Aside from its weird "cresting wave" shape, the most unusual thing about the Rick is it's tone. Most people either love it or hate it. It is the antithesis of the Fender P-bass sound; all lows and highs with a very thin midrange (I can't understand how McCartney got those rich midrangey tones from his 4001, must have been lots of studio eq). This makes the Rick great for funk, rock & metal, not so good for country or blues. Many consider it hard to slap due to it's low string clearance and neck pickup location.

The Rick has plenty of quirks (to be expected in a 40-year-old design) including a pain-in-the-neck bridge, reversed tone and volume control positions, and an over-the-strings pickup cover that most players immediately remove. Other odd features include a built-in foam rubber mute and "Rick-O-Sound" stereo jack, which requires a special cable to use. All in all, I really like the Rick. It's fun to play and has a truly unique sound. However, I coundn't see having it as my only bass due to it's limited tonal range.

Construction	90%
Playability	85%
Appearance	100%
(eye of the beholder)
Sound (maybe)	20%
Maybe	80%
(depends on music played)
Value	95%
Overall	90%