Rickenbacker 4001

Mid 70's Maple-glo near mint condtn. OHSC acquired with Sunn Concert Bass head + mtchng Cab. w/2 15" JBLs for 500.00$ Can.!! Nk. thru dble truss rod, to my eyes, ugly gloss finish on fret board.

Now,although I'm a beginner to personally playing bass, I think I know what I prefer/expect in the sound aspect. I'm not technically anywhere profficient in nuances of control/amp settings,attack etc. but my fender Jazz bass seems easier to adjust, play and is warmer? sounding to my ears than this puppy. Could be because of the Rik's slimmer nk. and more complexity in the control department but my guess is p.u. s and c'mon, doesn't the body on these seem undersized?

Bought this 2nd hand and as the price was so low [as described earlier] I grabbed & found out the action was rather high. This was discovered to be caused by 1 of the truss rods end being stripped and making any bridge adjstmnts moot. Easily repaired by a lucky coincidence of music store friend also being owner of same mod. and familiar w/same. Now the action is superb and only marred by the nk. being so slim and that god awful fretboard finish. I really like the maple glo and only the many laminations and cheesy looking truss rod/name plate cover detract from overall appearence.

Even though only owned for short time, I can tell this inst. was made to last. Excellent woods with that neck thru construction as well as the massive bridge and p.u. assmblys. seems
fairly indestuctible...well, as long as you don't knock it over - [shudder] - That largish headpiece looks awfully fragile.

Not sure 'bout the Co. Is it still wholly U.S. made/owned?

A pretty much subjective view from me in this category because of my beginner status; BUT
I'll have to say I was rather disappointed after finally getting a Rickenbacker, only because it was a bass. I still want to own/play one of the 6/12 string mod.s which I'm more familiar with.

I've played a few of these....

Made in USA. The only place they are made! ??890. excellent price!
There is a long back-log on orders of around 12 months for a new one and second hand ones hold their value unrealistically well. Expect to pay pretty close to the new price or more(!) for a vintage model.
CONTROLS:Passive, 2X VOLUME 2X TONE, 3 WAY TOGGLE SWITCH, PUSH/PULL classic tone control on the trebble.

Far more versitile than you would expect. Although the 'prog rockers weapon of choice, every indie band seems to have one now!

Classic looks, i had a custom abalone scratch plate fitted (??75) to go with the midnight blue colour of the body. Usuually they come with a thick white scratch plate.

It holds it's tuning very well and feels very much 'the professional' instrument.

Typically, paint jobs and finishing have blemishes, but bon't expect a discount!

CASE: new RIK cases are Not brilliant. They fit the bass snugly and will protect it very well but are prone to cracking. Having said that they are the best made to measure case for a RIK i'm aware of.

It can be slapped, picked or fingered (ooo er!) and responds well to most styles. It does have a certain 'clunk' to the sound and therefore remains destinctive in the mix. Nothing else sounds like a RIK, and the RIK doesn't sound like anything else. Keep that in mind if you want something phat and warm, RIK's don't do that very well!

I play it through a Trace Elliot stack, don't use the rik-o-sound system as that means having 2 amps! but have used various FX. Great with a valve amp, distortion, and heavy FX but can lose the subtlties of warmer FX like flange.

Spend some time setting up the pick-ups and pole pieces to get your levels right.

Not set up brilliantly, set ups are usually OK, apart from the pick-ups. The trebble pick-up puts out a lot more volume than the bass pick-up and is a bitch to adjust because of the guard over it. Pick-up pole pieces are also adjusted badly at set up, being higher on the middle two strings (D,A) so you get more volume on those 2 strings.

The action is good and comfortable, pretty fast.

They don't weigh as much as you may think either, lightr than a precision!

The lacquor will almost certainly crack at some point, but this a tank of a bass! very solid and sturdy.

Whether you take a back-up or not is up to you, I use 10 different basses regularly (acoustic, fretless, 5 and 6 strings,) and never need a back-up. Never broke a string live, never change a string either!

Support isn't great. RIK love themselves and are very proud of their waiting list! There's a good discussion forum on the website written by users with contributions from RIK.

I've been playing 18 years, semi pro. I sing lead vocals, bass, keyboards and bass pedal synths in prog rock band PuZzLe FaCtOrY. One album to date! I play all types of bass, my favourites being: Fender Jazz, Ibanez muscian fretless, RIK.

I wish i'd known about the waiting list for one of these!

If i lost this bass or it was stolen, i'd get a custom built bass. RIK's are great, like nothing else on earth but it all depends on what you want! I wanted a RIK for it's sound and looks- it doesn't disapoint on either front really.

I wish there were other control options i.e. 3 band EQ. but then, this is an iconic instrument that people love in it's limitations!

I have a 1977 fire-glo Ric. It's just amazing! Of course it has the basic volume & tone controls only, since it's passive. But it easily competes with more "modern" instruments in terms of sound. You can play with the basic controls and get many different sounds out of this instrument. Best of all, you never loose the distinctive Ric sound.

I play rock, pop-rock and latin. It is very suitable for the first two styles. I think this bass was designed and built having in mind rock and pop styles. Although I find the 4001 also good enough for latin music and I use it for this style, I prefer my 6 string bass whenever I play latin. But the Ric sounds great even with average quality amps. I recently have been using my bass along with a Digi Tech multi-effects pedal and it sounds great! Sometimes I just use the pedal to reduce the humming.

No need for adjustments whatsoever, good action because the slim design of the neck. Besides, it's amazing how this instrument holds its tuning (almost) no matter what!!

I would define this bass with a sentence: it dares to be different. Whenever I go to a gig, other musicians always admire the sound and the design of this excelent bass guitar. Besides, it is a very dependable instrument, that never let you down.

I never have dealt with the manufacturer.

I've been playing bass on and off for the last 20+ years. Almost since the beginning I've used this Ric. I have used Fender, Gibson, Honner, and (more recently) Ibanez basses; but the Ric is simply the best.

I have a 2004 Rickenbacker 4001, made in America. @0 frets pearl triangle inlay on a rosewood neck that shines! Classic Rick bass style, I bought the black and white. It came with a beast of a hard case that protects it like a tank. The ricks electronics are set up to run in stereo. I have not yet done it because I have been satisfied with the sound I have running straight from the ric-o-sound jack.

I love this bass. It was recommended to me by my father who had one back in the 70's. He told me (and I agree) that is the best bass out there. The sound is prefect. It has a sound that is distinct from any other bass I have heard. The way I have mine toned and set up, it almost sounds like a bass key on a piano. I play it through an ampeg b2r amp and an ampeg 4x10 svt classic cab. It is the perfect marriage for this bass. With it's high sensitivty pickups it plays louder through this amp and cab than any fender I have played on it.

I have recorded and gigged continuously with it and it sounds equally amazing in the studio and out of the studio. I would recommend this bass for anyone.

When i first purchased this bass I was made fun of by an older man. He called that bass part of the "british invasion" punk stly bass. He is right, it sounds good with that style, but, I play harder music than that and this bass tone jumps up and bites you in the balls on stage. It has such a crisp low tone that it vibrates your bones ans will give you a headace...I love it!

The action when I bought it was pretty low and fast. It played well. The pickups were great. I had to lower the pickup that is covered by the pick up guard because when I played slap bass the strings would hit the pick up. The bass had no flaws I was aware of.

I play the crap out of this bass! I beat it up and play hard at each show and it has never crapped out on me. The hardware has lasted just fine for me. Nothing on this bass has broken. I have owned it for two years and just recently the action has seemed to have gotten a little high from normal wear and tear (and remember I play this bass HARD) but it was nothing a bridge adjustmen couldnt fix.

I have used this bass live without a backup, not recommended for obvious reasons. I mean if you brake a string you are screwed.

I have never dealt with them

this bass has been everything its histroy has said it was. Classic bass tone and ground shaking lows. It is the best bass my fingers have had the privaledge of playing and I will keep playing it until I brake it in half. It is a little on the heavy side. Something I had to get used to because I was used to playing an Ibanez. But the sore shoulder for a little while is worth the sound.

I purchased my Ric in 1976, but it's a 1975 model. I told the salesman (a friend) that I wanted to buy a new Ric. He said "I have just the one for you". He returned from the store basement with a '75 walnut finish Ric wrapped in plastic in its case. I ran my hand up and down the neck and bought it on the spot without even plugging it into an amp. Before I bought the Ric, I had owned a Hagstrom, Gibson EB-3, Fender Jazz Bass and a Fender Precision. The Ric blew them away and I haven't owned another bass in the last 30+ years.

I've used my Ric for all types of music; commercial, prog, Latin Jazz, funk, surf, classical, etc. Currently I use a Fender Rumble 60 for the bridge pickup and a Fender Rumble 100 for the neck pickup via a Ric-O-Sound kit. The 4001 is a stereo bass and if you're not using a Ric-O-Sound kit and two amps, you are shortchanging yourself. I know some people complain about the Ric's lack of tonal variety and bottom end, but that's because they don't know how to use one properly. You also don't need to change the pickups for some designer brand if you know what you are doing. The Ric will put out crisp, clean highs and deep, thunderous lows when the stereo feature is used.

My Ric came set up perfectly from the factory. The neck has never needed to be adjusted. I've adjusted the pickups and bridge height depending on the strings I've used. The action is low and fast and the finish is excellent. When I recently brought it in to a Guitar Center to test my current amps before purchase, the sales people were drooling at the sight of my Ric because they'd never seen such a fine example before.

This bass is built like a tank.

I've never had to deal with the company. Teey built a product that has never needed their service.

I've been playing music for about 40 years. I also have one Mosrite electric guitar, a Hammond XK System with a Motion Sound Pro-145, a Mellotron M400 and new Mellotron on the way from Streetly Electronics, a Dave Smith PolyEvolver synth, a Mini Korg synth and an Alesis QS6.2 for midi. If something happened to my Ric, I would certainly buy another one.

I have a fire-glo 4001 I bought used in '79. (Many years later, I wound up working with the guy who had bought it "off the shelf" for his brother to play in their band. This was in 1974-75. Turns out, I had bought it from his brother after their band broke up.)

I paid $300 dollars for it and it is the only bass I own after nearly thirty years.

When I was a teen in the mid-late seventies, my friends and I considered the Ric the Cadilliac of basses. I didn't like Fenders and still don't because of the feel of their necks. My Dad had a beat up Gibson EBO I used some but for rock it was too low and got muddy at high volume.

It is the most stable instrument I have ever seen. You can literally tune it, put it in the case, carry it around, come back in a couple of weeks and it is still in tune. Nothing fazes it.

My backround is semi-pro in city of about 50,000 in a very rural state. I prefer straight ahead rock with a real soft spot for Americana. I play with my fingers and do not slap. I also have played country (modern and traditional), folk, bluegrass, southern gospel, Broadway and swing jazz.

I put the traditional Roto-sound round wounds on it now to get the famous Ric "growl" on the low E string. People critize the Ric for non-versatility, but I've not found that not to be true. Other than when I was in college and playing a lot of jazz, I have always used the RS round wounds. My amp set-up is pretty simple, one Peavey 15 inch Black Widow cab with a Peavey MKIII bass man head. I have been thinking about adding a twin 10 cab for rock shows.

Using this setup, I can, by adjusting the amp, get a smooth, deep mellow sound for country, southern gospel, folk rock or jazz, but also re-adjust and cut through the mix of a rock set.

Unfortunately, the single coils can be noisy. When I was playing a lot of Broadway stuff, I had to be careful, the hum from the stage lights could really get loud.

I may be the only person in town playing a Ric, everyone comments on it and on the distinct sound it has. A good friend (and the best country guitarist I know) swears if he could afford one, he'd never have anything else after playing mine.

The action on the Ric is the best on any bass I have every played. This has been pretty well borne out by everyone who has ever played it.

I have had trouble with rust on the screws holding down the hardware, but the bass is thirty years old, I don't know if that is common or not.

See my aboove remarks on tuning, I have been playing nearly 30 years without a back up. What does that say?

The only odd thing was that the pickups faded into nothingness over the last 5-10 years. I recently replaced them with stock Rickenbackers and everything is OK. The magnets had gone weak. I think the stock pickups were a little pricy though.

As I said I've been play almost thirty years and have a degree in music from a local college. I've been trying to learn some other instruments and have a Gibson Les Paul, and Epiphone double neck, a Regal RD75 Dobro and a Sierra pedal steel.

If the Ric were ever stolen, I would immediately replae it with another Ric.

I love how easy it plays, it has no deceit it it. It does exactly what you ask it to. There is nothing I hate about it. My favorite feature is the neck and the action.

Rics (new) are probably overpriced (what isn't), but a used one is not so much that a person couldn't get one - it's the best "sleeper" on the market and is still a contender with the new high tech basses.

mine was born in august of '79
burgandy-glo all original with original fitted case.
bought her for my 21st birthday gift to myself.
standard neck thru 20 fret sharkfin inlay 4 string.

perfect for playing any and all styles fo music. she groves with mellow blues and jazz and i crank her out for some pounding rock/metal and i have even taken her to surf and funk and she won't miss a beat. acid rock, country stylings, speed metal, ballads. she does it all. action was set up by a pro in california just prior to my acquiring her and she plays like a dream. no buzz no twang none of "THAT sound" or any problems what so ever.

strings are perfect for quick picking as well as sustaining those long fade off finishes.
i reinstalled the bridge pickup cover, apparently the previous owner (i am 3rd owner) didn't like it because it "limited the fingering surface" but i find it to be a perfect thumb anchor.
has a few nicks pretty standard for a near 26 year old. better condition that most others in burgandy-glo that were played, of course those that were kept hidden away will be in better shape, but come on, how can you not play your bass? especially a RIC?

truss hasn't needed adjusting after the original factory setup, i was told by the previous owners that all they changed was the string heights, one liked using the bridge mute so he had the strings dropped, the first didn't like it much and was a fan of harder pounting notes so he liked high action.
i like low and fast, but she does everything so well i didn't see adjusting her higher for swing style.

plays in the studio (my spare room) on the stage and im sure she would perform in the attic or bathroom if needed.

consulted a great rep when i was looking at her, he told me a few signs to look for and how to desipher the date code, have talked a few times about ric accessories (the ric i sound box) and other special edition ric basses.

had her 5 months and has never let me down. will keep her for 5 decades and see where i stand, im willing to bet she will still be running strong.
i run her mainly thru my peavey dual head full stack,
an 18" PA subwoofer, a 410 tvx, an '82 mark VI 800 watt 2 channel head with footswitch powering the lows thru the subwoofer and a '02 firebass 700 watt head (bi amped with the mark VI) running the mids and highs thru the 4 10's
peavey has been great to me with equipment, i got a 16 channel mixer board from 1980 and it works great. but the halfstack i drag to practice and such is rough so im looking to pick up the ampeg ba-115hp because it is rather choice and it is twice as powerful as the 115 kickback.

if it were stolen (because i could never lose it, that would be like losing your genitals, you keep track of them well) i would like to hunt the thief down, but if i cannot ever recover her, id definately buy another, i love the feel, the sound and the color, burgandy glo is just cool looking. im looking at a jet glo that osmeone punked out (dimarzio pickups and swapped the ric-o-sound jack for a preamp) if the price is right id get her and put in classic ric pickups like the v64 bridge horseshoe and the high gain toaster in the neck, keep their black pick guard and maybe find a black truss cover, but hell id just as well get the black shadow bass, but they're expensive.

well hell if you've read this far, you must either be very bored or be interested in what i have to say (lol)

well other bass stuff of mine includes building and re working them.
i built a p-bass with a big gibson EB pickup right under the neck, she sounds great. i stained her deep red mahogany on the flat surface but the relief cuts and edges i painted black, ive never seen one like that, except for some carvin custom shop deals with top and bottom woods, but mine is ash solidbody. a custom cut head, 20 fret neck with a great flame look in the rosewood fingerboard, was great looking so i bought it, i put a 57 p-bass upgrade kit on (gold pickguard and both covers. have both pickups wired with a switch and 1 vol and 1 tone both on 500 pots giving both a great low end with great trebel response when turned up. i ran the jack on the side (strange for a standard p-bass i know)

i rebuilt about 6 guitars including a cort headless which played a little high but had a good feel had custom wound pickups and i refinished to a purple/gold mystic with gold pickguard, sold her to pay for more projects, got a charvel eliminator, don't have the active/passive preamp so i put in a blue lamp, looks good with the blue metalflake finish i put on. i have an '85 ibanez axstar the steinberger small body style, she plays beautiful. full 24 fret with 2 guitar humbuckers they acutually sound good, i had to replace the neck pickup so i put in a zebra jazz and she is good to go. was black but was dropped so i had to refinish, i chose blue/purple mystic and left the neck black, did the pickup covers and top bridge plate mystic with black p/u rings and rest of the bridge black an she looks sharp.

just finished wiring up an old domino bass i picked up for a song because it didn't work, the double switch was bad so i stripped the electronics, they were all corroded and junked up. i just finished making a new switch plate (covers the large hole left by the double rockers and holds the 3 position toggle i put in, also out in a double tone control both on 250's nice low and mellow but can get twangy for good funk.

i re worked an old silvertone (i think because it looked just like it but had no markings) i put in a pickup that looked like 2 jazz singlecoils mashed together in the neck and split the coils, then an aria humbucker left alone in the bridge, she has a nice range, the aria really gets up there in the trebel. had to cut a pickguard, my first one, but it came out looking nice, used a 10x14 piece of tortise shell and did a p-bass style but it

My Ricky was built in April 1981 in the USA. It is a long scale and is a through neck. Solid maple with two Rickenbacker pickups. It is jet black with a home made custom chrome scratch plate. Rest is all standard for the model.

It could have been built for my style of playing. fast, heavy, and hard hitting. I was inspired as a lad by Lemmy of Motorhead which also helped me fall in love with Rickenbacker's. I like to use it on the rear pickup and play using a pick right down next to the bridge. This not only gives you the sound that only a Rickenbacker can give, but also deliver's it like the kick from a shotgun..! I love this bass to bits, and would not part with it for love nor money. My only dislike is that it can become very heavy to use when playing a gig of more then 2 hours which is why I now have a Flying V as back up. I use a Zoom bass pedal and power it all through a Marshall Valvestate 265 which is on top on a 2x15 200 watt HH bass cab.

Action is great. You can get the strings down to as low as a fag paper before you get any buzz. Pickups need to be as high as possible and I have removed the rear pickup cover as it makes playing very difficult if you leave them on. As it is now 24 years old, it is showing it's age in all the right ways. The lacquer has cracked in many places, but this only adds to the attraction as it gives the bass a personallity of it's own.

My Ricky has never let me down in the 23 years I have owned it. I have giged with it as my only bass more times then I like to remember, but short of breaking a few strings over the years when getting carried away on an old Black Sabbath number it is great. It still turns heads and only last week at a gig I had somebody come up to me and tell me what a fantastic looking bass it is.

Only ever had to contact them when finding out when my bass use built. They sent me loads of info and stickers in return.

I have been playing for 24 years now. I also own a Epiphone Flying V bass, a 1991 USA Fender Telecaster, and a few other accoustic guitars and bass. If it were stolen or lost I wouldn't know how to replace such an old friend. I love the fact that it looks great. It has a certain uglyness about it that just adds to the appeal. I once had somebody say that my bass reminded them of a Cadillac..! ONly other bass I would like to own is a Gibson Thunderbird.

Standard Rick stuff. Fairly limited tone-wise, though it does have "that" sound.

Sort of a one flavor instrument, though it does what it does well.
I've never been pleased with the stock hi gain pickups. The bridge pickups are pretty lame. I've owned 3 of them, and they've all been the same.

Action is very good. Setup was very good. The paint is what stinks...
Every Rick that I have ever owned has suffered from some sort of finish problem (3 guitars, 3 basses) I'm not particularly hard on instruments and have had no similar troubles with any other brand. Expect hairline cracks or worse after a year or two of normal gigging/touring.

Again, finish problems... Everything else seems solid.

Seem decent enough...

I've been playing for 17 years and have always had a soft spot for the Ricks. Everytime I own one for a few years then I change my mind and sell it. Then for some reason I come back. I would say that they are solid and reliable, I just can't stand the lame finishes. They look great at first, but don't last. For studio use they are fine, but I can get a tone I like better for a lot less money.

It is a July 1979 (SF) bass. 20 frets, 2 pickups, the typical 4001. Neck through, passive electronics, I don't know the wood, redbrush, Rick style, 33" neck, great hardcase. As always, two volume, two tone and the selector.

The sound is old, but for rock, heavy, all kind of hard music it's the best. I love Rush (this is why I bought it) and for this kind of music is very good, for jazz too, but not for fast music (Dream Theater for example). Not noisy at all, low volume output though. It is good for both, studio and stage, the sound is too much, sometimes the band says "the bass is too high", but it's not, it's just it SOUNDS a lot!! I love my Rick

Since it was adjusted, in 1992, never again. Never loose intonation, perfect pitch in every fret. Perfect. The finish was perfect, I bought it in 1987 and it was my only bass for 8 years. So it is... touched but, it is good!!!!

It seems like it will stop work when I'll die, it will be buried with me. All the hardware is excellent, the bridge is fantastic. never used on stage with backup, just me and my Rick, look:
http://www.supernova-rs.com.ar/Discografia/Discos/uno/fotos/unopunto.htm

Excellent, nice people

Amazing bass!!!!!!