Rickenbacker bass from soundmeout.com...

Yv

Well, I think it's high time I upgraded from my trusty Aria bass to something a bit more professional. I got the opportunity to try out a Rickenbacker 4003 at a gig last week & now my heart's set on getting my own... I found this one on eBay this morning. Personally, I've always had a bit of an aversion to buying something like a guitar from eBay (been caught out with other items in the past) but other Boardsies seem to get on fine with it.

Has anybody here dealt with this seller (soundmeout) before? They have their own website too, soundmeout.com.

Also, I'll be going to London next month - would it be smarter to hold out until then, to try some out in person? Could anyone recommend me an area / shop where I'd be likely to find me a Ric? Far as I know we're flying with Aer Lingus so bringing it back with me would hopefully not prove too difficult, but that's for another thread.

Doctor J

Denmark Street - near Oxford Street - is the place to go in London but don't go expecting to find a bargain. Check the sellers feedback, send them a mail too confirming postage. If there are any discrepancies between the email you get back and the info you can gleam from their profile, walk away. Otherwise, it is still possible to get great instruments from ebay.

FWIW I bought a 4003 a few years back from http://www.the-music-connection.com and they were good folks to deal with.

What I would suggest is spending a bit more time with a Ric before you blow over a grand on one. I loved the tone on mine but I just found them very uncomfortable to play fingerstyle. In the end I sold it because I had other basses I could use and not have wrist pains for days after a gig.

Dord

Forget about the RIC, what Aria have you got? :pac::pac::pac:


I'm the resident Aria nut btw. :cool:

judas101

Ric's are amazing.

I wouldnt let mine go for anything.

Mine was an Ebay bargain from the states. Best of luck with it!

Yv

judas101 wrote:

Mine was an Ebay bargain

Nice one, how much did you pay for it? I was looking at the 1977 4001 Ric on adverts.ie, but when I asked the guy who let me try his out last week he said €1500 is a bit steep, but I thought that'd be a pretty average price for a Ric bass?

Oh and

Joe Robot wrote:

What Aria have you got?

I haven't a clue what model it is but this is me playing it, if you can work it out from the picture... it's a v nice bass but I want something more... eh... expensive? :P

http://a215.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/96/l_8b7c2b0f2202aebcda9afd59cfaa0b26.jpg

Dord

Yv wrote: »

judas101 wrote:

Mine was an Ebay bargain

Nice one, how much did you pay for it? I was looking at the 1977 4001 Ric on adverts.ie, but when I asked the guy who let me try his out last week he said €1500 is a bit steep, but I thought that'd be a pretty average price for a Ric bass?

Oh and


I haven't a clue what model it is but this is me playing it, if you can work it out from the picture... it's a v nice bass but I want something more... eh... expensive? :P

http://a215.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/96/l_8b7c2b0f2202aebcda9afd59cfaa0b26.jpg

It's difficult to tell, possibly an AVB series or STB series.

As for the RIC price, unfortunately the prices are that expensive nowadays. Even RIC copies are going for a lot of money mainly because RIC is very strict on the copies. IMO, they're not worth it at all. I remember a few years back I was looking at some early 80's RIC's for $700 or $800. They could sell for twice that now. Rickenbacker have a waiting list of about 18 months now as far as I know.

judas101

Yv wrote: »

judas101 wrote:

Mine was an Ebay bargain

Nice one, how much did you pay for it? I was looking at the 1977 4001 Ric on adverts.ie, but when I asked the guy who let me try his out last week he said €1500 is a bit steep, but I thought that'd be a pretty average price for a Ric bass?

i bagged a perfect nick white 1974 4001 for €899 around two years ago.

it was a 'buy it now' and i pounced within an hour.

you should be easy able to get one for 1200-1300. new ones arent that much more than 1500 anyway afaik.

Don1

I have a '78 USA Fender P-bass in need of a good home if you're interested?! (PM)

feylya

I didn't know that this had turned into adverts.ie...

Doctor J

Yv wrote:

I was looking at the 1977 4001 Ric on adverts.ie

There's a world of difference between the 4003 and the 4001, both tonally and in terms of how they're built. The 4003 has much meatier pickups and a vastly hotter output than the 4001. If you tried a 4003 and liked the sound of it then make sure you try a 4001 before you buy one because they look similar but sound very different. The neck on the 4003 differs too, you can use heavy strings and use the truss rods to set the neck as you want it in a traditional manner. With the 4001, it doesn't handle heavy strings well and if it doesn't come set up it'll be a pain in the hole to sort out, you'll probably have to bring it somewhere to be set up. The 4001 neck needs to be physically set as you want it and then you use the truss rods to lock it in place, it's an outdated system that they needed to change, hence the 4003 replacing it in the early 80's.

Don1

Apologies feylya. Just being a tad oportunistic and also lazy. Will get around to adverts eventually...........

Yv

Thanks for the advice, especially Doctor J - very helpful. I definitely liked the feel of the 4003 with its slim neck; being female my hands are a little smaller than the average bassist's & it seemed very comfortable. Hopefully I can track a couple down in London to try out, seeing as I only played the Ric for a few minutes at the gig because the bassist who owns it is way better than me & I was a little embarrassed :P

judas101 wrote:

i bagged a perfect nick white 1974 4001 for €899 around two years ago.

it was a 'buy it now' and i pounced within an hour.

I'll keep a close eye on ebay from now on...

judas101

Doctor J wrote: »

There's a world of difference between the 4003 and the 4001, both tonally and in terms of how they're built. The 4003 has much meatier pickups and a vastly hotter output than the 4001. If you tried a 4003 and liked the sound of it then make sure you try a 4001 before you buy one because they look similar but sound very different. The neck on the 4003 differs too, you can use heavy strings and use the truss rods to set the neck as you want it in a traditional manner. With the 4001, it doesn't handle heavy strings well and if it doesn't come set up it'll be a pain in the hole to sort out, you'll probably have to bring it somewhere to be set up. The 4001 neck needs to be physically set as you want it and then you use the truss rods to lock it in place, it's an outdated system that they needed to change, hence the 4003 replacing it in the early 80's.

youre so learn-ed justin

Doctor J

I learn-ed the hard way, Kevin