Remember When?

[Cliffyrick]

Hey there guys, first time posting here!

Started listening Metallica when I was in 5th grade, and the first time I saw Cliff Burton with his Burgundy 4001, it was love at first sight. Some years later, my uncle gave me the "Exit Stage... Left" DVD for my birth day, and fell in love again with Geddy's 4001.

2 years ago, my band's sound engineer and friend of mine told me he had a friend that collects guitars and basses, and asked me to go to his place to get a bassman head he needed for recording. We entered this huge room full of guitar cases, when my friend said "take a look at this", as he opened a case with a 4003 in it. Never ever had a rick in my hands, and just couldn't believe that they weren't only the coolest basses to look at, but they are the coolest, smoothest, most awesome basses to play!

2 years later, here I am waiting for my 1974 burgundy (thanks cliff ) with badass bridge (thanks geddy ) to arrive in 3 days.

[Droog61]

Remember seeing my first Rickenbacker in a 1972 or1973 issue of Circus magazine, it was a picture of Chris Squire holding his RM 1999. It was the first year I fell in love with the Fragile Album after being exposed to it from my friends older brother (how I miss vinyl and album cover art), then after that Close to the Edge. I knew nothing about basses really except that Fender was the choice of weapon of most during that time. I added it to my knowledge base of Fender Jazz, Precision and the Gibson EB.

My first bass was a cheap Fender Jazz knock off from some department store... I think it was a 'Concord'. I remember saving pennies for a Univox Stereo Bass and 'upgrading' to that. I was a pretty decent copy, very solid neck through body and stereo wiring.

I got my first Rickenbacker at 18, I had to order from Canada as no S versions were in stock. It was a White 4001s with dot markers no binding and a black pick guard and truss rod cover, Was my pride and joy, I remember pulling a Nigel Tuffnel when people asked to play it and said no don't even look at it

I parted ways with it when I switched over to a Ibanez MC940 fretless during my pro band years (big Japan/Roxy Music/Bowie fan)

About 5 years ago I got nostalgic for Rick and rekindled a love affair and acquired a 4001CS #30, a 4001v63 and a 4003s

[pag]

I probably told this story before but anyway...
We (thats my brothers and sisters) watched Top Of The Pops and all the Beatles TV specials RSG etc..and you recognised (black and white mind)
the familiar Fireglo Rickenbackers of George,Gerry and the Pacemakers ,the Bee Gees ,The Kinks and Johns black Rick.
Fast forward to Boxing Day 1967 (and still B+W folks) we noticed Paul with a different looking Rick ( we know now he repainted it but nothing like guitar magazines and the net existed yet)but as yet none of the shops in Manchester had one to look at...well not a bass guitar at any rate.
The fleeting earlier glimpse of Pauls bass on "All you need is love" was just that in an age prior to video.
I saw Yes on the Yes Album tour 1971 and there was Chris with a blonde Telecaster Bass and what looked like a white Rickenbacker similar to the one I saw Maurice Gibb wearing in one of my sisters music magazines (Fab 208 I think) so that was my first close encounter of the Rick kind and very influential at that!
Not many bands had Ricks and they were really expensive going by the prices in the back of Melody Maker so it was a bit of a surprise in early 1973 to see a local band with a 4001 playing at a pub next door to the Palace on Oxford St Manchester one lunchtime.
That bass was a jetglo 4001 with checker binding. I know all this as I was about two feet away!
The first Rick I laid hands on was a black 4000 at A1 Music Oxford Rd (a hundred yards on at the Palace it becomes Oxford St.by the way) Manchester.
Anne Mellor who was the manager used to indulge us teenagers and let us play the guitars for a few minutes. It paid off and I bought loads of stuff from A1 in the ensuing years.
I worked just around the corner from A1 and Barratts so my lunches were spent looking at guitars and dreaming.
After playing a secondhand Hofner solid bass since 1971 I had enough money in 1974 to pay weekly installments through my mums account with Provident and get a proper bass...still no amp of my own though!
I went to Barratts who dealt with Provident and looked at getting the black 4001 they just got in.
The guys at A1 told me about the older 4001s like Squire had and I chatted to the guys at Barratts who said the same thing that the 60s Ricks had different pickups and no binding so I started thinking maybe one of those might show up secondhand one day.
I liked the new black 4001 but I also liked the white Jazz Bass that Barratts had next to it (same price) and I had seen Chris Squire play a similar Jazz Bass at the Topographic Oceans gigs just recently so I opted for the Jazz.
The black 4001 was bought by Graham Gouldman of 10CC who were in the shop buying it when I arranged the finance for the Jazz!
I missed the chance on two 60s 4001s basses I spotted after that and then one day in the late 70s I was having lunch reading Beat Instrumental when I saw an ad from Honky Tonk Music in Essex which had a white 60s Rick for £275.
I duly bought it over the phone unseen and it turned out (I found out much later) that it used to belong to Maurice Gibb.
That was the best Rick I ever played...I suppose my 1990 CS is pretty close but the neck on the Gibb Bass just edges it I think.
Financial woes forced me to part with that lovely Rick (my brother tried to trace it and buy it back for me after the shop sold it on but they wouldnt help us locate the owner) and now thanks to the internet I know its found a good home with Andrew Winter here on the forum.

Now that the vintage market has driven RM prices beyond what you would risk taking out to gigs I keep hoping for that elusive vintage reissue with all the original spec.
Strangely enough I recently bought a Fender Custom Shop 1970 Jazz with the black inlays just like Chris Squires...(but black this time)
because the originals are way overpriced and theres always the chance of issues with older basses that you gig regularly.
A bit like RMs eh?

[Kiddwad57]

Everyone has such good stories...

I haven't rented the movie yet, and they're not offering it free on netflix, but I have a feeling that the Bond film is going to be Live and Let Die. Spring break is coming up and I will get to it!

Also, I know most American Vox amps are not in the same league as English models, but was the Buckingham really that bad? After all its only 35 watts. You'd have to be jamming with guitarists playing through the equivalent of, what, Princetons?, to have a good balance. And a very polite drummer. Using brushes. Of course solid state amps were primitive in those days. I had a 60 watt Westminster (playing on a fabulous black Hagstrom 1) that held up pretty well against the other guy's Fender Super Reverb and Acoustic 2x12 combos. And they didn't offer MRB or Tone-X.

Anyway, its interesting to hear about others Rickenbacker experiences.

[artisan4]

Solid state sounds so bad. The Buckingham had a lot of features, and a 2x12 cab with head is a great configuration, but no tone. I was 16 and knew nothing about amps, nothing about Thomas Organ vs. real UK Vox tube amps, and went through a series of solid state amps with no tone: the Buckingham, a Peavey Pacer, a Yamaha G100-210, a Music Man RD-50. Buzzy-sounding...reliable though.

The bass player had a Hofner and a Peavey 100 watt amp, had no trouble hearing myself. I had a trio at that time, loud drummer with one of those Ludwig blue Vistalite kits.

It wasn't until Aspen Pittman's 'Tube Amp Book' that I learned about amps with good tube tone. In retrospect, had I known I would have bought a Marshall 2144 or a Vox V125 at that time (1978).

[jps]

...Aspen Pittman's 'Tube Amp Book'...

I have his 4.1th [sp] version, some great stuff in that book, for sure. Do you have Gerald Weber's books? They are a must have for tube ampaholics, also.

[Kiddwad57]

Oh sorry; I thought you were playing a Rickenbacker bass through that Buckingham!

OK, they buzz...but to me the clean tones, reverb and tremelo all sound pretty good on the SS Vox'. I've been able to live with both tranny and tube Cambridge Reverbs. In most ways the tube version smokes the transistor, but the reverb is much more effective on the solid state.

AND they both sound great with a Rickenbacker 610!

Unfortunately transistor guitar amps haven't held up in the long haul. It doesn't seem to matter what era they come from, they are always in "catch up" mode in comparison to tubes. As a bass player, solid state has mostly been a good thing, even though I'd prefer a tube amp if I had someone to carry it.

[leftybass]

I saw my first real Rickenbacker 4001 thru the window of Chuck Levin's Washington Music Center in 1977 or '78 after seeing 'Beatlemania' at the Warner Theater in Washington DC....My Friend's mother had planned on running us up to the store to look at stuff after the show was over--when we got there it had already closed but looking thru the window had a definite WOW factor. The bass had a rose-colored Fireglo finish.....

[artisan4]

...Aspen Pittman's 'Tube Amp Book'...

I have his 4.1th [sp] version, some great stuff in that book, for sure. Do you have Gerald Weber's books? They are a must have for tube ampaholics, also.

I've got one, 'Hip Vintage Guitar Amps' I think is the title.

[artisan4]

Oh sorry; I thought you were playing a Rickenbacker bass through that Buckingham!

OK, they buzz...but to me the clean tones, reverb and tremelo all sound pretty good on the SS Vox'. I've been able to live with both tranny and tube Cambridge Reverbs. In most ways the tube version smokes the transistor, but the reverb is much more effective on the solid state.

AND they both sound great with a Rickenbacker 610!

Unfortunately transistor guitar amps haven't held up in the long haul. It doesn't seem to matter what era they come from, they are always in "catch up" mode in comparison to tubes. As a bass player, solid state has mostly been a good thing, even though I'd prefer a tube amp if I had someone to carry it.

I regret selling the Buckingham just because it looked cool!

I have a Carvin PB100 bass amp. It's ok. I've got a friend who has an Ampeg head and an SWR 4x10 cab that sounds awesome. I mostly play guitar but I like loud bass and loud drums. I'd love to jam with Jack Bruce and Neil Peart!

[Kiddwad57]

One of the coolest tube amps I've played through was a Sound City 150. Probably around '73 or so. I'd like to try it now. Moved into a Music Man 65, from there an AC50, which really was a dream come true and a great sounding bass amp. I used it for over a decade as my gigging amp. Although I have an Ampeg SB12 for practice, the way things look now it's doubtful there's another gigging tube bass amp in my future.

[Kiddwad57]

No Ric in Live and Let Die. James Bond meets '70s Blaxploitation.