyle and consigned the Ric at Willie's in St. Paul in '93. Never missed it until the last few months. Eventually the Warwick went away after I bought my Stanley Sig Standard in '99. Bought a Schecter 5-string from Danno last winter because I had a craving for a five and couldn't afford an Alembic. Started working up my pickstyle chops on the fiver and immediately began jonesing for a Ric again. Gonna have to do something about that in the next dozen or so moons.... I love Rics, but you gotta check the neck as they are so variable. My '72 was a wide, very shallow D-shape, which was perfect. Others have seemed a lot more baseball bat-like. I'd consider having a toe removed for a Squire Signature 4001S.  | ||
| white_cloud
Junior Username: white_cloud Post Number: 38 Registered: 6-2010 |
I owned two Rick 4001's at seperate times in the dim distant past...the first being only the second bass I ever owned. I loved them both dearly. For me nothing sounds like a Rick, they have a certain charisma & tonal (although limited) characteristic all of their own. The Rick combined with fresh Rotosounds always gave that classic "twang". The Fender jazz seemed to be able to sit in any style of music - the Rick never quite had that versatility. I traded my first for a Wal custom, still miss it but it wouldnt really fit in with the kind of stuff I play nowadays :-( | ||
| benson_murrensun
Senior Member Username: benson_murrensun Post Number: 553 Registered: 5-2007 |
My 4001 Squire model had dot inlays in the fingerboard. Seems like most Rics have the shark tooth inlays. | ||
| hifiguy
Advanced Member Username: hifiguy Post Number: 328 Registered: 10-2006 |
The Squire models were replicas of the export model, the 4001S, which is the famous Ric Chris played in Yes for so many years. Those had an unbound fretboard and dot markers. Squire worked at the importer in his pre-Yes days and bought one of the basses when Ric started shipping them to the UK. | ||
| benson_murrensun
Senior Member Username: benson_murrensun Post Number: 556 Registered: 5-2007 |
That explains that. Thanks. Also, mine was mono, seems like most Ric basses are stereo. I find the 4005 Rics very appealing but not the prices they fetch these days! | ||
| hifiguy
Advanced Member Username: hifiguy Post Number: 329 Registered: 10-2006 |
Yep, that was the other difference - 4001S models were mono, no Rick-O-Sound. McCartney's Ric is also a 4001S. | ||
| hieronymous
Senior Member Username: hieronymous Post Number: 985 Registered: 1-2005 |
One other difference - the S series doesn't have binding on the body or neck. Some people find that the binding on the body of the 4001/4003 bites into their arm and prefer the 4003S - I never had that problem. For a while, I owned what for me was a Holy Grail of Rics: a 4008. It's kind of halfway between a 4001 & a 4001S - it has dot position markers and no body binding, like a 4001S, but it has binding on the neck and the Rick-o-sound (stereo) option like a 4001! Other goodies are the rare 2-piece neck (recently reintroduced) and two extra screws in the tailpiece. Wish I didn't have to sell it but you know how things go...  |
