Rickenbacker basses are expensive

[Czyszy]

I've always wanted to get a Rickenbacker 4003 bass. The reason for this is because it's the only "right" bass for prog music. Other types of bass guitars, especially the "budget" ones are just NOT prog and merely an imitation of the only correct way to play progressive rock. The Rickenbacker is the prog bass. Why would anybody play prog and butcher it with an affordable bass guitar? YUCK! Examples of renowned players who played ONLY Rickenbackers: Chris Squire, Jon Camp, Thomas Eriksson, David Paton, Helmet Köllen. Without a Rickenbacker 4001 or 4003 you can't play prog. It's not prog without the Rickenbacker bass - just a PoS pseudoprog musical facsimile of shit. Rickenbacker = PROG. Cheaper bass or any non-Rickenbacker = DOGSHIT.

There is however one problem. THEY ARE FUCKING EXPENSIVE. I'll never be able to afford one. So that means I can only do one of the following things:

●Make prog music WITHOUT ANY BASS GUITAR whatsoever

●Make non-prog music and NEVER EVEN ATTEMPT to make prog without a Rick.

Life is sad.

[Zeuhlmate]

Hellmut Hattler
One of the bassplayers with a distinct Rickenbacker sound. He 'lost it' in 1979, but got it (the same bass) back recently.

Have played many brands, and due to his tecnique he gets almost the same sound.

http://www.danbbs.dk/~m-bohn/kraan/hattlerbass.htm

[Rarebird]

Cees van Leeuwen played both Fender and Rickenbacker basses on the Kayak debut.
Klaus Peter Matziol played an Alembic on Silent cries and mighty echoes. (Not really a cheap bass though)

Prog is in the music, not in the instruments. You can play prog without a Rickenbacker, Mellotron, or Hammond.

[Plasmatopia]

Get a Fender Jazz bass.

[Rarebird]

Get a Fender Jazz bass.

You can always modify it, by removing the frets, to get a fretless bass, like Jaco Pastorius.

[Garyhead]

Yes, Rick's were good for that cutting sound but a lot of that has to do with the Round-wound Strings. Entwhistle worked with Rotosound to create those Swing 66 strings. Jon Camp used a Rick but also played a Fender live. Geddy also went to a Fender.

As far as affording a Rick. I bought my first new one for $579.00 with case! It was 1979 however.....and I bought it with funds from mowing lawns & weeding.

Rotosound still makes those Swing 66 strings. I suggest you try a set before buying a whole new bass.

[Sputnik]

I've always wanted to get a Rickenbacker 4003 bass. The reason for this is because it's the only "right" bass for prog music. Other types of bass guitars, especially the "budget" ones are just NOT prog and merely an imitation of the only correct way to play progressive rock. The Rickenbacker is the prog bass. Why would anybody play prog and butcher it with an affordable bass guitar? YUCK! Examples of renowned players who played ONLY Rickenbackers: Chris Squire, Jon Camp, Thomas Eriksson, David Paton, Helmet Köllen. Without a Rickenbacker 4001 or 4003 you can't play prog. It's not prog without the Rickenbacker bass - just a PoS pseudoprog musical facsimile of shit. Rickenbacker = PROG. Cheaper bass or any non-Rickenbacker = DOGSHIT.

There is however one problem. THEY ARE FUCKING EXPENSIVE. I'll never be able to afford one. So that means I can only do one of the following things:

●Make prog music WITHOUT ANY BASS GUITAR whatsoever

●Make non-prog music and NEVER EVEN ATTEMPT to make prog without a Rick.

Life is sad.

I got a good laugh from all that.

Ricks have always been a bit pricey, but you can get a used 4003 for under $2,000. That's about equivalent with American made Fenders, maybe a few hundred dollars more on average, though custom shop Fenders can run north of three grand and get up to $4,000 to $5,000. Unlike Fender, Rickenbacker doesn't really have a variety of lines at different price points, so there's not a "budget option" Rick, but for American made instruments, they're not substantially more expensive than the other big-name brand basses.

It's funny how strongly Ricks are associated with Prog, even though the vast majority of Prog bass players didn't use them. I caught the Rick bug after getting into Yes in 1978/9, but they are extremely difficult instruments to work with, and it's very hard to get "that" tone from them. Even many Proggers didn't really nail it. I certainly never did, and I gave up on my Rick in the late 1980s, though I later dallied briefly with a Chris Squire signature model, that I also wound up selling. Great basses, they're just not me. I now have three Precision basses of various ilk, and they handle certain Prog Rock very nicely.

Bill

[clivey]

I've always wanted to get a Rickenbacker 4003 bass. The reason for this is because it's the only "right" bass for prog music. Other types of bass guitars, especially the "budget" ones are just NOT prog and merely an imitation of the only correct way to play progressive rock. The Rickenbacker is the prog bass. Why would anybody play prog and butcher it with an affordable bass guitar? YUCK! Examples of renowned players who played ONLY Rickenbackers: Chris Squire, Jon Camp, Thomas Eriksson, David Paton, Helmet Köllen. Without a Rickenbacker 4001 or 4003 you can't play prog. It's not prog without the Rickenbacker bass - just a PoS pseudoprog musical facsimile of shit. Rickenbacker = PROG. Cheaper bass or any non-Rickenbacker = DOGSHIT.

There is however one problem. THEY ARE FUCKING EXPENSIVE. I'll never be able to afford one. So that means I can only do one of the following things:

●Make prog music WITHOUT ANY BASS GUITAR whatsoever

●Make non-prog music and NEVER EVEN ATTEMPT to make prog without a Rick.

Life is sad.

there is always this route.. the guy got it custom made .. Twice

[Plasmatopia]

I've never actually played a Rickenbacker. Someone left one at my house for a while and I was curious to try it out. Unfortunately, a cat had pissed in the case (long before it arrived at my house) and I couldn't get near the thing. Not really sure what you would do with a bass like that, lol.

[Zeuhlmate]

AFAIK Chris Squire used a Fender Jazz bass on several tracks both on Topographic and Going for the one.

Some users: Nick St. Nicholas (Deep Purple) and Nick St. Nicholas (Steppenwolf), Paul McCartney
A list of users here https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_o...backer_players

Even Stanley Clarke
stanley-clarke-rock-stars.jpg

[dropforge]

I've always wanted to get a Rickenbacker 4003 bass. The reason for this is because it's the only "right" bass for prog music. Other types of bass guitars, especially the "budget" ones are just NOT prog and merely an imitation of the only correct way to play progressive rock. The Rickenbacker is the prog bass. Why would anybody play prog and butcher it with an affordable bass guitar? YUCK! Examples of renowned players who played ONLY Rickenbackers: Chris Squire, Jon Camp, Thomas Eriksson, David Paton, Helmet Köllen. Without a Rickenbacker 4001 or 4003 you can't play prog. It's not prog without the Rickenbacker bass - just a PoS pseudoprog musical facsimile of shit. Rickenbacker = PROG. Cheaper bass or any non-Rickenbacker = DOGSHIT.

There is however one problem. THEY ARE FUCKING EXPENSIVE. I'll never be able to afford one. So that means I can only do one of the following things:

●Make prog music WITHOUT ANY BASS GUITAR whatsoever

●Make non-prog music and NEVER EVEN ATTEMPT to make prog without a Rick.

Life is sad.

I dunno, man. Check out those Warwick basses. They sound pretty durned good. That $2K Dingwall D-Roc also sounds badass.

[presdoug]

I am not a musician, but I am pleased to see a tip of the hat to Helmut Koellen for his use of it, on the two Triumvirat albums featuring him, he nails it like nobody!

[Sunlight Caller]

When lockdown hit and I couldn’t go anywhere and spend my cash I treated myself to a 4003 mapleglo. I had long coveted one, and found a good deal, probably because of the pandemic situation, so the planets aligned for me.

[wideopenears]

[wideopenears]

[wideopenears]

I've played a few and even had one for a hot sec. They are quirky. Truly, a unique sound. But---a Fender Jazz is more dependable. Or a PJ. Or....any number of other instruments.

[Mister Triscuits]

They are quirky. Truly, a unique sound. But---a Fender Jazz is more dependable.

I own a 4003 and a cheap MIM fretless Fender Jazz, and I vastly prefer the latter. I'd be happy to sell off the Ricky.

[progmatist]

My MIC Fender "Modern Player" Jazz Bass: two of the 3 pickups are from a Squier "Special 5" 5 string bass. They sound remarkably similar to Rick pups. One is in the standard Jazz Bass neck position. The other is in the Rick neck position. Directly beneath the theoretical 24th fret. One of the volume knobs I replaced with a 6 position rotary switch. Selecting the neck pup alone, neck and middle combined, middle alone, bridge alone, neck and bridge, and middle and bridge. The other volume knob is now simply a master volume. After replacing these 4 string pups on the Squier with proper Bartolini 5 string pups, the 4 string pups sat around for more than a decade. Until I found a better use for them. Note that the neck with bound fretboard, and MOP block inlay is also aftermarket. As is the tortoise shell pickguard, which I modified to accommodate the other pup. The stock Chinese Modern Player pickguard is black.

jazzbass.jpg

[wideopenears]

That looks fun to play. Is that bridge PUP a Nordy? If so, have you considered a coil tap if you can, to make that a single coil. That single coil bridge PUP sound is one of my faves....you know, the Jaco sound....

[Czyszy]

Yes, that's right! I WAS DRUNK WHEN I POSTED THAT TOPIC! xDDDD Please, ignore that awkward pile of incomprehensible rambling.

[MudShark22]

Yes, that's right! I WAS DRUNK WHEN I POSTED THAT TOPIC! xDDDD Please, ignore that awkward pile of incomprehensible rambling.

Best thread ever!

[progmatist]

That looks fun to play. Is that bridge PUP a Nordy? If so, have you considered a coil tap if you can, to make that a single coil. That single coil bridge PUP sound is one of my faves....you know, the Jaco sound....

I'm not sure what type of bridge pup that is. The bass came stock with dual humbucking pups. Coil tapping sounds like it would be a nice addition. I'll have to find the one I removed to know for sure if it has 4 wires, or only 2. If 2, coil tapping wouldn't be possible.

[wideopenears]

I'm not sure what type of bridge pup that is. The bass came stock with dual humbucking pups. Coil tapping sounds like it would be a nice addition. I'll have to find the one I removed to know for sure if it has 4 wires, or only 2. If 2, coil tapping wouldn't be possible.

Yeah. My main bass has Barts, but I keep thinking of taking it in to do a coil tap on the bridge pickup. Lazy, though.....and no ambition. LOL

[progmatist]

^^ That's where my Navy electronic training comes in handy. I don't have to take my guitars or basses anywhere to be worked on. I can do it all myself.

[hFx]

Yes, that's right! I WAS DRUNK WHEN I POSTED THAT TOPIC! xDDDD Please, ignore that awkward pile of incomprehensible rambling.

Didn't you get the mandatory Breathalyzer USB posting lock - PE edition? Then accidents will happen

Edit: The PE edition stops alcohol but lets through weed and its derivatives, or it would be a very quite forum