Opinions wanted - 4003 on my band's new CD

4stringnosing · Post by **4stringnosing** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:15 pm

Well, it's finally over with: the painful, tearful, messy, sticky, and emotional process of creation. No, I'm not talking about childbirth -- our band has just finished its first EP!

I'm hoping to get some opinions from you fine folks on the quality of the recording of my 4003. I really liked the tone at first, but now I'm concerned that it might be a bit weak on the bottom end. It sounded great in the studio, so maybe it lost a bit in mastering? My band loves the sound of a Ric played with a pick, so I capitulated and learned how to do it! One song (Suffolk Girl) is double-tracked: fuzz bass and a clean, neck PUP only track, both played with fingers.

One of the songs was recorded with my flatwound-equipped Yamaha BB1200. Pretty obvious which one, so no prize to the first person to figure it out!

Website is http://www.thehattones.com/. Thanks!

brammy · Post by **brammy** » Thu Aug 02, 2007 7:37 pm

The bass sounds fine, but I wish the guitarist would have had more variation in his sound from one song to another. Just mho of course.

ajish4 · Post by **ajish4** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 3:06 am

Hey Fred,

Thanks for posting that!

IMHO, I liked "RUNNIN" for the best RIC bass sound. It seemed thicker so I appreciated it more than the others.

Not that I didn't like the others, but being a bassist, well, you know....

Great music all around, but I liked RUNNIN hands down.

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 12:40 pm

My favorite was 'Suffolk Girl'.
No lack of bottom there, nice definition, not abrasive, and you can hear the bass nicely.
Sounds like Deep Purple/Rainbow if anything.
Nice work!

prog_rockin_metal_man · Fri Aug 03, 2007 1:31 pm

yeah I definitley agree with Kevin...Suffolk girl is totaly awesome and is my fave. Runnin' was also quite kick butt.

Lost Coyotes · Post by **Lost Coyotes** » Fri Aug 03, 2007 2:13 pm

The opening rif reminded me of Foghat!
That's a good thang.
Nice job, sounds cool.

rikk · Post by **rikk** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 5:46 am

Sounds good to me! Nice back to basics rock.

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 5:49 am

Yeah, Foghat, & Grand Funk too!
Actually, there's quite a bit of that old 1970's feel to the songs, I just can't put a name to most of the bands.

phlemmy · Post by **phlemmy** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 5:56 am

It's well-played and recorded.

4stringnosing · Post by **4stringnosing** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 8:10 am

Thanks for the feedback guys, I really appreciate it.

Nice to hear all the comparisons to classic rock bands, as our plan was to write originals that would go over well with our cover tune audience (i.e. the audience that pays our bills, lol!) Besides, we're all in our 40's so emo or boy-band just wouldn't work somehow! Not sure if those of you playing classic rock get the same thing, but I've noticed a lot of those playing along on air guitar to our Hendrix tunes are dudes in their early 20's. Some things just never go out of style!

Anyways, to say thanks (for those that are interested), drop me a note at [email protected] and I'll give you a link to download the album gratis.

gray · Post by **gray** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 8:23 am

I think it sounds great. Maybe could use a little bit more depth, but then again, maybe not. If you do, do it sparingly, because the sound is pretty dead-on for classic 70's 4001 tone. Personally, I like the brighter tone that's on there. Plus, it's hard to hear what it really sounds like over the computer. If anything, you might want to add a little bit more depth (emphasis on little) and bring it up a wee bit (again, emphasis on wee). But like I said, hearing anything over the internet always seems to take those things away from it. Personally, I'd have to hear the CD through several different systems to really make a judgement. It does sound very good, and the songs are well-written and accurate for style of the period into which you're fitting them. Definitely Deep Purple / Foghat sound. You can really hear the Rickenbacker tone on those songs, which is a very strong point in my opinion. Deepening the tone could erase some of that, and that might not be something you want.
Hope this makes sense and helps! Nice work, and thanks for sharing your music!

Lost Coyotes · Post by **Lost Coyotes** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 8:40 am

Hey Fred, I'm emailing you for the downloads, thanks! I'll be listening to it.

I'd like it if you share how you recorded your Ric. There's a billion ways to do it, and your way worked...so just some details would be great.

We have another CD to record soon, and I'd like to use the Rics and have it SOUND like a Ric.

Some engineers just dial all that RIC sound out of it.

Lost Coyotes · Post by **Lost Coyotes** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 8:46 am

Uh, Fred? Email came back to me with a failure notice?

mgrendel2 · Post by **mgrendel2** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 9:42 am

Sounds great, I think to last song has a good radio feel to it, your ric sounds great. The singer reminds me of a cross between Ian Gillian of Deep Purple and Danny Joe Brown of Molly Hatchett. Good Luck. Grendel

rickboy88 · Post by **rickboy88** » Sat Aug 04, 2007 9:47 am

I like the sound on the last track as well, Fred.

Some on this forum might remember by posts on felt picks on the Ric corporate forum. You might want to try a couple of them out, as I feel they give more bass to the sound, but also still give you a decent "edgy" pick sound. I only use them now. There are different types, but you might want to start out with the hardest ones.
Break them in a bit by bending them back and forth some, and it'll warm the sound up.