Fretless Bass Guitars

Rickenbacker Fretless Bass Guitars

Let’s face it. There are a multiple of different players today. All with different styles. If you could amass a bunch of bass players in one room and asked them which basses they owned or would want to own, Rickenbacker would be on top of most, if not all of the lists. Rickenbacker has a rich musical heritage. A leader on several music fronts with their guitar AND bass lines: fretted and fretless. Musicologists cannot ignore the RIC contribution to the innovations that the company has been credited with through its history. Amongst its most astounding achievements, Rickenbacker is credited with offering the 1st fretless bass.

We’ve all heard the stories about The Stones’ Bill Wyman customizing a Fender into a fretless back in the early ‘60s. Let’s get past that. Rickenbacker history shows that they were producing the first commercial fretless basses in the early 1960’s. With options in design like neck through to the body and double outputs so you can control the EQ from each pick up separately for “live” effects or studio stereo production. And a RIC’s sound design is really a “SOUND” design. Vintage RIC’s really are a thing of beauty and built to last. In colors like Blonde or MapleGlo with Ebony fingerboards, Maple necks and trademark headstock RIC’s have really held up to the test of time. They are just built very, very well. Whether you own a 3000, 4000 series or whatever RIC bass you choose.

When you look at company history, it seems that Rickenbacker was created for the music of today. Rock, Jazz, Country, Blues. You see, where other companies got there start in stringed instruments like violins, The Rickenbacker International Corporation also known as RIC was founded for the sole purpose of creating and manufacturing fully electric musical instruments and amplifiers.

It began in California as the Ro-Pat-In Corporation in 1931 by Adolph Rickenbacker and George D. Beauchamp. Later a name change to Electro Stringed Instrument Corporation, they produced "Rickenbacker Electro Instruments", the first modern electric guitars. Although the first true bass guitar The Mando Bass had been manufactured by Gibson in 1910, it was acoustic. Rickenbacker on the other hand had invented their first electric bass, the bedpost-bass, just over a quarter century later in 1936. The Bed Post Bass was more bass than bass guitar. It resembled an upright bass, but was amplified with electricity. A milepost in the future of electric bass design.

In 1957, bass guitar history took a double leap as Fender was remodeling its Precision bass , Rickenbacker created the 4000 in the same year. This bass guitar from Rickenbacker is affectionately known as "The" Rickenbacker. As stated earlier RIC is credited with offering the first commercial fretless in an era where all other manufacturers were content to be fretted. RIC lead the way with other innovations as well; like their neck though bodies, and distinctive electronics, the 4000 series had incredible sustain and clarity, leading to its adoption by many popular players. The 4000 Bass and 4001S remained very popular even into the 1970’s. Even when the RIC Guitar Boom went bust after the Rock British Invasion of the 1960’s died out the 4000 was commanding top dollar.

RIC Basses have long been used in the studio by legends like Paul McCartney , John Entwhistle ,Geddy Lee and Chris Squire. One reason is the tonal quality of RIC basses. Rickenbackers produce a clear tone even when played high up the neck, and its deep cutaways allow easy access to the higher notes.

Rickenbacker 4001C64 C Series Electric Bass

The RIC fretless and fretted axes are still popular today to the more casual player and weekend warrior as well. One reason is a rich legacy. The other is innovation ,but with an ear to the past. Remember in the 70’s when RIC basses included a capacitor in the treble pickup circuit to emphasize treble tones coming from that pickup. Well due to preferences in tone and a need for higher volume output lead to the discontinued use of this capacitor . To the surprise of RIC Corp many users added this capacitor back into the circuit, experimenting with and sometimes preferring the sound of the older configuration, despite the resulting drop in volume. So a few years ago RIC added the capacitor back in some 4000 models. The “vintage tone selector” as it was…. and is again today.

Warning: “know your AXE”. Part of the reason RIC’s have a great sustain is due to the hardwoods used on the neck and fingerboards, the formidable structure of the body, hardware and headstock. That can make some RIC’s a bit too heavy for some players. Make sure you pick the correct RIC model before you commit to this axe as your primary gigging instrument.

Nonetheless, the Rickenbacker bass legacy still lives on. Bassists all over the world still like to strap on a “Rick”, and lay down some solid rock tracks. The RIC design is not best for slapping or popping but is great for everything else from Swing to Motown , Funk, Rock and Jazz.