Cosmo Valdemar

[quote name='dand666' timestamp='1353072220' post='1871252'] For me, Selling England by The Pound is the greatest prog album ever. Firth of Fith - just wow. [/quote] I would be in agreement were it not for the frankly hideous Battle of Epping Forest. Such a shame, as the rest of the album is as close to perfection as anything, and the rest of the tracks are probably Genesis' finest.

I saw Re-Genesis a couple of weeks ago at the Islington Academy, and they were bloody good too, really nailing the sound. It's amusing to watch the singer too, he has the appearance of latter-day Keith Moon but he does Gabriel to a tee. I cheerfully recommend.

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1352992726' post='1870275'] Yep, eagerly awaiting the outcome of this one Rick. [/quote] Seconded!

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1352901788' post='1869088'] Now why do I always forget those - possibly cos I know you`ll always remember them, Ben? [/quote] Sadly I think of very little else.

[quote name='Rick's Fine '52' timestamp='1352908914' post='1869262'] They've already made it. [/quote] Ah, but does it have [i]that[/i] sound?

A bang-on replica of the mid-60s slab Precision bass.

[quote name='pietruszka' timestamp='1352799251' post='1867452'] If you're wanting a challenge, try dead goon by mr bungle. Dan [/quote] [i]Ridiculously[/i] tricky bassline to pull off!

[quote name='Mr. Foxen' timestamp='1352820029' post='1867836'] Stoner is all about using enough distortion from pedals and amps that what comes out the speakers bears minimal relation to what comes out of the bass. And if you check everyone famous that played a Rick, that is how they are best presented, always driven valve amps. [/quote] Agreed, Ricks tend to sound best through valve amps, but there's a big difference between Chris Squire's Marshall and a 50w Matamp on full. Most of the classic examples I can think of (Squire, Geddy Lee, Roger Glover etc.) still retain the unique tone integral to the bass itself. Every time I have heard one used in a Stoner or Stoner-type band the amp has been driven to a comical extreme that sounds pretty awesome in itself when done correctly but tends to render the bass being used as irrelevant. I just don't think Ricks are suited to extreme drop tuning, from my personal experience. I played in what was generally termed a stoner metal band for many years and my Rick never did the job as well as a Precision bass, for example, which coped ith the downtuning better and still retained the tone I expected. This is not knocking Ricks in any way - I love them and their sound, and have owned several over the years, but as with every bass they have their strengths and weaknesses, and are better suited to certain things more than others. But it's all down to personal experience - iiipopes above has had good experiences with downtuning his Ricks. A lot depends on technique and style of music.

Superb.

I had one for a while - good if you want to sound like Lemmy but not a lot else, unless you play at low volumes. When you get up to gig volumes it starts to distort quite heavily, and to stop it farting you have to cut the low end quite dramatically. The amp was a bit of a holy grail for me at the time - I was hoping to cop some Roger Glover / Chris Squire sounds, but in the long run I was sorely disappointed. If you are intending to use it in a loud-ish band it will really struggle. I've always considered myself a fan of old school gear, but have rapidly come round to the thinking that a lightweight, powerful head combined with an effective valve pedal will do the job just as effectively. Also consider something like the Tech 21 character pedals - I have the Leeds one which emulates a Hiwatt stack, and it is stunning. I sold the Marshall to a guitar player in the end, and he loves it. Sorry to be so negative but this is my honest experience with the amp.

[quote name='Stealth' timestamp='1352633568' post='1865300'] In my experince Ric 4003s dont really like being downtuned very much. [/quote] This. Which makes their popularity in downtuned Stoner metal bands baffling to me. Mind you, every time I've seen a Rick being used in this way they've sounded terrible, a wooly, boomy mess. Fair enough if that's the tone you're after, but if so, why use a Rick?

[quote name='Pinball' timestamp='1352726232' post='1866529'] They really go for it and have even given one of the pots a slight crackle! [/quote] Beautiful bass, but... Seriously?!

[quote name='BassBus' timestamp='1352494339' post='1863942'] I use Chris McIntyre in Edinburgh (and sometimes London). Setup including filing the nut £35 . Telling me it's a blend pot and not the volume I thought it was, no charge. That's why the pickup didn't work. Doh! [/quote] I used to take all my stuff to Chris when he was in Peckham, he's excellent. Edinburgh is a bit of a mission for me now though.

As neck breaks go, it doesn't look too bad! I've seen many worse examples that have been restored relatively easily (by a professional of course). I'm sure Jon will do an excellent job.

Let me know if you ever get down to London or the SE!

[quote name='Lozz196' timestamp='1351894065' post='1856785'] Keep trying to put a Stranglers song in The Daves set. [/quote] I've got just the pedal for that Lozz

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1352329333' post='1861924'] What exactly do Gibson have against chrome pickup covers and hardware these days? [/quote] They sound (and look) good.

I've just spent a lovely morning at Lozz's place, discussing all things Precision and fiddling with pedals... I could have cheerfully stayed all day, Lozz is a top bloke. I also came away with the Markbass amp he had up for sale on here. As before, the amp is in virtually pristine condition, very well looked after. Lozz even knocked off a few quid as he didn't need to post it. A great chap to deal with. Thanks Lozz!

I'll leave it a while before I contact him about making me a new scratchplate then... Glad to hear all's well.

Very helpful thread, this.

[quote name='gjones' timestamp='1351690858' post='1854201'] A local venue used to use an ashdown mag 600 through an ashdown mag 4x10 and the sound was pants (farting speakers). They changed the cab to a ampeg SVT classic 4x10 and now the sound is fantastic. So my advice is to get an ashdown amp but if you already have a decent ampeg 6x10 stick with it and see if you like the sound before you spend money on an ashdown 4x10 because an ashdown amp and ampeg speakers are a good combination. [/quote] I had the exact opposit experience - to my ears, Ashdown amps really don't sit well with Ampeg cabs. They make the sound a lot duller, a lot less top end. Mind you, that might be the sound you're after - I was going for the full-on, Entwistle treble and grind tone so it didn't meet my needs. I owned both the ABM 8x10 and 4x10 - same basic sound from both, although the 8x10 has that irresistable advantage of being higher so is much easier to hear and feel during a gig.

[quote name='Roland Rock' timestamp='1351685456' post='1854101'] A few EHX ones do, try POG, HOG and even the Microsynth. Also a couple of Boss pedals will do it, as well as the Foxrox Octron [/quote] I used a Micro Pog once that was lying around the studio. With the higher octave setting at the same level as the dry signal it pulled off a very convincing 8-string impression... Very impressive. Cue band jam of Achilles Last Stand.