The US company Rickenbacker was founded in 1931 as the Electro String Instrument Corporation and is thus one of the longest-established manufacturers of electric guitars. Although production began with electric lap steel guitars, it is probably above all the 4000 to 4004 electric basses that most people associate with the name Rickenbacker. These basses became icons of rock music in the hands of Paul McCartney, Metallica's Cliff Burton and, of course, Lemmy Kilmister of Motörhead, and remain very popular to this day thanks to their distinctive looks and unmistakable vintage flair.

Bodies and necks are traditionally made from maple. The scale length specially developed by Rickenbacker is 33-1/4 inches, slightly shorter than the "long scale" standard introduced with the Fender Precision Bass. Another peculiarity — and now a hallmark of Rickenbacker instruments — is the neck-through construction that has been used since 1956. The pickups were originally carried over unchanged from the electric (lap steel) guitars, which still shapes the typical Rickenbacker sound today — often described as treble-heavy, wiry, with a soft low end and reduced midrange. Thanks to the reduced midrange there is less frequency overlap with electric guitars, which makes these basses particularly popular in rock music.

All Rickenbacker instruments are made in the USA and are delivered in a high-quality case.

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