ilovefuzz.com

That's the problem though. Much like bananas, I loathe straplocks of any kind. Metal ones at least, it's a surefire way for me to create a giant ding. I want to just swap the stock ones out for a bigger button, one that actually holds a strap, or at least one that will hold the tried and true Grolsch washers. The problem I thought I'd have with Ric is their quality, and it definitely is not that. The bass is built very well, other than meh fretwork (which doesn't bother me much) and a lousy nut (easily remedied already). It's the weird eccentricities that make a Ric a Ric that annoy me. Still on the fence, I chucked it up for trade to see what might come along anyhow.

PS: I actually like bananas.

EDIT: Wait, the other problem is that it's not a screw, it's a bolt. The strap button is just one piece, no screw to actually remove.

Oh one of those... I've run across that on old japanese stuff... Still better than dano which uses a fucking acoustic guitar endpin stuck in a hole in the neck pocket...

I can't stand the old necks. Haven't played a new 4003 neck yet...but my buddies Ric is one of the only basses I have picked up where I immediately came to intensely dislike how it played.

This is how I see the 4003:

Pro:
-The Tone. I have never ever ever played such a versatile instrument. It's like a Jazz bass that goes well beyond its limits. Every tone sounds great!
-Build quality is quite high.
-Cool looks, it's like a '57 Chevy. I don't even like Chevrolet but every time you see a '57 you look and say "hey, what's that?!"
-Comfortable body shape (I know, weird).

Con:
-Stupid design, everything is either backwards or in one's way. The bridge pickup cover, the string mutes that don't work, the dual truss rod that requires tool mangling in order to utilize, tail lift, weird intonation, blah blah blah.
-Weird fuckin' neck, and I can't explain it any other way because it's just weird. The nut is wide, the bridge is narrow, and perfect action down low means you're playing a violin up high.
-Shitty fretwork akin to polished turds.
-Utter strap button failure. I've dropped a bass 6 times in 18 years of playing, 3 of which were the Ric during its inaugural jam
-BZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

I still really like it though.

The mute should work... There are nuts on the bottom of the thumbscrews.... and very few are set right... you kind'a have to take the whole bridge off to adjust them...

Mudfuzz wrote:The mute should work... There are nuts on the bottom of the thumbscrews.... and very few are set right... you kind'a have to take the whole bridge off to adjust them...

Oh, how convenient! I wouldn't use them anyhow, I was just venting my rage toward any open window I had.

PS: I've had your Grinding Mass music playing in the background for 10 minutes, love it!

thanks!!! You mean on the front page? actually that is the uncut version of the song off the first TD noise thingy

Sweet! Yeah the tune on the front page, and I guess it was more like 8 minutes or whatever. I need to revisit that first comp...

One last thing about the Ric: it doesn't play nice with my two favourite fuzz pedals.

Katana Sound Super Bass Fuzz = squeal city
Malekko B:Assmaster = no bawlz whatsoever

Also please note that this is the perfect thread to bitch about this, because what would TalkBass be if not complaining profusely about perfectly awesome gear?! "Oh waah I'm a big baby who doesn't like his amazing bass because it doesn't speak to me just like the Whore's Whisperer!"

nad wrote:what would TalkBass be if not complaining profusely about perfectly awesome gear?! "Oh waah I'm a big baby who doesn't like his amazing bass because it doesn't speak to me just like the Whore's Whisperer!"

I CAN'T EVEN LOOK AT A RIC WITHOUT FEELING LIKE I'M GONNA PUKE I MEAN HOW CAN YOU PLAY A BASS WITH BINDING DON'T YOU KNOW BINDING RUINS YOUR SUSTAIN

HOW ARE YOU GONNA PLAY BROWN-EYED GIRL WITHOUT SUSTAIN MAN
I RECOMMEND SX THEY HAVE MAXIMUM SUSTAIN. VT BASS HAS SOME NICE SUSTAIN TOO

I MEAN IM NOT ONE FOR EFFECTS THE TONE IS IN YOUR FINGERS AFTER ALL...YOU KIDS MAKE ME LAUGH, SPENDING MONEY ON DISTORTION PEDALS
BACK IN MY DAY DISTORTION WAS AN UNDESIRABLE EFFECT WE HAD TO LIVE WITH JUST TO KEEP UP WITH GUITARISTS BUT IF YOURE LOOKING FOR DISTORTION I RECOMMEND THE BASS BIG MUFF IT CAN GET PRETTY "WACKY" OR WHATEVER YOU KIDS CALL IT THESE DAYS

Achtane wrote:BACK IN MY DAY DISTORTION WAS AN UNDESIRABLE EFFECT WE HAD TO LIVE WITH JUST TO KEEP UP WITH GUITARISTS

I remember reading that one time and thinking oh yeah, I'm sure that Geezer, Bruce, and Cassidy all hated distortion.

But then I realized that "back in my day" also consisted of discoland faggotry.

nad wrote:

Achtane wrote:BACK IN MY DAY DISTORTION WAS AN UNDESIRABLE EFFECT WE HAD TO LIVE WITH JUST TO KEEP UP WITH GUITARISTS

I remember reading that one time and thinking oh yeah, I'm sure that Geezer, Bruce, and Cassidy all hated distortion.

But then I realized that "back in my day" also consisted of discoland faggotry.

I too remember that post. Also, fuck that guy.

I almost jumped on this bass today.

http://spokane.craigslist.org/msg/2113113179.html

I think this is the EB-0 copy, It doesn't have the EB-3 pickup or electronics configuration so I passed,...but either way I'm being fucking taunted. I want a lawsuit EB-3 so bad and this one is close,...but no cigar.

Aw man that's pretty cool.

there was this really nice greco eb3 copy in a shop near me. it was only like $200 but it had stickers all over the headstock and someone colored all around the pickups with fluorescent marker..