The Jam DVD collection--Rick tone gold mine

profjeff · Post by **profjeff** » Wed Apr 30, 2003 7:27 pm

Any Jam fans in the Forum? If so, you will want to check out Paul Weller and company's 2 DVD set, "The Complete Jam." Of special interest to Santa Ana tone freaks is Weller's copius use of 300 series Ricks of all colors and varieties. Don't be fooled by the 5.1 Dolby Digital mix. The Jam sound is as punky, raw, and fresh as they did in 1977. I particularly like the live footage. The band obviously hits its stride on Disc 2 with the 1980 concert from Newcastle City Hall. Weller digs into a Hi Gained-equipped Jetglo 330 (the one with the "P" sticker between the pickups and the zodiac-looking decal near the soundhole) through a wall of Marshall stacks.

Rickenbacker basses are also prominently featured in many of the videos (sorry, I need to brush up on my 4000 series spotting skills). The bass sounds terrific on "The Dreams of the Children" (Disc2).

Mr. Hall...How about a Weller tribute 330 with a paint job like the one he plays on the "Start" video? (were those Gibson-style humbuckers that I spotted?)

"That's Entertainment!"

37012mgvp · Post by **37012mgvp** » Thu May 01, 2003 5:41 pm

Hey Jeff!

I've been a Weller fan since the late 1980's, when I started collecting Jam records. I actually still have my VHS of Video Snap! (bought in 1988), which has all of the promo videos on the Jam DVD (which I purchased the week it came out). Speaking of the devil, just today I bought the new Weller DVD of 2 shows he did last year. One show has him and his band playing at Hyde Park, and the other show is solo acoustic on 'Later with Jools Holland'. Incidentally, the Weller band's lead guitarist, Steve Craddock, now owns Weller's black RIC 330 from the Jam days. Noel from Oasis owns the white 330 from the "Absolute Beginners" video as well. I wonder what happened to the the pop-art "Start!" guitar?

About four years ago, I was seriously considering the purchase of a brand-new Fireglo 330 with hi-gains. It made sense, considering what a Weller fan I have always been. The funny thing is that I ended up with a Fireglo 360, purchased at Mars Music. They had the 330 and the 360 for the exact same price, and my ears and eyes declared the 360 the winner after trying them both out. My 370/12 and my 350 both have toasters for that vintage sound, but the hi-gains on the 360 are really good for getting that classic Jam or REM sound. I think Weller was the best of the post-1960's RIC guitar players. He definitely had some of the best tones, too. My absolute favourite Rickenbacker players are the 60's guys (McGuinn, Townshend, Beatles), but right below them are the 1980's trinity of Paul Weller, Johnny Marr, and Peter Buck. Those 3 guys make the hi-gains a legitimate classic Rickenbacker sound.

ted_williams · Post by **ted_williams** » Fri May 02, 2003 7:54 am

Another Rick-playing artist from my formative late-seventies, early-eighties youth, besides the ones mentioned above, is Marty Willson-Piper from the Church.

After playing (and hearing) various Ricks with various pickups, I'm developing the opinion that 12-strings need vintage pickups and 6-strings need hi-gains. Anyone else feel that way?

37012mgvp · Post by **37012mgvp** » Sat May 03, 2003 5:00 am

Ted, I totally agree with you on different pickup formats for the 6's & 12's. My theory is that the hi-gains do not channel the higher frequencies of the octave strings very well on RIC 12's. The toasters take those inherently bright 12-string tones and balance them very evenly. The hi-gains seem to make the sound too metallic and trebly. It's certainly not as noticable on the 6-string guitars, because the frequencies of the E-A-D-G strings are not as high. I've been very pleased with the hi-gains on my FG 360, and the same can be said of the toasters on my MG 370/12. BTW, you are also right about Marty from the Church. I think "Metropolis" is one of the absolute best latter-day Rickenbacker tunes I have ever heard.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Sat May 03, 2003 5:30 am

Hm... 'Rick tone gold mine'? Well, I think I can claim to be the owner of the ultimate Rick tone gold mine - a 4080 Rick and a TR35B amplifier. Anyone knows differently?

profjeff · Post by **profjeff** » Sun May 04, 2003 5:04 pm

You all bring up some good points. We tend to pigeon hole Rickenbacker tones into a few well-known categories (Roger McGuinn, John Lennon, Peter Buck, etc.). The truth is that there were, and still are, a bunch of other artists, some of them mentioned here, who put their own unique spin on the sound of a Rick.

Jeff J., I think you bring up a pretty good point about hi-gains and toasters. I have decided to put vintage pickups on my 360/12 as soon as I have some extra scratch. I'm going to keep the hi gains on my 360/6 because I love the way they drive my Vox AC-15 and my Marshall JCM 2000.

Sergio, I'm pretty ignorant when it comes to bass guitars and amps, but I'll bet your 4080 sounds awesome!

carr · Post by **carr** » Sun May 04, 2003 6:04 pm

I get confused with the pick up names... could some kind soul upload pics of Hi Gains toasters vintage ?

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Mon May 05, 2003 1:52 am

John:
In terms of looks, 'toaster pickups' and 'vintage pickups' are one and the same thing. They resemble the top of a bread toaster, hence their name.
'High-gain pickups', a.k.a 'button-top pickups' differ from toaster pickups in that they have visible polepieces which are simply type U drive screws (steel rivets).
Currently, both the toaster pickup and the high-gain use exactly the same type of bobbin.

Jeffrey:
Yes, the 4080 is a mean machine, and if you're looking for the unique Rickenbacker guitar and bass sound in one package, it is the ideal instrument to own.

krishna · Post by **krishna** » Tue May 06, 2003 5:10 pm

I LOVED the Jam as a kid .. one of my most treasured pieces of rock memorabilia is a ticket stub with the autographs of Mr. Weller, Mr Foxton and Mr Buckler .. from the one and only Jam show I saw - at the Palladium in NYC, May 1982 .. and through dumb luck, me and my high school buddies ended up at a backstage "meet and greet" after the show... and I have to say they were not only a great band but also super nice guys .. and Weller did tell me one of his Ricks was "souped up" with a Gibson humbucker. What a great band !! ... "any guitar .. and any bass drum .. when you're young ..."

tony_farinella · Post by **tony_farinella** » Mon May 19, 2003 8:47 am

Late reply, but man I love the Jam. They definately were the primary influence during my "formative" years, and Weller continues to speak to the heart with continued maturity.

I'll have to check out that DVD.

Krishna, I was at that show at the Palladium in 1982. They opened with "Running on the Spot" if I recall, and it got better from there. What a night.