Geddy Lee and Rickenbacker, "a show of hands"

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 10:30 am

Agh, can't believe I typed an s instead of a z...sorry Chris!

cygnusbwa · Post by **cygnusbwa** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 10:35 am

Shaun, is Razorlight a hard sounding band? Do they use Rick basses? The name makes them sound hard, but could be misleading. Sorry for all the questions.

cygnusbwa · Post by **cygnusbwa** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 10:37 am

That's ok Shaun. Heck, with a name like that, any letter works in any place. And Pat, I would like to buy a vowl!

loendmaestro · Post by **loendmaestro** » Tue Feb 01, 2005 12:42 pm

Dead Meadow is another 'new' band using Rick basses. They're outta D.C. on Matador Records. Kinda like the Cure meets Kyuss...or a heavier version of the band Elliot if you're familiar with them.
Big, droney, wah soaked guitar rock through Orange amps. The bass doesn't have the "classic" Rick bass tone, but I dig 'em.

Remember, you ALWAYS get cool points for playing a Rickenbacker!

henry5 · Post by **henry5** » Wed Feb 02, 2005 8:53 am

Chris (D), Razorlight aren't too heavy actually, they're a kind of indie/pop band. I've only heard a few songs (and they were recently live on Jools Holland's "Later" programme on the BBC), but I like what I've heard so far. And yes, the bassist uses a burgundy 4001 slung low!

wormdiet · Post by **wormdiet** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 5:33 pm

Back to topic. .. . we could *shame* the Gedster into playing a rick. Here's what we do:
1. volunteer to pitch in $10 apiece for a new 4003 (or whatever).
2. Ship said bass to Rawk headquarters - Polar division (IE Canada)
3. Include a note with signatures of contributors
4. Request live appearances of said bass

*if necessary*
5. Then arrange an auction of said bass, proceeds going to charity.

How could anyone say "no" to such dedicated fans?

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Fri Feb 04, 2005 6:29 pm

I think if he ever played a modern ric he would like it ... the 4003, 4004, and the 2000 series basses are gigging basses ...

scottpro1969 · Post by **scottpro1969** » Sat Feb 05, 2005 1:55 pm

Why did he stop playing a Rick anyway??? The best Rush recordings were the RIC years, no doubt. It's hard to believe they have been around over 30 years and he's associated with the Rick so much. He only played it for 9 of those years. Then again, as I said, those were the best years.

Geddy would make a Samick sound good. I do like his current sound but, I reaaaally miss the Rick sound. It doesn't get any better than Exit...Stage Left. Moving Pictures was the first tour I saw them so I feel lucky to have witnessed him playing a Rick live. He's the reason I play a Rick as I'm sure is the case for a lot of people here. I just don't get why he changed.

cygnusbwa · Post by **cygnusbwa** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 11:11 am

Scott, you are soooo right. Even though he only played Ricks for a few short years, that is the bass most people associate with him. His sound was never better. I wish we could get him to play one again. I wish Johns' idea would work. Any way we could get him to play one again would work for me. Look at the opening to Rush in Rio. The shot at the airport. Someone was holding up a jetglo 4001 Rick, not a Jazz, not a Wal but a Rick. When something works, when something fits, why change it? I can understand trying something different for a while. It just seems like he is staying away from Rickenbacker for a reason. Could it be for spite? Just because so many people are asking him to go back to it? I don't know, but it sure seems like it. He even stated in an ad for sansamp (Bass Player, Sept 04) that he can now get that Rickenbacker sound with his Jazz thru a sansamp preamp. I got an idea, Play the Rickenbacker if you want that sound! Is that asking too much?

keb · Post by **keb** » Mon Feb 07, 2005 4:37 pm

Geddy's said a few times that he likes his Jazz because it has a lot of low-end to it. He's also mentioned he liked the tone of his doublenecks because they had more wood (giving more low end).

Like Jeff said, I think someone needs to hand him a 4004 or a modern 4003 (or get his tech to bypass the cap in his old Ricks!)

86kubicki · Post by **86kubicki** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 5:40 am

A friend in the music business here in Toronto related to me a story about Geddy and his Fender signature series. Supposedly when told that his signature was to appear on the bass, he said "But what if they don't like me?"
There was also a Rickenbacker related story - I'll see if I can get the details.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 8:08 am

I don't think you will see a Geddy Lee signature Ric bass ... for a few reasons ...

1-the bad *** bridge, Ric isn't going to put bad *** bridges on their basses ...
2-there are a lot of jetglo 4000 series basses out there pretty similar to his,
3-he mainly plays fender these days

If you get a 4001/4003 jetglo bass stock you pretty much have a Geddy Lee or Cliff Burton bass ... but the McCartney and Squire basses were rare 60's 4001S models ...

86kubicki · Post by **86kubicki** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 9:32 am

Peter Buck is often mentioned as a possible signature series candidate, but his guitars are pretty much stock (except for the trucker sticker). That's why I agree with Jeff that a Geddy signature bass isn't likely as they're already widely available. Now a Nick St. Nicholas 4005 would be a different story...
It would be interesting to see the RIC signature series evolve into a run of customized instruments like the Lemmy 4004LK.
But back to Geddy. My secret source (I'll call him Deep Bass), tells me that a while back Rush donated a pile of gear to the Canadian Museum of Civilization. Later when Rush were putting together their 30th Anniversary tour, they considered doing Xanadu, but Geddy's 4080(?) had already been donated. Supposedly they contacted RIC about building another one, but it wasn't going to be ready in time for the tour. Perhaps John Hall would be willing to comment as long as it doesn't tweak anybody's nose.

scottpro1969 · Post by **scottpro1969** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 9:52 am

REally, interesting to hear that. I'd like to hear from Mr. Hall to see if that's true too. I saw them in Sacramento from the 5th row of the 30th tour and would have LOVED to see Geddy and Alex with doublenecks again.

loverickbass · Post by **loverickbass** » Fri Feb 11, 2005 10:30 am

...waiting on pins and needles to hear from Big JH on this one!

Cole