Arguably the prettiest thing £350 can get you

[ilan]

https://retrovibe.co.uk/product/retrovibe-t32-telenbacker-bass-32-medium-scale-hot-yellow-with-black-binding-and-hardware/

Yessss it's the 32" Retrovibe T32 Telenbacker Bass!

(That's US$436)

[morrow]

flat out weird

[Dave W]

[Basvarken]

I can understand the pickguard shape and choice of pickups.
But I think the entire mounting ring is silly on a Rickenbacker. The shape serves no purpose at at all. It leaves an awkward gap on either side of the bridge pickup. And it looks clumsy.
Re-creating it on a non-Rickenbacker like this, I think is downright stupid.

[gearHed289]

Wow. Weird, but it actually works. Hate the color scheme, but otherwise, not bad.

[Pilgrim]

Works for me.  If you want something attention-getting, that color selection will do it.

[ilan]

I can understand the pickguard shape and choice of pickups.
But I think the entire mounting ring is silly on a Rickenbacker. The shape serves no purpose at at all. It leaves an awkward gap on either side of the bridge pickup. And it looks clumsy.
Re-creating it on a non-Rickenbacker like this, I think is downright stupid.

Of course it's silly. Rics are quirky in every possible way. But when they tried to offer a better designed model, it tanked.

(Let's see... lacquered "African" rosewood board? why? 33.25" scale, truss rods that no one knew how to set and cracked the neck, Plexiglas guards that sometimes you can see the harness through them and crack when you raise the neck pickup, 6-pole guitar toaster on a bass or the button-top with its narrow window that turns string bends into sharp volume drops, thumb screws used as strap buttons, conversion varnish finish that has you waiting 48 hours before opening the box to play your new bass, the "stereo" output, the control layout with the tones on top and the volumes at the bottom, THAT BASS-CUT CAPACITOR, Midnight Blue that bleeds into the binding, Mapleglo (okay, all those silly names for finishes) that turns to Glueburst, a bridge that can not be intonated without loosening the strings, zinc tailpiece that tail-lifts, a mute cage that prevent palm-muting, huge swimming pool rout for the neck pickup at the weakest point of the body, huge treble pickup rout, a "handrest" that raises and lowers with the pickup and limits how low you can set it, 3-screw nameplate that has so easily turned so many Asian copies into "real" Rics, upside-down headstock and inlays on lefties...)

[Basvarken]

Thank you Ilan. If I should ever be struck by a GAS attack for a Rickenbacker, I'll just take a look at this post of yours. 😂

[Alanko]

I've owned a few Retrovibe instruments. In my opinion you pay a bit of a Ricky tax on them; they are more expensive because of the Rickebacker elements copied over. If they were basic P Bass shapes they would be £129 Amazon instruments. None of the electronics, hardware or setup really oozed top quality. Fair play to David for having the vision and energy to make this stuff. His various iterations of Rickenbacker inspired designs were quite interesting! The earliest basses had two MM-style humbuckers and with a bit of cunning wiring you could unlock a lot of different tones from them.


I don't think the Telecaster guitar outline lends itself to basses at all. It is too stumpy to add a long neck to without chucking off the balance. Designs that end up teetering the bridge at the furthest limits of the body to wrangle the correct scale length look a bit silly.

Stick all the Rickenbacker gubbins on a '51 style Tele bass body and you are on to more of a winner in my book.

[Dave W]

Of course it's silly. Rics are quirky in every possible ways. But when they tried to offer a better designed model, it tanked.

(Let's see... lacquered "African" rosewood board? why? 33.25" scale, truss rods that no one knew how to set and cracked the neck, Plexiglas guards that sometimes you can see the harness through them and crack when you raise the neck pickup, 6-pole guitar toaster on a bass or the button-top with its narrow window that turns string bends into sharp volume drops, thumb screws used as strap buttons, conversion varnish finish that has you waiting 48 hours before opening the box to play your new bass, the "stereo" output, the control layout with the tones on top and the volumes at the bottom, THAT BASS-CUT CAPACITOR, Midnight Blue that bleeds into the binding, Mapleglo (okay, all those silly names for finishes) that turns to Glueburst, a bridge that can not be intonated without loosening the strings, zinc tailpiece that tail-lifts, a mute cage that prevent palm-muting, huge swimming pool rout for the neck pickup at the weakest point of the body, huge treble pickup rout, a "handrest" that rises and lowers with the pickup and limits how low you can set it, 3-screw nameplate that has so easily turned so many Asian copies into "real" Rics, upside-down headstock and inlays on lefties...)

But aside from that, they're perfectly normal. 

[ilan]

But aside from that, they're perfectly normal. 

Exactly!

Still, Rics look amazing and sound like no other bass. I'm totally in love with my Rics, and when I bring one to rehearsal or a gig I always get compliments.

[morrow]

Despite mostly playing short scales I do love a nice Ric .
Just have two but they both feel like home when I pick one up .

[Pilgrim]

But aside from that, they're perfectly normal. 

My wife has the best excuse for every occasion:  "I'm just normal for me."

Not something one can argue with.  Seems to fit here, too.

[BTL]

[...] Fair play to David for having the vision and energy to make this stuff. His various iterations of Rickenbacker inspired designs were quite interesting! [...]

I love mashups and I'm 100% a fan of his work! Another in the "if I wasn't building I'd own one" camp.

[ilan]

Thank you Ilan. If I should ever be struck by a GAS attack for a Rickenbacker, I'll just take a look at this post of yours. 😂

Or you can buy this one. Drop-dead gorgeous quirkless Ric.