Rickenbacker 2030

It's a plain shaped Ric. Not a real common sight these days with all of the 4001s floating about.

Not nearly as mean as the neck thrus, but still not bad. It had a woody tone good for the classic sound.

Here is where I'm going to make enemies. I thought the lacquer finish was great. I had the fireglo with the matching neck and headstock so it was beautiful, no doubt. The folks at the Ric factory need to take an extra 30 seconds to make sure their routing templates are straight. I've owned a bunch of Rics and they all had alignment issues. The bridge and pups were not lined up with the neck and strings. The Shaller roller bridge was maxed out to compensate but still fell short and the strings ran to one side of the neck. I had a Cheyenne that was the same way. I use routing templates and find that it is not really that hard to get them straight. Little details paint big pictures.

had no problems with it.

I am aware that tone is the primary reason for selecting an instrument, but quality, looks, craftsmanship and, to a certain extent, the nameplate go a long way for most people. Ric has all of this but they do have room to improve on some simple issues.

1986 2030, made in USA. 4 string, 2 pickups, toggle and a vol and tone for each pickup. The Volume and tone controls are wired into a circuit board, sorta like active electronics, but it is passive, not power supply. Maple body, maple bolt on neck, black hardware, schaller roller bridge. Finish was natural. The neck is slimmer at the nut than the 4003/4001 basses.

It sounds a lot like a 4001/4003 ... less hum and noise.

typical excellent Rickenbacker American made quality.

I had to replace the input jack ... but other than that it is fine.

I bought it used so I didn't deal with customer support.

It is not as pretty as the 4001/4003 models, but it is cheaper and sounds pretty much the same. The slimmer neck gives it a jazz bass like feel.

This is an American made 4 string, long scale bass with 2 Bartolini passive pickups(but very hot indeed),2 volume knobs,2 tone knobs. It has a very flat rosewood neck (a bolt on 4 bolt neck)with dot inlays, a bridge that is very easy to intonate and very reminisent of a Leo Quan Badass, all black hardware, and a body(very flat also) which for some players may take some getting used to. It does not look like a traditional Rick at all, and when I've played it out, some have mistaken it for a Hamer until seeing the headstock logo.Mine has a fire engine red finish which was starting to crack in several places at the time I bought it used (for $250 !!!) from a private owner in 1995. It also came with a very nice case fit especially for this model. A very durable case that I've flown with for an LA gig with no problems. I understand from The Rickenbacker book that these were made from the mid eighties to early nineties. I've never actually dated mine. The original hang tag was (and still is) in the case.

I find it very suitable for my music, which is a mixture of power pop and roots rock n' roll. I own three bass amps, a GK 400 RB that I play through a Peavey 1 x 15 cab, a Peavey Mark IV head that I also play through a 1 x 15, and a Fender Bassman 60 combo amp with a 1 x 15. It sounds great through all of them, and the electronics are extremely quiet, unlike my '73 Rick 4001. I've done a lot of recording with it, both through a direct box and miked amps (SVT and Portaflex)and the engineers love it. It's a plug in and go type bass, with a little compression it's perfect. The sound is somewhere between a Rick and a Jazz Bass. It's easily the most versatile bass I own (I have ten basses alltogether), definitely my favorite .

The previous owner had this bass set up professionally, so I can't comment on the factory set up; but it is very easy to adjust on your own and plays phenomenally well. One of the bridge saddles on mine (the D string) will slip a little after I've played a lot of gigs on it and needs occasional adjustment. I can't complain though because I use it pretty hard and if that's the only problem, it's a minor thing.The pickup selector is a very small three way toggle switch that I'm always afraid of breaking, but have never had a problem with it.As I stated before, the finish has several long cracks in it, but that doesn't bother me. This bass is a player not a museum piece.

This is the most dependable live bass I've ever owned, as well as my most used studio bass. The strap buttons are not the best and I could understand someone wanting to replace them(they are a little too small). I've never had a problem with them, but have hand tightened them on occasion.I generally take a backup out for most gigs as a precausion only because I play fairly aggressive and break strings on occassion, but I have no fear of mechanical breakdowns with this bass.

I've been a guitarist for thirty years and played bass for twenty years. I own many other basses (Gibson, Fender, Yamaha, Danelectro,Epiphone, Univox) as well as guitars. The sound and playability of this instrument is incredible. I would buy a second one as a backup if I found one and I think they are pretty rare (only the second one I've ever seen). I would be pretty upset if I lost this one. I've gotten a lot of mileage out of it. I originally bought it when my partner and I were trying to get into dealing vintage guitars. I bought it cheap with the intention of selling it, but after an afternoon of rehearsing with it, the Rick 2030 became my main bass.