4000

Yep, that pretty much sums up every interview I’ve seen. He’s an absolute c**ck. To be honest, I don’t think he’s half the drummer he seems to think he is either. I’m surprised no one has chinned him.😂

Have you read “This is Hawkwind - Do Not Panic”? Apparently Ginger Baker wasn’t too impressed with Harvey and kept telling him what a terrible bassist he was. But then if you look in the dictionary under “silly billy”, I’m pretty sure whose picture you’ll see..... ”Silly billy”? Really?????? That’s not even close to what I actually typed.😂

Thought they were great. Loved Billie Eilish too, in fact just bought her album and it’s ace. As someone who was there at the time, they were saying rock was dead all through the early ‘80s. Given what happened subsequently, they were extremely wrong.

My favourite Hawkwind studio albums by far are Warrior and HOTMG. Ok, maybe not by far as I adore Doremi too. And Lem was easily my favourite HW bassist.

The only Jazz sounds that do it for me are JPJ, Gary Thain, Lenny Kravitz/ Jack Daley and similar. Love that plummy tone.

Sandy Denny and Bread.

"In my experience, yes. By a long chalk. Dwell in this: at one point I owned 8 4000 series basses; now I have none. Yet I have three Greco Ricks. Had them for several years. Does that not tell you something? In fact, don't bother replying. I've read your posts across various fora and you clearly are a champion of the RIC brand. Just please don't doubt they're the be-all and end-all of basses, for they aren't. Far from it!" But the right Ric to the right person may very well be the be all and end all. As might the right Fender, the right Wal, the right Squier. What you prefer has no bearing on what suits someone else, however much better you may think it is. You've also implied that Prowla's opinion doesn't count because he champions the brand. Could it be he champions them because he actually likes them, not because he's in some way blind to whatever flaws you perceive? The 'fanboy" implication is there, as it is across countless other threads. FWIW I've owned about 20 Rics, and currently own a replica for use when I don't want to risk the others (I hesitate to call it a copy). Of those I've had 2 duffers and 1 meh. In addition, the finish on both of my CSs was rubbish as it marked if you looked at it. The 2nd ('91) CS also had some build issues, although I did like them both. Beyond that, they've all been different, and all have been from good to great. But my main one has stood head and shoulders above the others, as it has above everything else I've played. It has flaws, but they're more than made up for by everything else. It's light ( maybe 8.5lb), has the best neck I've ever played, looks gorgeous (IMO obviously) and sounds better, to my ears and taste, than anything else. Do I expect anyone else to feel the same? No. But it's irrelevant what anyone else thinks, because it's my choice. My bass, my ears, my hands, my eyes. FWIW I've had some very minor conversational dealings with JH, with mixed results. But I care about the bass in my hands, not the CEO. And to be fair, I've only bought 3 (?) new Rics in nearly 40 years....

No, they don't sound the same, but the DNA is there. A lot of it is due to the pickup position, construction etc. Having said that, when I bought my 4004 I tried 2, and although they were in the same ballpark they sounded different. Having said that, I've never played 2 of any bass that sound exactly the same when a/b-d. FWIW I always remove the cap in my 4001s, except for my main one where I suspect it's not working at all. ;-)

I've never played a Greco that's as good as either of my '72s, IMO. But the pre-early-'73 basses aren't like the later ones. I'll never forget the first day I picked my main bass up, in A1 Music. I said to my then girlfriend "that's the best bass I've ever played", and yet I didn't get to buy it until, by some fluke, it was still there almost a year later. Evidently others didn't feel the same, or I was just lucky. Thousands of basses later, and having subsequently owned Warwicks, a Pedulla, various Statii, Jaydees, Wals, Alembics, Seis, etc etc, it's still - for me - the best bass I've ever played. However a friend I sold my '76 to, which I got rid of because the '72 was so, so much better IMO, absolute night and day, prefers the '76. The thing is, all this is subjective. The fact that you prefer your Grecos just proves that you prefer your Grecos, nothing more. And as each individual instrument will always differ somewhat (as I say, my favourite of all the thousands of basses I've played is my main '72 4001, but I've played both Rics and Rics copies that I don't like), it's pretty pointless to generalise too much. What annoys me is the attitude that a Ric can't possibly be objectively someone's favourite bass, simply because it's not "yours". Why not? Why is it if someone finds a bass that happens to be perfect for them and it happens to be a Ric, it's dismissed with a flippant "fanboy, no substance" comment?

This.

The 4002 spacing doesn’t work for me, but I don’t generally like bridge pickups that are too close to the bridge. “Burp” does nothing for me.

I bought a lovely one, but ironically the body contouring aggravated nerve issues in my arm - which the bound ones don't - so I had to sell it.

This. The people who complain about the bridge, binding etc still didn’t buy the 4004, which addressed all these “issues”. FWIW John Hall has said numerous times that there are things about the 4003 he’d change, but he that he wasn’t prepared to deal with the backlash from diehard fans. Also, anyone looking for a different bridge, single rod and lack of binding may wish to look at the Rick Al Cisneros. Not really my cup of tea mind, but I do wonder if it’s a sign of things to come.

I thought Coverdale had a wonderful voice when singing in the lower register, and never worked for me when singing higher, as later.

I was born '63 in the NW and it was all referred to as Heavy Rock (even Sabs) by everyone I knew; the Metal thing crept in later, probably around the time of NWOBHM. Purple II & III were huge early influences for me. Each year at school when the upper 6th formers were leaving they got to play a track of their choice in assembly; the first I remember was Layla and the second was Smoke on the Water. I remember listening to Smoke thinking "my God this is simple, but it sounds incredible". I went out and bought 24 Carat Purple and never looked back. Along with Hawkwind/Motorhead and Rush (and Gaye Advert!), they were also a huge part of the reason I was attracted to Rics. I remember looking at the pics of Rog and Glenn thinking "those basses look fantastic". And, to my ears at least, they sounded fantastic too and still do (although I later found out Glenn was actually using his P on MIE, not that he sounds hugely different playing either IMO). Of course YMMV. ;-)

Yes. I play differently on different instruments, always have. The tone and response of an instrument dictates to large a degree what is played on it IME. One of the main reasons I've tended to favour Ricks is they tend to sing out as you go up the neck and the notes are still "big", which suits what I often like to play; I like playing melodic parts and I like them to have size in the upper register. However if I'm playing a bass that doesn't do that, I'll play different lines entirely. I remember a friend upon first seeing me in a band playing a Rick making the assumption that I was a certain type of player (which I am if the situation suits); he was shocked when he saw me playing my Seis because I was something else entirely.

I do think that lack of familiarity and understanding is a big problem. Like with the 4001 necks; people hear about damaged trussrods or popped fingerboards without understanding that in the bulk of these cases the rods were adjusted incorrectly by people who didn't know the correct way to adjust them. Many people also seem unaware that the 4001 came with relatively low tension flatwounds as standard. Geddy Lee's tech said when they took his main Ric out of the case after some years it was exactly as it always was, whereas his Jazz has been through several necks.

The only issue I had/have with the shape was that mine was somewhat headstock heavy, even before my later neck & back problems made it a real issue. I loved the look and still do. Martin Petersen once described it as "elegant", which I think summed it up perfectly. I'd love to have got mine back, but it would probably cost twice what I originally paid now. It was a 4 string MVP, P/J, 2 vols and a tone, in what I believe is referred to as "gold" (actually a kind of trans ambered natural). Think the s/n may have been 2236, but I'd have to check. It probably had the best fingerstyle tone of any bass I've ever owned, with the possible exception of my last Sei.

Of course you can adjust the intonation. It's just that where the bridge sometimes sits low in the tailpiece, you sometimes can't do it whilst the bass is strung up (not dissimilar in principal to the fact that you have to remove old Fender necks to access the trussrod). The misinformation about Rics that is out there is so, so weird.

Most of the people I know who have had them have had issues with rattling or saddle movement, which has put me off in the past. Also, my current 2 vintage Rics have the old aluminium tailpiece but routed for a later bridge (more intonation travel), so the Hipshot is unnecessary. If I ever get another newer Ric I might try one though.

Mine was an '88. I bought it new old stock from A1 Music in Manchester for £599 in (IIRC) 1993. They also had a faded trans green one in for the same price. At one point you couldn't give Pedullas away, then they inexplicably went through the roof.

I had an '88 (?) MVP for a while. It was one of the best basses I've ever had, and I wish i hadn't got rid of it. FWIW, I liked it a lot more than the Wal Custom I px'd it against. I often wonder what happened to it. It was PX'd in Music Ground, IIRC. Would have been about '96-ish.

I just listened to some Riverside and based on what I heard you can count me in the “bleuchh!” category. Not for me I’m afraid, still way too rocky for my taste in Prog. I just don’t like big distorted guitars in my Prog. Steven Wilson I’ve already commented on. I’ll give the others a listen.