Effects for a Rickenbacker Bass

4003seagreen · Post by **4003seagreen** » Mon Oct 29, 2001 7:57 pm

I'm curious as to what kind of effects people use for their Ric Basses. I am looking to add some effects to my arsenal, right now I'm playing my 4003 through an Ampeg BA-112 (60 watts). It's a small but punchy little amp, perfect for my needs right now. I'd like to add some effects but don't know where to start. Any recommendations from you Ric Bassists out there?

jblakey · Post by **jblakey** » Tue Oct 30, 2001 7:47 am

I play a 75 4001 and 90 4003 with a bit of overdrive... mainly to copy the great sound I get through my headphone amp... I play through a Yamaha B100 with Yamaha 2x15 and Ampeg 4x10 cabs on stage with a tiny bit of overdrive from a Snarlin' Dog/Tweety Overdrive.. it doesn't change the timbre so much if you switch between effect and clean signals and is a sturdy little thing, and gives quite a wide range of effect 0 to full distortion. The Yamaha b100 is solid state, punchy but this overdrive warms the sound a bit for my taste.

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Wed Oct 31, 2001 6:26 am

One approach is a rather simple one: nothing.

What I mean is rather than use outboard effects to enhance your sound, try using different EQ settings (of course this may require more than what some amplifiers can deliver....you may need to add a good graphic or parametric EQ to your rig.)

Geddy Lee rarely ever used effects on his signal when using his Ricks, live or in the studio; just good EQ and a little compression. The Rickenbacker 4001 will deliver miles of sound on its own, but there is nothing wrong with using effects, if you choose to do so!!! Food for thought.

4003seagreen · Post by **4003seagreen** » Wed Oct 31, 2001 10:42 am

Lefty: I'm leaning toward that direction, re: getting a good EQ unit. A BOSS GEB-7 is something I'm going to look into, I think that might fit my needs pretty well. I just want to be able to tighten up the RIC tone the bass already gives. I thought some compression or chorus might help, but after researching the various sources I've been looking at I think I like the idea of adjusting my EQ.

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Thu Nov 01, 2001 4:10 am

Gear has come a long way in the past 20 years or so...I have been amazed more than once in how different speaker cabinets can change the sound of an instrument too...I can use the same amp and switch cabinets and have an almost totally different sound. I have an old, VERY heavy JBL cabinet with a 15" that just has the BEST sound..wouldn't sell it for anything.

Yet another way of sound augmentation....

admin · Post by **admin** » Thu Nov 01, 2001 4:49 am

In a digital world, it is still nice to see that analog matters.

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Thu Nov 01, 2001 7:19 am

Peter: Yep, I know quite a few people who record digitally but will have the 'old world' valve-limiters and compressors in their post-production work. There is NO substitute, IMHO...

In the same breath, I like many of the new gadgets like amplifier and speaker modelers; they do quite well in reproducing sound, but I just seem to get more out of 'playing around' with the stuff rather than 'dialing up' a certain amp or cabinet...GEEZ---they even have microphone modelers now!!!! Don't forget guys, we're all human here, and great music was made before all this stuff was around. The method is STILL alive!!!

rickengrowl · Post by **rickengrowl** » Tue Nov 06, 2001 12:31 am

Dear "4003 Sea Green"

,

My opinion tends to confirm what has already been said here : RIC basses do the job by theirselves, without the need to add effects (unless you want or need a specific effect for a specific need).

But for best tone performance, it is also true that efficient EQ's and a bit of compression will do a good job. But all this finally depends directly on what you play or want.

I owned two 4001's in the past, and now I'm a happy owner of a WHT 4003, and I can witness that I always processed the same, as well on stage as in recording studios (either analog or digital) : I always play (and record) with "raw" sound (all pots on maximum), then the signal is corrected by EQ and comp. But I never used any kind of effect stuff.

However, the best judgement of what is "right" or "wrong" will come from your ears and from your taste.

A friendly hello from France,

Jean.

jblakey · Post by **jblakey** » Sun Nov 18, 2001 6:02 am

I wish I could find the interview with Geddy Lee in which he mentions using both a clean and distorted/overdrive channel.. that I mention earlier..However I understand that I am incorrect in believing that that was a common technique for him and not just a unique or rare situation.
As for the sound of Rics.. I unfortunately love the sound of my 4001 and 4003 when I play real loud and inch my cabs closer and closer to destruction. I have relplaced too many expensive 15's, that I decided that a bit of overdrive gives a similar quality...also similar to my headphone amp.

leftybass · Post by **leftybass** » Mon Nov 19, 2001 3:23 am

Joel, I have read that interview; I believe he is talking about the bass recording on "My Favorite Headache"...he had 3 or 4 tracks simultaneuosly for just the bass, each one different from the other. Geddy would listen and utilze the track that sat the best in the mix, or a combination of them as a blend. A cool concept....

Remember it is possible to overdrive the signal at lower volume without damage to your speakers--you would need to have an effects pedal of some sort related to distortion or use an amp equipped with a pre-amp volume and master volume, ala Marshall. Before they had this setup in production, people used to install them in their old super-lead 100's when all they came with was one volume pot...Rock 'n Roll was never the same...

kiwi · Post by **kiwi** » Mon Nov 19, 2001 5:59 am

I recently acquired a Rick 4003 and (thanks to the helpful people here) began to use the stereo outputs as my main "effect."

I bought a stereo cable* for $7.50 at the music store and now run the neck pickup into my Ampeg BA-112 (yup, same as yours) and the bridge pickup into the small guitar amp of my choice. The middle switch position gets them both going at once, and I can blend the sounds using the volume and tone controls for each pickup.

I leave the Ampeg BA-112 at a fairly stock bass sound, and leave the fun stuff for the guitar amp. Try overdrives, try chorus, try reverb or delay. I just treat it like it was ... well, a guitar amp!

Kiwi

* Cable: Should be one 1/4" stereo jack at one end, and two 1/4" mono jacks at the other ends. Seems fine, and I have not heard the excessive hum or treble loss that Rickenbacker warns you about when encouraging the use of their $68 Rick-O-Sound unit.

syncop8r · Post by **syncop8r** » Tue Nov 20, 2001 2:44 pm

That is kinda what I want to do - neck (dry) to 15", bridge (with effects) to 12" (via separate amps). It would sound good one dry, one distorted.

I sometimes use a chorus.

gt76 · Post by **gt76** » Tue Nov 27, 2001 7:01 pm

Any recommendations on EQ units or compression pedals for my 4001? I don't want to change my tone. I'm okay with the sound I'm getting but would like to smooth it out a bit.

4003seagreen · Post by **4003seagreen** » Wed Nov 28, 2001 11:14 am

I bought a BOSS GEB-7 Bass EQ pedal (after reading everyone's helpful input here, Thanks!), and that helped a lot! I highly recommend that as a starting point. My tone has improved 100%, and I'm able to get that perfect blend of growl and thump that I've been looking for. As with any EQ unit, you have to play with it a little, but it's really easy to use and the results are tremendous.

I might get a compression unit next, but I haven't really felt a need to modify the tone I'm already achieving. Hope this helps.

gpatt5762 · Post by **gpatt5762** » Tue Mar 19, 2002 3:16 pm

I've got an Ashly 31-Band laying around here-
Would anyone care to say if thereare any artist-specific tips for EQing my soon-to-arrive C64 FG?

Or is it simply a matter of EQing to the venue?

Comments Welcome,
Garry