Geddy Lee & his 4001JG

[tallpat1]

Well That explains the photos, the early 74 had the 1/2 spacing on neck p/u in the later photos the 78 has the 1" pup spacing.

[tallpat1]

I received an email fron BAD RONBO of the Killer Dwarfs, Russ Ryan who is now Geddy's tech used to be BAD RONBO's tech
has put the Ric question to rest. Much Thanks BAD RONBO!!


"GREETINGS ! TO PUT THIS TO REST, THE '74 RICK HAS THE WHITE SURROUND BADASS MOD AND MY EX-ROADIE WHO NOW WORKS FOR GEDDY, RUSS RYAN, INFORMED ME GEDDY TOLD HIM THE ONLY OTHER JETGLO HE HAD WAS AND IS A '75 WITH THE 1" SPACING. THIS IS THE BASS HE IS ALSO CURRENTLY USING AND HAS THE BLACK BADASS SURROUND. THIS IS HOW YOU TELL THEM APART. WHITE SURROUND='74/ BLACK SURROUND='75. BOTH BASSES HAD THE MACHINE HEADS REPLACED WITH SOLID BRASS/CHROME PLATE MACHINES LIKE SCHALLER/GROVER TYPES. THEY BOUGHT A LOT OF THEIR GEAR FROM "THE MUSIC SHOPPE"
IN THORNHILL ONTARIO, WHICH IS JUST UP YONGE ST. NORTH OF TORONTO."

BAD RONBO, KiLLeR DWaRfS

[jaymi]

I have been reading that post over on TB. it is an interesting read....goes to show what years (for the Rush fan) are good Rics....Mine already HAS the badass mod done...I can see why GL did his this way....mine is VERY focused....

[s4001]

I wonder if the hipshot gives similar results.

[woodyng]

scott-if you used the brass one,i would think it would be similar to a badass,(which is also brass),but i think the hipshot might be even MORE massive/heavy....just conjecture,as i have not used either one...does anyone remember who made a replacement bridge for the rick that was basically like a big fender bent tip bridge-my 4002 had one on it when i bought it (used of course)...but it was made to line up with the factory screw holes and basic footprint....

[paologregorio]

Not so sound like a complete idiot, but how much of an improvement is the Badass (oops, too late now, eh?)? My GL J-bass came with a Badass bridge. I've never had another J bass (one with a Fender bridge) to compare it to, and it's been a long time since I've had a Rick bass( unfortunately). My recollection of the factory Rick bass bridge was that I put new strings through it, forgot about it, and just enjoyed the bass.

Is this thread drift?

Interesting info on the GL 4001s. Thanks for posting.

[s4001]

FWIW, there's a fairly current promo shot of Geddy (headache era) in his home studio with the 4002 behind him hanging on the wall.

[geddeeee]

I've fitted a Badass 1 to my Rick (a la Geddy), and it's made so much difference to the sustain and tone. I can understand why Geddy did his now. I know a lot of Rick purists will be cursing me, but the sound is all important to me. I've tried a Hipshot too, but the Badass is on, and staying on.....

[s4001]

Does the Badass fit right on or is there filling & drilling needed?

[jaymi]

Does the Badass fit right on or is there filling & drilling needed?

It requires a body rout so the bridge can sit into the body for the correct string height. It makes a HUGE difference. I am probably going to do the next one myself because it makes SO much difference. Mine came this way but I would do another one in a heartbeat....I am no longer a purist....

[rokkitt]

Does the Badass fit right on or is there filling & drilling needed?

It requires a body rout so the bridge can sit into the body for the correct string height. It makes a HUGE difference. I am probably going to do the next one myself because it makes SO much difference. Mine came this way but I would do another one in a heartbeat....I am no longer a purist....

but.....oh that sounds so tempting......but, did the HIPSHOT sound better than the stock bridge?


I would rather bolt on , than have to do the routing thing....


so , is the progress you did as follows?

stock bridge
hipshot bridge
badass bridge

and, does the badass have as much adjustability as the hipshot?
was it really that big of a diff from hipshot to badass?


thanks, i am thinking of this mod as well


Allen

[johnallg]

Does the Badass fit right on or is there filling & drilling needed?

Scott, my 4001 came with a Badass II on it and the plastic "floater" it sat on had the rout to lower it into the plastic but you do need to drill 5 screw holes to mount it up.

It also had maple in the tailpiece rout area.

tailpiece rout full 400 x 300.jpg (10.48 KiB) Viewed 2235 times

[cassius987]

Not so sound like a complete idiot, but how much of an improvement is the Badass (oops, too late now, eh?)?

There was a GREAT thread at BassPlayer.com by Davo-London where he closely analyzed the sound of his '74 P Bass with a Badass II and with the stock bridge. The stock bridge was far and away the winner by votes for preference... the tone was crisper and recorded better. At the time I had a Badass III on my Jazz Bass and while I had been happy with it it did cause me to wonder if I hadn't been very scientific about the whole thing. Had I traded in crispness for mud like in Davo's case? Perhaps... but I stuck with it.

Recently I went through a similar spell. I tried a Hipshot on both my of my Rics. It seemed to immediately help out the tone and sustain but later on I found myself irritated by the lack of clear punch (as with Davo's situation). Sure enough, when I tried out the stock bridge, the punch was back. Oh, and the action was lower! And the sustain improved! I am NOT kidding you. I had a couple of weak spots with the Hipshot at its lowest action and they went completely away with the stock bridge. Many of you here know I am not a purist and don't concern myself about brand loyalty... so I hope you can infer from this that I am not immediately biased in favor of the stock bridge. I gave both of my basses several months with the Hipshot.

Just my tuppence.

[geddeeee]

The Badass 1 has only 3 screws. I didn't bother with routing. I lined up the middle screw hole (lines up great with the stock bridge centre hole). Made 2 new screw holes for the Badass. Then, (wait for it) used 2 stacks of 5 pence pieces to hold the corners of the Badass which overlapped the huge hole from the stock bridge.
Made a custom surround from some white plastic, to hide the stock bridge hole, and Hey Presto... My version of Geddy's mod.
The string height isn't a problem as I play really hard (firmly), and I've found a slightly higher action suits me fine. It's not low, like some people like, but I don't consider mine to be overly high. I've tried a lower action over my 30 year bass odyssey, but this height works great.
If you prefer the lower action, you will probably have to route the Badass, to get it to sit at the correct height.
Mine is a bit of a 'bodge' job, but it looks OK, and more importantly, my Ricky sounds punchier and clankier than with either the Hippy or RIC's stock bridge.

Happy clanking......

[geddeeee]

For those interested. You can just about make out the mod....