Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Oval tuners on that Jazz? What year?

It just turn 40 last month.

Those are both absolutely gorgeous. In my opinion, you have, right there, the best possible finishes for those respective basses. Not to mention that the figuring is quite nice on the v63.

I have to say that the P-Bass Special California I picked a couple weeks ago really sounds and plays superb. With just the P pickup it sounds good but add that J pickup in the bridge position and it is awesome really. In the end though it will never replace any of my Ricks.

I used a 1974 Jazz with the maple/pearl block neck.

It blew all the Rics away I've had - except the 72'.

The Cheyenne was a bass I was really disappointed with, it sounded characterless, no matter what I tried. If only it could of sounded how it looked, hence I ditched it.

You cannot beat a Fender Jazz... no matter how much you like Rics. They'll get you through anything.

i tried a couple of j-basses a few days ago in a musical intrument store...they sounded really cool... but they don't have the variety/range of sounds that a rickenbacker has...which plays better in terms of neck and action
For sure it's easier for a sound engineer to set up a fender than a rickenbacker just because a rick can significally change sound just switching between pickups..that's why many engineers hate us

they sounded really cool... but they don't have the variety/range of sounds that a rickenbacker has

I'll disagree there. - Are you serious....? Cause it's the Jazz which is renowned for being able to do *anything*...

Rics are amazing basses, don't get me wrong - I love them - but they can't do *everything*. Somehow a Jazz can. It has the ability to flip between moody blues, full of low end, to bright, raspy, growly rock. I just didn't find this in a Rick.

I've been thinking about getting an old 60's beat but sweet Jazz.

A great Jazz sound comes from Wilbur Bascombe, "Jeff Beck - Led Boots" - Probably my fave Jazz sound ever.

I'd love to hear a couple of sound clips of your RM, too, Wints! That'd be super.

The jazz is extremely versatile....you can play any kind of music, I agree with you, Mark
I just wanted to say that in my opinion the rickenbacker appears to have a growl and a (maybe) deep lows that a jazz does not have.
I was looking for a nice combo amp to buy (ampeg 115) and they had a couple of jazz basses available in the sound room. I tried them with opened tone control and they did not reach the rickenbacker growl I am used to hear. That was my personal experience. I wasn't talk about versatility of sound....the fender is probably one of the best in the world concerning versatility. Otherwise most of players in the world would not use them

of course an hour spent playing in a studio room cannot be enough to find out any type of sound that an instrument is able to produce

Yes, very true.

A bit strange that Geddy Lee resorted back to his Jazz's, though...

He claimed he could get all he could from his 4001 and more, also they were better touring basses, but that's a completely different argument.

Thanks Bobcat!

The Jazz worked great for me for 15 years, but the Rick just seems to suit me better now. Maybe it's the style of music I'm playing now.
I'm not as familiar with the Rick yet though. The Jazz feels like a nicely broken-in pair of jeans! The neck is so juicy, and the action is every bit as good as the Rick (up to about the 12th).

So Wints, you're looking for a '60's Jazz? You must have some nice Ricky trade bait laying around!
Maybe we'll talk sometime!;)

"A great Jazz sound comes from Wilbur Bascombe, "Jeff Beck - Led Boots" - Probably my fave Jazz sound ever."

I thought Bascomb played a P-Bass? At least in all the photos I ever saw of him he had a P. I saw one with a P with an added J bridge pickup. It sounds like a P to me.

Wired is one of my all time faves!