Rickenbacker Bass Guitar FUN 

Calmest Rickenbacker setup in DWOFS history..I did not see this coming!

Any time Dave gets a Rick, it's gonna be a fun video.

It’s like the Rickenbacker guys said, “ Let’s do the exact opposite of Leo. He makes his easy to maintain so, let’s give ours two truss rods that are nearly impossible to adjust, extra pots and an extra jack to wire, a bridge that’s a nightmare to intonate, and but it’ll look cool!” “Oh, and make sure it’s nearly impossible to change the neck too!”

That body looks like a 70's motel nightstand.

The double truss rod system seems like an interesting concept, so you can fix any neck twisting. The problem is that it’s so tricky to adjust it correctly, you just end up causing a neck twist yourself.

"And the meek shall inherit the earth...."

That gooey old sticker is like the tag on a suit coat, it is supposed to be removed!!!

A lovely bass to look at for me, although not everyone’s cup of tea.

Love the Rick's look. Love the Rick's sound. Too scared to own one lol. Thanks Dave for the vid and for the 2112 throwbacks from Toronto. All Jazz players, especially Rush enthusiast Jazz players, will understand despite the loop through many models why Geddy ended back up with the Jazz.

I played that exact same model at a Guitar Center about three years ago, right before Covid hit. The tone, sustain and playability at least on the one I was trying out was excellent and very unique. It resonated almost without end. The feel was kind of surprising and refreshing for a bass. Wow I thought, this one came out great. The setup was also great, someone was in a good mood in the QC Department before it left the factory. The decades of misery though reported over and over again by techs and players to maintain these things completely discouraged me from wanting to buy it. What I cannot fathom is why Rickenbacker absolutely will not budge on what causes these frustrations. It appears they have a new bridge. Rumors are though that allegedly the bridge STILL has the "Lift Problem" and they STILL insist on the two truss rod design. Asking a defense contractor to design and build a completely new aircraft carrier, fighter plane, or tank is a universe of engineering and money, I get that. Installing just one Truss Rod instead of the two and preferably with parallel fixed Reinforcement Rods like so many other basses have is NOT asking a lot. How much money and or effort could that realistically be for Rickenbacker to do this?

Always love a Dave vs Rickebacker video. Keep 'em coming, Dave :)

Nooooo, not the sticker! The bass devaluated 50% now

My 2023 has a single truss rod and a very different bridge that is easy to intonate. I set mine up myself as instructed by you and my years of setting up my own basses. Different animal than my old 78 Rick. The only thing you need to be mindful of is when you remove or install the strings. There are rollers that the strings sit on and they are to adjust string spacing. If the string is touching that roller when you slide it in and out it will move left and right. There is no way to tighten them so they do not move.

"What can this strange device be? When I touch it, it gives forth a sound It's got wires that vibrate and give music What can this thing be that I found?"

I removed the funky plastic cover from the bridge pickup on my Ric, and then installed a custom-shaped thin plywood plate to keep crap out of the yawning hole around the pickup. Ended looking pretty good. Now I'm trying to figure out a fix to screw down the tailpiece on the end pin side to keep it from bouncing around under string tension. Love the bass despite its idiosyncrasies!

Good looking bass there! Walnut wood on side wings I believe.

Loving the 2112 quotes.

2112 was my first Rush album, still the best.

Oh Look! It's got a built in ash tray!

It's not that new if it's still got that pesky old bridge. That was the best change that they've made in years. My Ric has the new bridge but still has the dual truss. I've mixed feelings on the truss, but I managed to get it before they dropped the lacquered fretboards. Which would have been a deal breaker to not have that. Always love you and a ric video, thanks Dave!

Rickenbacker owners and leaving stickers on the pickguard. Lol, whatever..

My farmer Grandpa would be proud of your blacksmithing. In my 30+ years in manufacturing, I have lost count of the number of tools I have modified or created (Thanks Grandpa). Nice job Dave! Thanks for the Rush. First song my guitar teacher taught me before he got fired for teaching me it instead of the Mel Bay Method!

Ricks are always good for a giggle.

My US Peavey basses had the same truss rod wrench issues and I ended up buying two or three Peavey truss rod wrenches that were apparently set up with thin walls to fit. The thought behind it apparently is that you won't sheer the truss nut off by over-tightening if the wrench is pretty weak and will bend if it's over-tensioned.

Dave's a Rick magnet

Gorgeous bass! I’m not a bass player, but if I was, that Rick right there, is the exact instrument I’d want to own.

Rickie don't lose that number.

Newer models come with Single Dual Action Truss Rods FINALLY!

Nice tribute to Rush Dave.

I love that large recession around the bridge pup. I have a Squier J bass and I might do something like like that as an experiment. Maybe a swimming pool route thats mostly empty.

Those basses looks like too many trouble on purpose... meeeh... That's why I always like Fender and Musicman basses. No nonsense double truss rods, no nonsense pickups, no nonsense strange bridge saddles and additional troubles to find tools to just maintenance instrument.

Make skinny sockets. ..grind or lathe. Works fine. Takes moments to grind one. Enjoy your show.🎸🎸🎸🎸

The sticker is a US flag with the caption "Proudly Made in the USA". I couldn't get mine off fast enough when I got my 4003. I put it on the back of the headstock for the benefit of a future owner.

Ricks are special animals!

YESSSSS!!!! A brand new Dave vs Rickenbacker video!! 😃

No palm muting allowed with that bridge.

9:31, big fat like! 😎 Rush forever!!!

The fun never seems to end .

I love the Rick look and sound! I’m not sure about the two truss rod thing. Also, as you pointed out, the bridge. Thanks! 😎

2112 yeah!

I use a screw driver that has interchangeable bits. Take the bit out and you have a 1/4" nut driver. Works like a charm.

I remember him calling them "stick in my backer"

Percentage wise, it seems like you get a lot of Rickenbackers

Been playing Rics for years, never hit the pick up switch.

All the best from the Caribbean Dave 🌴

I had a newer 4003 (2016 maybe) and Stew Mac makes a long handle wrench that worked for me.

Appreciate the Rush “reference”.

Thx for 2112.

it's a metric quarter inch...

Love your bass setup videos Dave... keep them coming

Sure does sound good

Rickenbacker bass guitar dysFUNctional

I don't miss my 4001 one bit. LOL

Rickenbacker: paying a premium for bad design.

That's a nice sounding bass.

I owned a 73 ric and sold it after 4 weeks.

Nice coffee table.

Lovin' me some Geddy Lee...oh you canuks, saludos desde Nicaragua Dave

love the 2112 stuff

I'm not sure why anyone would bring a Rickenbacker to you haha

I see they've never remedied the classic Bridge lifting away from the body problem? This and the Gibson 3 pointer are the worst bridges ever!

Every mechanic has specialy ground wrenches for just such an occasion. That looks like a pretty thoughtful bass. I don't know, don't play, but a bunch of features. What are the two jack sockets about? 12:37

Well the Rick's are quirky guitars six string and bass. 2 truss rods even more quirky. But dave did a great job

Don't like the walnut finish. It looks like an old lady's coffee table.

"Lettuce"...? You reminded me of a Monty Python skit of a vegetarian hunting club, where the hound comes trotting back with a cabbage in its mouth...

Too bad it doesn’t have the new V2 bridge. Soooooo much better.

If the action on the G string is still too high and can't be lowered at the bridge, you could shim the neck, maybe just the treble side a little to get the action better. 🤷

Lettuce,lettuce, lettuce. I´m hungry!😆

Mr. Dave. Love your videos! Always entertaining. As an American fan of many things from the Great White North, my all time favorite is RUSH. On to my question for you. As everyone knows Geddy was a long time player of Ricky basses. But as far as I know he always had the Ric bridges replaced with Badass bridges. What is your opinion on that particular move? 👍

What is the advantage of two truss rods when one does the job?

Great video.

Recorded horizontally:)

Are you going live with sandwich hour Dave?

Temples Of Cervix!! ;)

One day, I wish I could make a woman moan, like a Rickenbacker does to Dave.

Did anybody else notice that he set pickup heights using the 1/16thin feeler gauge for both bass and treble sides? I've always set them up just like guitars, with 1/8 on bass and 1/16 on treble. Comments please....

Hey, Dave! How's things?

The reason you Facebook page won’t respond is because the person in charge owns a Rickenbacker 😏

Hands down, the most over rated turd. Especially the bridge.They're cool looking though. Really like your vids.

I've only played p basses and j basses but for looks I think the Ricks are nice looking

❤❤❤❤

sup Dave!

Why two Jack holes?

can i find the outro song anywher

Re: Rick' truss wrench > another case of when designers ARE NOT tech's ...jus' sayin'

2112

💙👊😎

Sorry, but the twin truss rod system on these basses is ridiculous and unnecessary. Ricks are so idiosyncratic!

I have no clue why people still play ricks.

The Rickenbacker bass actually looks kinda cool. Their guitars though? Total crap designs.

. If it weren't for Rick fanboys who finally got a decent paying job, no rent thanks to their parents & no financial obligations... They can afford to buy one and hardly ever play it because they prefer to worship it more than plugging it in at a gig.

Yikes, the clunkiness and awkwardness of the Rick bass always shocks me. How can something so chonky and bulky seem so fragile? Rickenbacker: telling elegance and ergonomics to fsck off since 1932.

Bass guitar? ...no such thing. A bass is different then a guitar in scale length, tone and number of strings. A bass is a bass, unless you are fishing for bass.

Yessss im back hi davey