Early Metal ♥s Ric Bass

[cassius987]

Watching the VH1 series "Metal Evolution" in the background while I work on a presentation for work and good grief, did EVERY bassist back then play a 4001? I had no idea so many of these bands had Rics in their history. They sound great too.

[rickenbrother]

When I was in my teens and twenties, it was cool to have a Fender Precision or Jazz Bass, but it was awesome and special to have a Rickenbacker 4001. Many of the bassists in hard rock and metal bands (before the big hair & make-up days) were using a 4001. It's still awesome and special to have a Rickenbacker!

[ajish4]

I'm so old, when I was a kid, A Rickenbacker 4001 TRC was written in ROMAN NUMERALS.

[rickenbrother]

I'm so old, when I was a kid, A Rickenbacker 4001 TRC was written in ROMAN NUMERALS.

Yeah, you're so old, you remember the Big Dipper when it was just a drinking cup.

[ajish4]

I'm so old, when I was a kid, A Rickenbacker 4001 TRC was written in ROMAN NUMERALS.

Yeah, you're so old, you remember the Big Dipper when it was just a drinking cup.

Tis true, tis true!

I do remember having an excellent "Rickenbacker" ear.

I always managed to pic out that TONE from bands I never even heard of before.

[cjj]

I'm so old, when I was a kid, A Rickenbacker 4001 TRC was written in ROMAN NUMERALS.

Yeah, you're so old, you remember the Big Dipper when it was just a drinking cup.

Tis true, tis true!

I do remember having an excellent "Rickenbacker" ear.

I always managed to pic out that TONE from bands I never even heard of before.

Man, what does that make me???


I was actually quite surprised that, after I'd bought a 4001 (around 1977), how many bands were actually using them! I was just a dumb college kid playing in a few bands and not really paying a lot of attention to what different bands were using (it was a LOT tougher in those days, before the internet and all to even know what they used). In my case, I just loved the TONE I could get so much more than what I was getting with my Guild Jetstar...

[cassius987]

You were lucky CJ, I had no idea Rickenbacker existed at all because there were none on the scene where I was from other than our own Scott Pope, and I hadn't run into him. So I was a paid bassist for a handful of years before I even knew it wasn't just an off-brand of microwave popcorn, playing my Stingray and Jazz, not sure why I couldn't get the sound Paul d'Amour (my first electric bass idol) was getting, someone had convinced me he used a Stingray...

When I got my first new Ric, out of the box, it sounded exactly like I wanted it to. Paul's tone in spades, but a lot more too. I wish I'd have known much sooner, when I was still working jobs in high school and making more money than I could possibly spend (thanks to the absence of all sorts of bills)! I probably could have bought something really nice at the time.

[cjj]

Yeah, I was lucky. I had no idea what a Rick was, or that the sound I loved so much was produced by them. Our keyboard player knew I didn't like the bass I had and found an ad for a used Rick and suggested we go look at it. After seeing it, I thought, "Well, it looks cool" but once I tried it, WOW, that was IT! I think I paid about $400 for it, which was a lot back then, especially for me. But it changed EVERYTHING!

[ajish4]

LOL,

I knew of Rickenbacker's at an early age...IDK, around 13 or so?

McCartney brought it to my attention, even though I wasn't a huge fan.
But Chris Squire drove it home for me.

I've dreamed of owning one since the mid to later 70's, but not realizing that dream until 1995.

[psychomatthias]

I believe this thread deserves a second look:
viewtopic.php?f=11&t=403683

I think you will all especially like the Shiva clips.

[seagreen4003]

For me it was seeing Geddy Lee playing that Jetglo 4001 while looking through the Circus and Creem magazines back in the 70s when I was a kid. I took notice of this beautiful bass called Rickenbacker. I then noticed McCartney played one, Townshend played one (albeit a guitar), Chris Squire, hell, I even noticed that Prescott Niles had one on the back of that iconic "Get the Knack" album. When I started playing bass seriously in 1981, I bought a cheap P-Bass knock-off, but as soon as I had enough money saved up I made a trip to Freedom Guitar in San Diego and picked one of the two used 4001s they had hanging in their shop. Both were Jetglos (I didn't know the term "Jetglo" yet), and I picked the one that was the least beat up (the other one was really beat up with most of it's finish missing from the back). It was a great bass, fast neck, I loved it. I ended up trading it in a few years later because I just had to have a new Ricky, this time I got a 4003 in Mapleglo. I kept that one for about 10 years and sold it when I got married. After being dormant in music for several years, I bought my current Ricky, a 4003 in Sea Green. I still have it and play it often with a bunch of friends from high school. I grew up learning my craft on a Rickenbacker, it just feels and sounds right to me.

[thor]

When I was growing up I heard a lot of The Jam stuff - that was the trigger for me wanting to get a Rick for myself. This was confirmed when my Bass tutor let me borrow his 4001 (in what looked like a Blonde colour IIRC) for a couple of gigs - sounded great and just what I was after. Sadly my tutor wouldn't sell (and I really didn't have enough cash to splash) so had to make do with my trusty VOX bass for the next 2 years before buying my first "proper" bass - a 5 string Jazz which was active and could sound quite a bit like a Ric (but didn't have the cool factor).

It wasn't until December 2011 that I finally managed to purchase my first 4003 in Jetglo - and I'm loving it!

[bassduke49]

Good to see another Sea Green owner, Mike! Not that many around. You'd probably appreciate seeing this pairing; a 4003 and 4001V63 in Sea Green:

[psychomatthias]

I kinda wish I had cable, as I am both a music documentary fanatic and a metalhead. I definitely want to see this.

For the interested:
http://www.vh1.com/shows/metal_evolution/series.jhtml

[seagreen4003]

Good to see another Sea Green owner, Mike! Not that many around. You'd probably appreciate seeing this pairing; a 4003 and 4001V63 in Sea Green:

2seagreenforum.jpg

Hi Paul. I don't post here much but I visit often, and I love your Sea Greens! You have one of my Holy Grails, a 4001V63 in Sea Green, but I am real happy with my 4003 and count my blessings that I have that.