Paul gets back with his Rick

dminer · Post by **dminer** » Thu Jan 01, 2004 4:23 pm

I agree with Bob Ampeg...every pic I've ever seen of Paul with the Beatles and his ric bass the switch was in the down position...this has been dismissed by others before, but no one has ever produced any pics or video/film of that switch in any other position! Are there any shots or film clips of that bass in any other pickup positions?

jps · Post by **jps** » Thu Jan 01, 2004 5:49 pm

Did the horseshoes not have the .0047 cap in series?

shamustwin · Post by **shamustwin** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 10:18 am

He always seems to have the switch down (trebley) but in same photos seems to pick closer to the neck (bassy). A balance!

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Fri Jan 02, 2004 1:00 pm

Jeffrey, that has always made me wonder also, other people here have said that they had the caps but I would be willing to bet that they didn't. BTW expect something in the mail soon, my father is a little slow in his old age. Andy does your 64 have a treble cap in it? Any others here with early 60's 4001's? JH? I don't think he could have gotten that deep sound with just the treble pickup with a cap in it even if he played at the 12th fret

jps · Post by **jps** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 7:00 am

Thanks Bob. I can't imagine Paul using just the horseshoe if it had the cap in place. For the most part I like my hi gain without the cap but it still sounds even better with some of the toaster rolled in.

wints · Post by **wints** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 12:37 pm

Bob, actually my 64,s come with cap, (that certainly doesn,t mean they all did though!!) One thing that people have not possibly thought of, and it is a long shot, is that Paul,s switch is wired opposite, and that he is on the toaster all the time...Impossible..well, if memory serves me correctly, ( and it may not after the last few days!!) I think I know of another RM1999 wired like this ( from factory..) with the tone and volumes changed also...Please correct me if I,m wrong....

ojobob2 · Post by **ojobob2** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 12:56 pm

seeing as his bass was a lefty, and one of the first (right?) its highly possible a standard wiring assembly was stuffed in there so the switch would be backwards

bear · Post by **bear** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 3:30 pm

The Vox bass amp he used had tone controls that worked the opposite of conventional controls as well. All the way to the left was full boost while all the way to the right was cut.
No wonder we can't figure this out (o;}

And then there is always "Glass Onion" which would have been run through the Silver Face "tall" Bassman with 2x15's.
Rickenbacker or FJB?

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sat Jan 03, 2004 4:14 pm

Good thinking,I never would have thought of the lefty angle, but then again, how would he get a chunky well defined sound out of a toaster alone?
But that would make more sense if they came with caps, and if Andy's did, most likely they all did.
I always thought that Maurice Gibbs bass sound was all toaster with flatwounds. Almost subliminal, you needed a really GOOD stereo to really hear it boom, that was one of the bass sounds that I really loved when I was a kid.

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Sun Jan 04, 2004 2:40 pm

I think 'Glass Onion' was the Jazz Bass, and it may not have been Paul on the track either.....

Paul's 4001-S wasn't a rush job; it was invoiced on 24 Jan 1964, a full two weeks before F.C. Hall's meeting with The Beatles in NYC. So, I would assume the factory had time to wire the bass up left-handed proper....

bear · Post by **bear** » Thu Jan 08, 2004 11:07 am

I know what you mean about he may not have even played on that one. Everytime I see a Twickenham photo with George on the Jazz/Tall Bassman rig it makes me think "is it possible, could it have been?". Still there is something about that flatwound percussive "ca-cawk" tone that makes me think Rickenbacker.

mrmstrd · Post by **mrmstrd** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 11:44 am

I doubt that "Glass Onion" is a Rickenbacker Bass. Anyone who has a Jazz/Precision, heard John Entwistle, Beach Boys "Smile" or "Friends" album knows that's a Fender Bass. "Ca-Cawk" is the perfect term applied to that thuddy/clicky sound you get when you palm mute a Jazz/Precision. I can easily get a similar "Glass Onion" sound on my '62 Precision reissue (Pyramids) by palm muting. String-type really only plays a minimal role in this technique, it is quite amazing how close the sound is to the record. For more of this sound, listen to "A Quick One" by The Who.

Regarding backwards wiring on Macca's Rick, I believe this was the case. When Paul played his Hofner, he was most interested in the deepest bass sound possible, according to the "Beatle Gear" book. Naturally, he would use the pickup closest to the neck. I assume that when he initially played the Rickenbacker Bass, he thought that the bass sound from the toaster was much deeper and clearer. Anyone who has played a 500/1 of any variation knows that the neck pickup has plenty of bass, no treble (inductor?), and much less definition than the neck pickup of a Rickenbacker Bass. Therefore, is it possible that Paul preferred the Rickenbacker's more clear, more defined toaster bass sound (with the switch in the treble position due to backwards wiring) than the Hofner's undefined neck pickup sound? Looking at the pictures of the "All You Need is Love" broadcast and listening to the record or watching the Anthology films, I think we can assume that the "treble" position is in fact selecting the toaster pickup.

paul_yan · Post by **paul_yan** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 12:22 pm

Kendall,

Here's an MMT example done by "With Japan".

The headstock wings seem to be painted dark to simulate the original.

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 1:14 pm

That WITH MMT customization is the best one I have seen, simply awesome. What a fantastic job. I want one. BAD. I want THAT ONE!!!!

Paul, is this a service that they provide, or is it a one-off?

bear · Post by **bear** » Fri Jan 09, 2004 1:53 pm

Matt,

I have two Jazz basses, my original '61 and a '64 custom shop, I can still get closer with any of my RIC's than I can with either of the Jazz basses and they are strung with TI's and Pyramids. To these "olds ears" it is a difference in the midrange not even a Manley Vox Box, with the +/- mids upgrade, can fake with the Jazzes. Then again that's with me playing the bass line and learning it listening to it on my stereo system (o;} Cheers