Hi all,
I'm a newbee. My name is Paul. I turned 37 yesterday.
I'm from Taiwan(yes, I'm Chinese). Been lurking around for 8 months and already have learned a great deal from everybody's words. I want to thank Peter again for accepting me into this great source of knowledge and friendships.
Merry 'Xmas and my best wishes for every RIC lover.
Here's a little story of mine to share:
************** Annie...A Story **************
I love her, my "Dreamboat Annie".
To cut a long story short, I have been a succesful recording/mixing engineer/producer in my country since 1990, with numerous hit records under my belt. I'd played bass for a couple of years by the age of 23, before seeing the movie "Crossroads" and decided to be a blues guitarist. Sold my korean brand "Morris" bass and Taiwan-made "Hanson" amp and saved up for buying a silvery finished Fender Strat(because I knew Robert Cray had one) and a Fender combo whose model name I can't recall. Subsequent purchases include a Fender Tele and a Gibson Les Paul Special.
In June last year(2001) I flew to Osaka, Japan to purchase a 4003 FG and a 381 V69 for the band(a bunch of 19-year-olds who loved The Beatles, Blur and Oasis) that I signed to record( there is no RIC dealers in my country). It was "love at first sight" with that 4003 FG sitting in a stand in the store among other basses, after being "confronted" by over a dozen rickenbacker guitars sprouting in the entrance area(the sight of 15 or so RICs in front of you in a music store should be rare even for an American).
During the recording of the album, the 4003(made in early 2001 if memory serves me well) was used for all songs and I found it to have unique deep lows and jangly highs thru which the texture of the wood of the bass really spoke.
And I wanted one for myself !!!
That desire went on until this July, when DaWei, one of my engineer friends was going to LA, USA to have an album (whose majority I'd mixed¡^ mastered by Stephen Marcussen. Gave him enough money to buy a 4003 FG for me since all the online dealers were not allowed¡]due to RIC's strict franchise rules) to ship any RIC products out of the US. He drove around the Los Angeles area visiting guitar shops including those on the "G-¢Ðlock" on Sunset Boulevard and just could not find any 4003 in any finish(RIC guitars were hardly in sight, as well). Some salespersons didn't even know what Rickenbacker was and said ignorant things like:"Is that a British instument maker?" while Santa Ana was just less than an hour's drive south of LA.
I had been very anxious and could not sleep well fearing that ¢Òa¢åei couldn't find any before he came back in a week's time by the time he phoned from the States saying it was really difficult. I got so anxious that I posted a very desperate and emotional "CAN'T FIND NO RIC BASS IN LOS ANGELES..AND I'M ******" thread in the Voxtalks site, in which I verbally offended Mr. John Hall.(My solemn apologies.) Kind fellow Voxtalkers gave me LA dealer infos and possible directions including Jammin' Jerseys in Northridge, CA, who had one 4003 FG in stock. Checked their website and gave my friend the phone number to check out.
A couple of days passed before ¢ÒaWei called and wanted me to listen to this 4000 hertz clanky frequencies thru the international telephone line and I immediately recognised that sweet sound of a RIC bass even though it was only mid-range filtered thru the telephone. I screamed in ecstasy.........
So I waited for my friend to return... Paging thru my CD collection one day, I hit upon the debut album by Heart, titled "Dreamboat Annie" and decided it was the name for my yet to meet 4003FG.
After much anticipation, my Annie showed up in my studio, in front of my eyes for the first time,on July 30, at the end of my vocal tracking session. I opened the case and saw this beautiful sexy thing and was in ecstasy again. I'd already seen and recorded a 4003 Jetglo and the Fireglo I mentioned above,so I shouldn't have been thrilled too much but hey , this one belonged to me !!!
It was made in May 1998, shipped to Jammin' Jerseys and stayed there unsold for 4 years before DaWei(thank you so much, brother) showed up with his girlfriend, driving all the way from LA asking for driving directions,via cell-phone, from the people(the patron a Jerry Garcia looking guy and the salesman a country music dude) at the "warehouse-looking music shop".
4 years waiting for the proper encounter with me, that's destiny.
By the way, a fortune teller friend of mine once said that I would start my next phase(a good one) of life at around the age of 36 or 37(which I'm now) after "suffering for a while". Now I know what he was talking about and I'm pretty sure that the suffering part of it is over because it did happen big time! (Last year was really bad for me, I can tell you.) I hope Annie came into my life for the better of it.
Ever since Annie "moved in" my home(got a gorgeous-looking blue tolex covered Ampeg B 100R amp as her "roommate") , I've been suffering from lack of sleep because I just can't put it down and stop playing whenever I have a day off from my very busy studio work that I should go to bed to have enough rest. So I'm physically wornout but mentally contented and spiritually fulfilled.
Newbee says hello to all (plus a story)
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
Hey Paul...Glad to see ya here and welcome! Everything Rickenbacker is here as well as great luthiers and techs to help with any questions or needs. Be sure to register your "Annie" in the registry. The registry really needs to be updated because the last searchable year is 2000!! It's almost 3 years behind now, but still a great resource. See ya at voxtalks...dminer