4000

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='341767' date='Dec 1 2008, 11:50 AM']I'm not sure what the woods are but it feels like the neck could be maple and wenge and the lightness of the body suggests maybe wings of swamp ash. To me it had the growl of a status series 2000 but with a less aggressive attack and a smidgin more warmth. I told Alex that if it was a 5 string, I would have bought it without hesitation.[/quote] Thanks! Hmm, may have to give that a go when I'm down at Xmas, assuming it's still there and the Gallery is open.

[quote name='cheddatom' post='239050' date='Jul 14 2008, 10:59 AM']I think you've been a bit harsh on Claypool there Bilbo. Just yesterday I was watching a live video of primus and thinking "what a fienddish slap bass solo, I wish that lasted more than 10 seconds before he went back to fingerstyle". Also, the way in which he slaps the bass at times is quite different to a standard "funk" player. All in all, I think he tends to be quite tasteful and stylish in his playing, although I can totally understand if it's not your kind of music.[/quote] +1. For me it's all about context. Nothing wrong with Mark King or Les slapping because their music is pretty much based around it. I absolutely detest sweeping generalisations; "oh isn't this technique/sound crap". Several years back it used to be using distortion on bass; terrible thing to do apparently. Says who? Thank goodness those days are over. Inappropriate [i]means[/i] something. I also hate the "I don't like that style so it sucks" mindset. Each to their own.

[quote name='Currrls' post='341506' date='Nov 30 2008, 10:44 PM']yeah i went to the gallery. very unfriendly lol. guess he didn't like a 16 year old coming in with 2 of his mates![/quote] That absolutely amazes me. I haven't seen one instance of that in the twelve years I've been going there. Although you might be better not dragging too many mates along wherever you go....

+1. I could go on and on listing basses with hideous headstocks but Sei basses would not be on my list. Horses for courses and all that.... Crazykiwi, what sort of ballpark tonally is that 4 in? Any idea what the woods are? The pic on the site is unfortunately rather poor...

It's strange how Buckeye Burl polarises opinion. I absolutely love it. I don't think the bass is the best shape to start off with though personally. Now if it was a Matt Garrison, that would be a different matter altogether....

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='334929' date='Nov 23 2008, 03:01 PM']That's a really good point, though I also think that Wals do have a distictive tone of their own, especially the early Pro models which don't have the huge tonal range of the Custom ones.[/quote] I'm with Nik on this. For me, having owned a Wal Custom, I actually found that I couldn't get close to replicating the sounds of the other instruments I loved; the Wal always sounded like a Wal to me, no matter what I did with it. The Alembic I have now is similar; vast tonal range, but alway sounds like an Alembic rather than something else. Sadly I didn't get on very well with my Wal (had ergonomic issues and could never get the sound to work in my band of the time) but I'd still like another someday; particularly a Pro (preferably passive) which I've coveted since first hearing Leigh Gorman of Bow Wow Wow.

[quote name='BigRedX' post='331464' date='Nov 18 2008, 01:44 PM']Never quite got this sell-on business for custom instruments... I've had 4 instruments (guitar and bass) custom built form me and I would never consider parting with them EVER. Each has been designed to do a specific musical job and to replace a lesser "off the peg" instrument I had previously. In each case the instrument built was a collaboration between myself and the chosen luthier, where I specified how I wanted the instrument to look and sound and play and they did the technical stuff to make it work. A good luthier should always gently steer you away from anything that in their opinion isn't going to work, so there shouldn't be any problem with the instrument not living up to your expectations, and therefore there should never be any need to sell it.[/quote] I've had 3 custom instruments built and sold 2 on. Why? Because ultimately things I thought would work out didn't in the way I expected. Maybe there were things I should have been more thoughtful/precise about, but ultimately the instruments had certain areas (including the sound) which didn't completely work in terms of what I was looking for. This isn't because they were bad, but simply because they didn't pan out as I'd hoped/expected in terms of my taste. Ironically, I like the Sei I have now (which was built for someone else) more than either of the 2 I had built for myself, although it's quite feasible that someone else may feel differently; it's not better, it just works better for me. I will admit I was experimenting with some things in the build, but even so....I think if you get a custom that you are happy with in the long term, you're very lucky. You can't predict what an instrument is going to sound like until it's made, and if once it's made the sound (or any number of other factors) doesn't work for you what are you going to do? I sell it on. The thing is, there is no hard and fast rule about what is going to work. I'm a huge Rickenbacker 4001 fan, but have played plenty of Ricks I don't like. Why? Everything points towards me liking them all, but I don't. With some there's just a nebulous [i]something[/i]; some just don't have the tone or the feel, despite the fact that everything should be near identical, so it's not just about specification, there's a much greater alchemy to it than that. If I was having an instrument built I could specify everything down to the minutest detail and in theory it should come out perfectly, but there's a fair chance it still might not. With regards to Shuker, I've only played one bass (at Bass Day last year); it was ok. Unfortunately the other ones I've seen just haven't grabbed me enough to want to pick them up, which is no reflection on the basses but is simply down to my taste.

My 1972 Ric 4001 with all the trimmings. No question.

[quote name='Sean' post='335130' date='Nov 23 2008, 08:38 PM'][url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzGSEgRgkSU"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UzGSEgRgkSU[/url] I think this says in three minutes what we've taken 100+ posts to say in threads in the past.[/quote] Don't you just love Dave? If I had a pound for every time that's happened to me, and like he says, if you say no suddenly you're the bad guy....I remember a guy once using my gear and I told him specifically (and very nicely) beforehand not to play past a certain level as he risked blowing my speakers; when I got to my rig after his band's set my amp was absolutely flat out. Luckily my speakers somehow survived, no thanks to him.

[quote name='Bassassin' post='331361' date='Nov 18 2008, 11:22 AM']Speaking of early 70s, that 4000's a stunner, and that's probably a damn good price too, considering current Rick values. J.[/quote] Thanks! The 4000 is/was mine and has now been B.I.N'd by a fellow Basschatter.....I'm currently brassic and as nothing else was shifting something really needed to go, so it was priced accordingly. It's a great bass, one of the best Rics I've ever owned/played (and I've played [i]so[/i] many...). Everyone who knows it thinks I'm mad for selling it, but I still have some very nice others. Our singer is going to be gutted as he loves it! It is actually a great punk bass as it's extremely aggressive-sounding.

Janek Gwizdala live at the 55 Bar, bought at Bass Day. Despite only being recorded live to 2 track I love it.

I love Foxton but I have to say I much prefer his Rick sound (I know, I'm biased!). On the Complete Jam dvd there is some live gig footage with the Rics and they sound tremendous (although not so keen on the tone of the Mapleglo). [quote name='Faithless' post='334464' date='Nov 22 2008, 03:40 PM']With a decent respect to Bruce's fans, I've gotta say that his P sound on that video.. Dunno, it just doesn't do the trick for me. Ok, I'm getting my coat.[/quote]

[quote name='MacDaddy' post='333506' date='Nov 20 2008, 10:49 PM']On their site they have Manowar condoms called Warriors Shield [/quote] I know; and people think they havent got a sense of humour. I've met Joey a couple of times actually and he's a really nice bloke.

[quote name='Born 2B Mild' post='178863' date='Apr 17 2008, 01:21 PM']I have long been an admirer of the fretless bass playing of [b]Richard Sinclair[/b], since his Caravan days, and most especially with Hatfield And The North. He also sang in a kind of fretless style too! [i]Very Canterbury[/i]. He then joined Camel. He always seemed to use the same natural bodied Jazz Bass. Try finding him pictured with a different one! I wanted to know more about it, as I was after a fretless and fancied getting something like it. Three years a go, I emailed his website and to cut a long story short, I ended up buying his early 80s Fender fretless JB (photo below) that he had bought in Japan whilst on tour. Better still, I met him in London to collect it and got to try out his original which turned out to consist of an ash body made by his dad! It is a bit beaten up, but is a much better instrument since [url="http://www.guitarrepairman.co.uk/"]Jim Fleeting[/url] gave it a seeing to. I’ve now added a J-Retro.[/quote] Ah, big Camel fan here, although I prefer them before Richard joined... The story went that my 4001CS used to belong to a certain member of Anthrax, but I don't know how true it is. My first Warwick Dolphin was bought by the guy from Hundred Reasons. Better than either, I used to have Joey DeMaio's pick. I've never been the same since I lost it. Maybe it was the true Pick of Destiny.

[quote name='16Again' post='96050' date='Nov 29 2007, 11:31 AM']nobody laughed when i played this bass. i'm in a punk band, the bassist with Guns On The Roof played it for a gig in aberdeen and wanted to buy it. anyway, why cant you use a headless with a punk band? [/quote] That's the coolest Jack I've ever seen. I used to have a natural one; pretty decent bass, although I preferred my Westone Quantum. I think a stickered-up Steinberger would look really cool too.

[quote name='john_the_bass' post='331386' date='Nov 18 2008, 11:51 AM']I'm with Clarky - assuming that the lacquer on Rics is nitro and not poly, that's caused by a reaction between the nitro and the rubber on a stand. It won't polish out - in fact it might not come off at all. Wouldn't bother me, but the only way to sort it out, might be a partial respray[/quote] The lacquer on Rics is conversion varnish, not nitro. That happened to both the CSs I've had (and yes, the finishes on those are notorious for marking, discolouring and generally falling apart), and unfortunately it wouldn't come out, even with T-cut.

[quote name='bilbo230763' post='330487' date='Nov 17 2008, 10:37 AM']I am often overawed at my capacity to disappoint myself It only ever comes together about once or twice a year. The rest of teh time, I am looking for the motherlode and winning nothing more than a pan of gravel....![/quote] LOL! Bilbo, I think you just said it all, and far, far better than I did!

[quote name='Shaggy' post='330194' date='Nov 16 2008, 06:15 PM']Nothing beats the pleasure of that very first "suss" - in my case "Down through the night" (Hawkwind - live version) more years ago than I care to count [/quote] That was one of the first things I learned too. Space Ritual I take it? That album pretty much taught me how to play. Love it to this day.

[quote name='Longmayyourun' post='330170' date='Nov 16 2008, 05:31 PM']Unfortunately, no [/quote] +1. The last time I impressed myself was around 1996. These days I amaze myself by how much I've slipped.....

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='329117' date='Nov 14 2008, 02:03 PM']Nice one Shaun! Lovely looking bass, that Ric... got any more photos of it? You do look a bit like you're hanging onto it for dear life which reminds me of exactly how I felt when i joined the band i'm in now, as I hadn't gigged for 12 years before that! So well done for getting through it [/quote] Thanks Nik. Here's another of the 4000 with my other Rics: The 4000 has been my main gigging bass for the past few years. However after last night (and due to other rather more nebulous factors) I'm actually thinking of selling it. It's a great bass, very aggressive sounding; far more so than my 4001s. Imagine if JJ Burnel played a Ric and you're about there. I found last night that for the first time in years I needed the addition of that deep, mellifluous neck pickup sound, so 2/3 of the way through the gig I switched to the CS. I must be getting old! It does indeed look like I'm hanging on for dear life! I think I was actually doing that strumming/damping percussive thing that Leigh does on such songs as C30 and GSBT; I utilise it on a couple of our songs (although we're nothing at all like BWW).

We did a charity gig last night with a bunch of other bands. We're really short of recent gigging experience (only 3 in 2 or so years due to all sorts of factors) so we weren't at our best, and on a personal level I was very poor, nerves having got the better of me. Still, the event was a success and that's what matters. Here's me with my '73 Ric 4000.....