Tried a Rickenbacker...

[EMG456]

Since I’m propped up in bed with a bad case of sciatica I’ll bite on this.

My first decent bass bought bought new in 1975 was a 4001. As I was into Yes/ Genesis/ Renaissance etc. It was the obvious choice. Also everybody else I liked could be seen playing them- McCartney, Lynott, Graham Gouldman, Dave Paton etc.etc.etc.

At the time also, everyone had fallen out of love with Fender. The ‘70s baseball bat production were scorned so unless you could pick up a “pre CBS”, nobody wanted them.

That bass had a great neck and sound and was soon joined by a ‘72 4001 and briefly a 4080 double neck!

At that point, I was starting to play fingerstyle instead of plectrum and many different genres of music and I felt the Ricks didn’t work as well so they all went over the next few years.

The thing is though, if you’ve had that connection with Ricks, I don’t think you ever lose it. So many years later when my mum died, she left me a modest inheritance and I figured a nice way to honour her memory would be to use some of it to get an old 4001 again- after all, she had signed as guarantor for the hire-purchase on the original one! I knew I would be unlikely to play it out much but hey, I like them. So for the last 20 years, I’ve had a ‘72 checker bound 4001. It has been on one! gig in all that time but I love it all the same. It’s also a thing of great beauty!

[EMG456]

And here is the guy with what I personally consider to be the best proggy ‘70s Rick sound- down tuned as well! The excellent Neil Brewer in Druid. If you can last to where the singing starts, you’ll see what I mean.

 

 

 

[EMG456]

And here’s Jon Camp with Renaissance and the sublime voice of Annie Hallam.

 

[EMG456]

I’m all Ricked out now...

[Cosmo Valdemar]

25 minutes ago, EMG456 said:

And here is the guy with what I personally consider to be the best proggy ‘70s Rick sound- down tuned as well! The excellent Neil Brewer in Druid. If you can last to where the singing starts, you’ll see what I mean.

 

 

 

Ah, Druid. Unlucky timing. The singer reminded me of a scouse Dennis DeYoung. 

12 minutes ago, EMG456 said:

And here’s Jon Camp with Renaissance and the sublime voice of Annie Hallam.

 

Beautiful. I love early Renaissance - Jon Camp is a great example or pure Rick tone - in mono I believe. Midas Man is my favourite of his basslines, it's still one I always play when testing out new gear!

[Twincam]

Always wanted a rikenbacker.

Seen them up close plenty of times. Still yet to actually play one. Never seen one played live either. 

But I still want one. Probably be a big mistake. 

[EMG456]

15 minutes ago, Cosmo Valdemar said:

Ah, Druid. Unlucky timing. The singer reminded me of a scouse Dennis DeYoung. 

Beautiful. I love early Renaissance - Jon Camp is a great example or pure Rick tone - in mono I believe. Midas Man is my favourite of his basslines, it's still one I always play when testing out new gear!

Yes, very pure, very little distortion and live used those Acoustic cabs with the big white HF horns in. It’s a shame that they never got their act together to reform. Three of them gone now, I think and Betty Thatcher, the poet/ lyricist. Saw Annie with  “Renaissance” last year. Her voice still very impressive but the band, all very fine players, didn’t seem to have the grandeur of the classic lineup.

[EMG456]

25 minutes ago, Twincam said:

Always wanted a rikenbacker.

Seen them up close plenty of times. Still yet to actually play one. Never seen one played live either. 

But I still want one. Probably be a big mistake. 

You’ll never know till you try- just don’t trust the average dealer setup.

[martthebass]

25 minutes ago, EMG456 said:

You’ll never know till you try- just don’t trust the average dealer setup.

Very true.  I've played some really hideous set ups in 'dealers'. 

Should be able to get a near straight neck almost 'Status' like action with just the right amount of buzz to make sure it sounds like a Rick.

[4000]

On ‎04‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 07:47, Norris said:

They are not the most ergonomic and comfortable basses. Playing a non-cs on your knee is like torture after half an hour or so. Still iconic though

And yet they're arguably the only bass I can still play with all my issues. I find them really comfortable, but then I learned to play on one. Unlike a Fender Jazz for example, which cripples my arm.

As I've said ad infinitum, I've owned or played most of the basses out there and always come back to my Rics. I'd take them over absolutely anything. And they're actually quite versatile, far more so than most of the active basses I've owned. They're not really just plug in, flat eq and play though, and they don't bond that well with some modern-sounding bass rigs.

 

[Bud]

I own a rick 4003 for 3 years , I was enchanted by its look.

Great fashion bass (it was jet black),  always present in the mix , but I feel poor of pure low end . 

It also suits better for aggressive classic sounds (where bass was waaay less pumped).

My conclusion is that 4003 should be played with the pick and perform at best when used with a full valve amplifier. 

Another thing I notice is that finish is more delicate than fender style finishes.

At the end I back to the P.

[4000]

22 hours ago, EMG456 said:

And here is the guy with what I personally consider to be the best proggy ‘70s Rick sound- down tuned as well! The excellent Neil Brewer in Druid. If you can last to where the singing starts, you’ll see what I mean.

 

 

 

I nearly bought Neil's bass off him once. I was looking for a spare for my main '72. Had no idea about him or Druid until he told me he'd been the bassist in them. I later found a copy of their first album and love it. His bass, despite being a '72, was far heavier than mine and to my ears didn't sound as good, although his action was twice mine. Of course I now really, really wish I'd bought it, although deep down I hope he kept it. Lovely bloke by the way.

Edited September 6, 2018 by 4000

[4000]

On ‎04‎/‎09‎/‎2018 at 10:56, Wolverinebass said:

True, but it defeats the purpose of using a Wal to strip out all that low mid and crunch. Why fight the natural sound of a bass like that?

I tried a set of those 30-90s and was terrified I'd snap them. The tension was all wrong too. They came off after one rehearsal. Utter crap.

I think his Wal sound is his second-best sound. I think his recent Jazz sound is his worst by far. I also quite like light strings though, as I have a very light touch. My old Wal Custom sounded better with light strings than heavier ones.

[Cosmo Valdemar]

15 minutes ago, 4000 said:

They're not really just plug in, flat eq and play though, and they don't bond that well with some modern-sounding bass rigs.

 

100% this. Often people trying them in a shop will be plugged into the nearest Markbass or TC Electronic combo, and they don't really mix well IMHO. Probably why a lot of people aren't impressed when they try them out.

[TrevorR]

On 04/09/2018 at 10:56, Wolverinebass said:

True, but it defeats the purpose of using a Wal to strip out all that low mid and crunch. Why fight the natural sound of a bass like that?

I tried a set of those 30-90s and was terrified I'd snap them. The tension was all wrong too. They came off after one rehearsal. Utter crap.

That's what you get when, like Geddy, you use 3 Amp fuse wire on a bass instead of proper bass strings...!

Agree with the comments on Geddy's later Jazz bass sound. On the CD version of Rush in Rio, the bass sounds like a bag of spanners being thrown down a lift shaft. Worst production on a live album I've ever heard.

[martthebass]

49 minutes ago, Bud said:

I own a rick 4003 for 3 years , I was enchanted by its look.

Great fashion bass (it was jet black),  always present in the mix , but I feel poor of pure low end . 

It also suits better for aggressive classic sounds (where bass was waaay less pumped).

My conclusion is that 4003 should be played with the pick and perform at best when used with a full valve amplifier. 

Another thing I notice is that finish is more delicate than fender style finishes.

At the end I back to the P.

Agree and disagree on some of this.  I agree the bass can come over bass light compared to a P bass in some situations but that's part of the DNA and it also depends on which pups you're running - if you're on the bridge only it goes into classic 'clank plank' mode IMHO (but I love this sound in the right context).  I play finger style aggressively (as did Geddy) and it sounds just as good as when I use a pick.  I also use a MarkBass amp and it doesn't lack heft.

I agree on the finish - not the most robust, more like the thin nitro (even though it's a UV catalysed poly) of a roadworn Fender.

From a personal point of view, I like them, BUT there is no way I could live with one as my only bass.  If you can own only one bass then there are other basses which cover more territory but how many of us only have one bass lol?  

[Wolverinebass]

27 minutes ago, TrevorR said:

Worst production on a live album I've ever heard.

Then listen to The John Entwistle Band - Left For Live. Dropouts, not recording the bass part of the bass signal, the drummer sounding like he's just smacking a glass bottle with a steel bar. I could go on. Such a pity as for the most part the performances would melt your face off.

[Bud]

15 minutes ago, martthebass said:

Agree and disagree on some of this.  I agree the bass can come over bass light compared to a P bass in some situations but that's part of the DNA and it also depends on which pups you're running - if you're on the bridge only it goes into classic 'clank plank' mode IMHO (but I love this sound in the right context).  I play finger style aggressively (as did Geddy) and it sounds just as good as when I use a pick.  I also use a MarkBass amp and it doesn't lack heft.

I agree on the finish - not the most robust, more like the thin nitro (even though it's a UV catalysed poly) of a roadworn Fender.

From a personal point of view, I like them, BUT there is no way I could live with one as my only bass.  If you can own only one bass then there are other basses which cover more territory but how many of us only have one bass lol?  

I own several bass,  Rick "rocks" but not suit to me. It's a personal preference I just wanna say that , for me,  I feel P and Rick are on the same application scenario and , always for me , I go with P every time. My two cents .

[spongebob]

3 hours ago, TrevorR said:

That's what you get when, like Geddy, you use 3 Amp fuse wire on a bass instead of proper bass strings...!

Agree with the comments on Geddy's later Jazz bass sound. On the CD version of Rush in Rio, the bass sounds like a bag of spanners being thrown down a lift shaft. Worst production on a live album I've ever heard.

Funny how opinions differ - I actually adore the sound of that record, in particular Geddy's bass! Got the album and the DVD! 😁

[4000]

 

This is one of my favourite examples of the two things I love about a good Rick; the singing, full high register stuff and the snarly, aggressive low end stuff. 

[4000]

And then there's this:

 

 

 

[4000]

And this:

 

[4000]

And last but certainly not least:

 

(In fact have just realised how close to this the bass sound on our new album is)....

[gareth]

Like my 4003

 

Edited September 7, 2018 by gareth

[drake]

On 03/09/2018 at 21:51, Lozz196 said:

I`ve only played two, but thought they were great. Played well, sounded superb - wasn`t in a band setting so can`t say how they sat in the mix, but going through a repertoire by The Jam on a Rickenbacker just felt and sounded right. I agree about the current CEO and his Ricktroopers, not doing much to endear the brand imo.

Bruce Foxtons Ricky was a copy. He did most of The Jam stuff on a Precision, which he still does.