Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hey, I love Ricks too! Just that I don't think there's anything wrong with a good Fender.

Not some Squire BS, a real Fender. My MIJ J is just barely a real Fender. But it's a good bass, especially for the $350 I paid for it so long ago.

But it doesn't touch either of my Ricks. Correct about the "clank and thump"...

Whew! Thought I was about to get thrown overboard.
Thanks Ed!

Fender makes some nice basses and I own three of them ('75 AV J-Bass, Fullerton-ers '62 AV J-Bass and a 50th Anniversary P-Bass), but my Rickenbackers get 90% of my playing time. They just feel better in my hands.

I love both Ricks and Fenders. My major influences are McCartney and J.P. Jones. So I had to have at least one of each!
I've had a couple Ricks through the years, including a 76 4001 and a 86 4003S. They played great, but I couldn't get the sound I was after. Didn't know about the capacitor in the 76!
I bought the '65 Jazz off my brother in about '89 and played that exclusively until I picked up my V63 last year. It's my main axe now! It has everything!

"In defense of my Fender-Bashing, I love Adam Clayton's stuff, esp. their older material."

I like their early stuff too. They were just coming out when I was in school.
One of the earliest pictures I've seen of U2 has Clayton playing a Fireglo Rick!
That was years ago, and I haven't seen it since.
I think he played a Jazz too.
Now days I can't get past God, I mean Bono!
That guy bugs me!

Yeah Clayton didn't play Fenders in his early days, he played some wierd bass, I forgot the brand.

I think the pickups have more to do with an electric basses' sound than anything else.

IIRC, Adam Clayton used an Ibanez MC924 Musician for a long while at the beginning of their run. I remember GAS'ing for one after I saw their "Gloria" video all those EONS ago!

I have a 5 string p-bass with a maple body and an oil finished rosewood fretboard and 1/4 pound seymour duncan pj pickups on it ... it is pretty and sounds wonderful ... it has a kind of ric like growl to it ...

here's some info from the Warmoth web site on body woods ...

http://www.warmoth.com/bass/options/options_bodywoods.cfm

Ibanez, I knew it was some kind of wierd bass, haha!

I always thought songs like "Where the Streets Have No Name","In the Name of Love", and "Sunday Bloody Sunday" sounded very p bass-like. He even said in an interview that even his Aurswerld "banana bass" had a tone that supports his old p bass' tone.

As for pickups defining tone, IMO I agree it is a vital part of the formula, but I truly believe it all starts from the wood.
Sure, you can change pickups, but it might be a band aid fix to a bass' acoustic tone that you don't like,(I've been there) which is where the original tone comes from.

Lots of things affect tone...wood, PU placement and the actual PU(s) themselves. IMO that's the order of their importance, but I'm sure opinions vary.

Whew! Thought I was about to get thrown overboard.

Nah! Disagreements on internet forums should never be taken too seriously.

In most cases, I think pickups affect the tone more than anything else. But there are all kinds of factors, including how distictively different the pickup sounds.

"here's some info from the Warmoth web site on body woods ..."

Wow, that wenge body looks great. I'm glad I chose that kind of wood for my custom.

there is a lot that goes into bass tone ... pickups, setup, finish, wiring, wood, bridge, nut, frets, body mass, strings, ... and of course amplification and effects and playing style ...