McCartney and the Zero Fret

admin · Post by **admin** » Mon Mar 04, 2002 1:47 am

I would be intested in knowing if McCartney has ever commented on the zero fret on his Hofners or the modified 4001 that he received from Rickenbacker.

stanley · Post by **stanley** » Wed Mar 06, 2002 11:50 am

McCartney has often said he knows nothing about his gear. He uses the equipment and claims to be ignorant about everything. He once said he had no clue about which strings were in his basses. Of course he may be saying this to appear cool. Nevertheless, he comes accross as a player and not a techie. He lost the ability to write good tunes the minute Lennon was not in the studio with him to avoid sugary stuff.

jwilli · Post by **jwilli** » Wed Mar 06, 2002 4:51 pm

"He lost the ability to write good tunes the minute Lennon was not in the studio with him to avoid sugary stuff."

Purely subjective. I absolutely love his Wings era "sugary stuff". Especially songs such as "Silly Love Songs".

ricnvolved · Post by **ricnvolved** » Wed Mar 06, 2002 8:38 pm

I'm with Julio on his opinion about Paul's sugary stuff, but with qualifications. Paul's saccharine compositions, in my opinion, actually got started on the White album. John, without being specific, labeled them as "granny songs". I actually like Paul's "granny songs" on the White album (most of them, anyway), but I understand John's point.

As for Paul putting out nothing but sugary stuff the minute John was no longer in the studio with him, I'm not entirely convinced. Most of the songs on "McCartney" certainly are not raucous butt-kickers, but neither would I group them with the sugary output of the Wings era. I guess it's all in the ear of the listener.

stanley · Post by **stanley** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 7:12 am

The 1st McCartney album recorded at home with little help from the wife (praise the Lord) was in IMHO the best solo album he ever made. I like all songs and I find the home made sound of the record a big plus. I always enjoyed the bass line of Teddy Boy. This album is one of the all time best. The stuff from the white album is phenomenal, I particularly loved I Will, Mothers Nature Son, and Martha My Dear.

I still think McCartney can write a great tune in 5 minutes any time he wants to, however I have listened to many of his records that are spoiled by Oh Oh harmonies with Linda and others with no good vocal talent. The problem with Paul is his tendency for sugary stuff and the fact that the other Beatles are not there to make him see the light. However, no one can deny that at the time when the Beatles were hitting the top in creativity John came up with songs that hold better today. BTW, John put out a lot of **** in his solo albums. IMO his best was the 1st one where he does minimalistic songs like Hold On. I felt sick when he mentioned Yoko in his songs. That was extremely uncool, sugary, and soapy.

ricnvolved · Post by **ricnvolved** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 8:38 am

Once again, Julio is on target with his assessments on Paul's & John's solo output post-Beatles. Paul's "McCartney" and "Ram" are his only solo efforts that make the grade. Same thing with John's first solo album. All of the other albums these 2 released afterwards simply don't cut it. Again, this is personal opinion. But let's face it gang-- Paul and John set impossibly high standards while in The Beatles and it's understandable that neither could sustain those Olympian heights as a solo artist. Add to this the fact that the times they were a-changin'; it's only natural that each would be affected by this, even if both were totally unconscious of it.

stanley · Post by **stanley** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 11:42 am

It is now quite common for folks to put down Paul, but IMO he is the best bass player that ever lived. Not only that he could sing anything while he played fairly busy bass lines. BTW, does any one know any modern day rocker who can sing and play the bass at the same time? How about someone who is simply playing simple chords while singing. In this regar The Beatles and many others from that era were incredibly talented. Of course, the Beatlemania show musicians I have seen in my lifetime can also play. At times I feel some of this cats could probably play the Beatles better than themselves. It was really impressive to see a bass player doing Paul in a Beatlemania show who could play both righty and lefty. Paul also did a lot of outstanding guitar work including the solos of Taxman, Good Morning, Good Morning and others. Indeed a very talented fellow who needed the guidance of GM and the other Beatles. "Maybe I am Amazed" is probably his best Beatlesque song. On Ram there are a lot of gems that would have sounded 500% better with The other Beatles around. I also disliked the guitar sound which almost sounded like plugging the guitar straight into the tape recorder. And lastly my biggest disappointment was the absence of John, George, Paul type harmonies. I never realized how good the harmonies were till I heard the Beach Boys singing Beatle tunes.

BTW, I had no idea the Ricks had a zero fret. In a sense zero frets make more sense for bass than for guitars. The whole philosophy was to have the open strings sound as fretted notes.

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 11:51 am

Julio wrote:
"BTW, does any one know any modern day rocker who can sing and play the bass at the same time?"

Geddy Lee.

Not only singing and playing bass but also synthesizer, simultaneously.

Until the announcment of the 4001C64S McCartney's Rickenbacker was unique in a Rick bass having a zero fret, and his was not added on by Rickenbacker. Mark would know how and when....

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 11:54 am

Oh yeah, Sting can rip a good bass part with killer words and vocals.....very tasteful..

corey · Post by **corey** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 12:15 pm

Mike Mills of R.E.M. harmonizes with Michael Stipe, keeps his other eye on Mr. Buck and still manages a nice counterpoint bassline to the ol' Jetglo 360.

I don't like him post Police, but yep, Sting is a boss player - just a bit too much ego to go along with the talent.

qiktune · Post by **qiktune** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 3:53 pm

I sing lead and play bass,albeit a Hofner 500/1.Hopefully the next album will be a Rick.Hmmm.Check out our album and give us a review,we'd love to hear your thoughts.Go to Sizzling Sounds / Current.Band name is Organic http://www.peacework.com/Music_Net/.

qiktune · Post by **qiktune** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 3:55 pm

As for sugary stuff,hmmm. If I could play bass and sing something like "So Bad" (pipes of peace) I'd be writing more of that stuff than McCartney.

stanley · Post by **stanley** » Thu Mar 07, 2002 6:00 pm

Don't get me wrong-- I think Paul is awesome! BTW, I am a fan of sugary stuff and I loved all The Beatle songs about girls and love. The only one that was way too sugary was "SHe Loves You". All the other sugary songs were great and there is a fine line between a clever silly love song and plain sugar. In fact I am recording an album called Stupid Love Songs. I am a fan of that genre. I still love to hear and Play "I am Telling you Now" by Freddie and the Dreamers. A true gem of silliness and sugar.

What I mean by Paul and sugar is the duo with Michael Jackson or too many ohhs with Linda doing the back up vocals. BTW, I have purchased all his albums from the very beginning and I dug his last one where he tried to be less sugary. But in the end the Paul I lke is the one who can do stuff like "Two of Us" and "Penny Lane:/ BTW, his synth playing in London Town ranks among the best and he is not even a techno pop guy.

I think Sting and Geddy Lee are old school. The come from a time where one needed to be good to be in a rock band. Remember the era of the supergroups where every member was a virtuoso. The punk movement took care of that and made it cool for anyone who could make noise to be in a band. That is why the modern rockers are less talented.