Something old/something new for the Ricky fans...

[Steve DeRosa]

A 90th Anniversary limited edition of the old 4005WB bass:



While I would have preferred the post-1965 "R" tailpiece the 330-style body, checkerboard binding, and 30.5" scale (first new short-scale Rick bass in over 40 years) combine to make it look far less ungainly - and probably better-balanced on the shoulder - than the full-scale original (with its extended upper horn); a little rich for most folks' budgets at $5K+ (FYI Chuck Levin's is taking preorders at this writing), but given the resurgence of interest in short-scale basses they'd do well to consider an "S" model analogous to the 4001/4003S (330 body with no binding, dot-inlay unbound neck, mono wiring) in the $2K bracket - absent Gibson bringing back the EB-2D their only real competition is Warwick's Star Bass and the Gretsch White Falcon, both larger/bulkier instruments, and as a long-time lover of hollow-body short-scale basses I'd be sorely tempted...

[Glennwillow]

Hi Steve!

Man, I love that Ric Fireglo finish! Those are some very tasty pictures there! My Rickenbacker 360-12 is in that same fireglo finish. I just love it!

If I were any good on a bass guitar, I might consider something more exotic than my Carvin neck-thru bass, but alas....

- Glenn

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by Glennwillow

...If I were any good on a bass guitar, I might consider something more exotic than my Carvin neck-thru bass, but alas...

I've played a couple of Carvin neck-thru basses, almost bought a fretless in near-mint condition from my tech - nothing to sneeze at IME...

[Bob Womack]

I've seen plenty of pics of broken "R" tailpieces so perhaps this is a better route. Here's a pic from Roger McGuinn:




Bob

[Glennwillow]

Originally Posted by Bob Womack

I've seen plenty of pics of broken "R" tailpieces so perhaps this is a better route. Here's a pic from Roger McGuinn:




Bob

Hopefully the Ric folks have thickened up the casting at that weak point. Hmmmm...

Looks like a very different tail piece on the bass that Steve posted, so perhaps they have adjusted.

- Glenn

Here's a picture of a current 360-12. Looks like that's where this piece comes from.

[David Eastwood]

The broken tailpiece thing gets hashed, rehashed and re-rehashed on Rickenbacker fora endlessly. The company is, effectively, silent on the subject, which doesn’t exactly help - but then neither does spreading the myth that they are all going to fail eventually.

There clearly was a bad period for them. My observation is, from the failure reports I’ve seen, that early 80s 12-strings are most prone to it; black finished hardware seems to be more vulnerable.

Rickenbacker has done (as I alluded above) a pretty poor job at reacting to this, but on the other hand, insistence from the ‘victims’ that RIC should guarantee this part for life is nonsense. Gibson headstock breakages from a fundamental design weakness spring to mind - no-one (to my knowledge) has ever gone after Gibson for recompense for that.

Finally, Steve, no Rickenbacker aficionado would be caught dead referring to them as ‘Ricky’. It’s only 6 more letters. Type it, brother.

Or maybe you own a Gibby or an Ibby or two?

All in good fun, of course

[Steve DeRosa]

Originally Posted by eatswodo

...maybe you own a Gibby or an Ibby or two?

Actually, I do (BTW the guys over on the General forum call them Gibbys all the time), as well as an Epi, Taylor hog-top bari, Gretsch Double Annie and E-Matic, two Yammies, a couple Martin dreads, and a mapleglo Ricky 360 I've owned for 35 years...

It's just the lingo, bro...

[David Eastwood]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Actually, I do (BTW the guys over on the General forum call them Gibbys all the time), as well as an Epi, Taylor hog-top bari, Gretsch Double Annie and E-Matic, two Yammies, a couple Martin dreads, and a mapleglo Ricky 360 I've owned for 35 years...

It's just the lingo, bro...

Understood. It’s just one of those little peeves that can take on more weight the later in the evening it gets

I’ve owned my 650D for almost 20 years, and it will never be a Ricky

[Bob from Brooklyn]

90th Anniversary? Truthfully I can never remember seeing these in use