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well that's a surprising look on a premium bass, i must say.
obviously it works perfectly or you wouldn't recommend it. but that close combo of 'meandering' bass rout and double-glazing accessory... a surprising look.
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
Rather than a single, steady, continuous pass of the router bit, following a guide template, it consists of individual, overlapping dips of the bit, one after the other, presumably by moving the piece on the bench for each cut.
Perhaps, it was the last job on a Friday afternoon?
The 'double glazing accessory' is actually a piece from the speaker grille edging strip of an old Peavey bass combo which I had replaced with a steel grille.
That's how they always did them - with a Forstner drill bit - you should be able to see the centre dimple in each hole...
If there's a normal way of doing something, and another way, Rickenbacker will usually do the other one!
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
Why do so many people put up with Ric's when there are some clear flaws which they just don't want to address?
I had one, and yes, it was nice.. and unique.. to an extent. I'm not convinced that they are unique enough to justify the hype any more. I used to.. but they just seem to treat their customers like an inconvenience
The method makes more work and adds to the production costs.
In most business models, that counts as success.
It's something I've been aware of through the Rick Resource website although the incidents there seem to be quite few and far-between.
Pointless factoid of the day: Adolph Rickenbacker was the cousin of the famous WW1 flying ace Eddie Rickenbacker, and used his cousin's fame to help aid his sales in the early days. They also produced the first commercially available solid electric guitar.
Formerly TheGuitarWeasel ... Oil City Pickups ... Oil City Blog 7 String.org profile and message
It's annoying that their tailpieces are made from a soft alloy that is prone to snapping - but to insist on having you ship yours back to them and then pay for a replacement rather than either sending out a replacement or selling spare parts is taking the act of protecting your IPR to the absolute limit.
If my only bass was a Ric and I was gigging regularly and this happened and left me bass-less for nearly a month (or more) I'd be furious. Moreover, I'd be selling the bloody thing and buying something I can get spares for so it can be used as an actual working instrument.
They are far from the only company which won't address their flaws. Gibson and their fragile headstocks and variable neck angles, Fender and their stupid Telecaster jack sockets and volume knob/switch conflict, Gretsch and their daft strap buttons and bridges that won't stay in place, PRS and their lack of character-producing QC faults and coolness...
But their refusal to sell out to corporate shareholders, borrow millions of dollars to 'diversify' and then find themselves up shit creek and in hock to the banks is a definite failure.
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
If I had more than £2k to pop on a new bass I'd be off to AC Guitars like a shot and spec up exactly what I want. His customer service is impeccable, it's value for money, it's supporting the UK economy and given the flexibility I reckon you could easily have something made that fits the look sound and feel brief for most people.
ACG would do a slab body, unusual-ish scale twin single coil bass with pickups from whomever you wanted (like Oil City )
Ric need to get over themselves. They were a big player. They aren't nowadays.
I just want to give some balance - so many manufacturers get whacked on here for the smallest things and sometimes it feels like Ric have the absolute worst attitude in the industry and yet go relatively unscathed.
If Gibson tried to pull some of the things Ric get away with you would all be fuelling up your lighters ready to ignite the torches and getting your best files out to sharpen the pitchforks.
Gibson don't listen either. Not sure about Fender but I don't see any real evidence of it - just better management in the first place.
I understand the need for their aggressive IPR policy too. It doesn't come across well, but if you don't defend it, you can lose it.
Yes they are. Go to any festival for day and it's a near certainty you will see at least one Rickenbacker, usually a 4003.
I agree - and I do find the fanboy attitude a bit puzzling. I was booted off the Rick forum for daring to mention a couple of minor issues, not because I wanted to bash the company but because I want them to do better. Or for disagreeing with John Hall, I'm not sure which...
"Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski
"Only two things are infinite - the universe, and human stupidity. And I'm not sure about the universe." - Albert Einstein
I rest my case.
If I went to the UK's most well known and prestigious bass builder - Shuker - and made some suggestions having purchased one of his basses he would be respectful, listen, comment and discuss. He would probably even suggest a solution or alternates. I have a mate with a Shuker - it had a minor issue with the wiring which was a design flaw and caused some abrasion and thus a dodgy ground connection. It was over 5 years old, but was repaired, improved, apologised for, and a free setup administered. Oh, and it was bought used so he isn't even the original owner...
Ric would no doubt of told him he was playing it wrong, or it's how it sounded in the 60's with a dodgy wiring connection, or he'd have just got booted off the forum or something equally banal.
I believe the metal was changed around 2000 to something more robust and I’ve had no issues since. It doesn’t seem that unreasonable to me that a company wouldn’t have a guarantee on an older instrument. Especially as the failure mode is the customer scratching the part. Which seems to have been rectified....
As an alternative there is the trapeze tailpiece but that’s pretty ugly to my eye.