Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Took this one of the ol' workhorse over the weekend, hanging out in the backyard.

I think I would just dig into that one and call it a day!

Hey Ron, what's the back look like?

PS. it must be nice living next to Penny Lane!

Kevin

Yeah, I think you're right, I'm always happy to switch from the Hofner to that one.
The back is Mapleglo, the bass was originally MG so when I decided to paint it MMT I had to paint it FG first but didn't bother with the neck or the back. It was all done with Krylon spray cans.
Actually when my wife and I got married we lived ON Penny Lane(in Austin,Texas), right behind Bass Emporium.

Didn't have a ceremonial burning when you broke out the "aerosol's", did ya?

No, it was more like a 12-pack of Shiner Bock!

How long did it take you to do the paint job? Looks real nice, much nicer than what Macca did! All you need now is a C64! Ha Ha!

I did it over the course of a drunken evening. Did the body and headstock in FG, let that dry, then did the rest.
If the band ever breaks up(we've been at it since '91), I'm gonna have it professionally refinished white.

Just out of curiosity, how long did it take you to find like-minded musicians? I mean those who didn't think it was a huge offense to be asked to replicate Beatles songs note for note? Many of the guys I play with would be miffed if they couldn't rip off their own solo it, say, "I Saw Her Standing There." After that, did you have trouble getting the clubs, etc. to buy into the idea?

Back to Abbey Road, I think "Something" is Paul's melodic tour de force, but on the Höfner, definitely. Sounds like it again on "She's So Heavy." Kinda woofy in ill-defined compared with the Rick. I often wondered how Paul adjusted from the Höfner (narrow but thick neck, small scale) to the Rick (wider but thin neck, long scale). I find it easier to noodle around on the Höfner to experiment and learn, then transfer that to the Rick for band use.

Thats definitely Paul on She Came in Through the Bathroom Window. George played bass on Golden Slumbers.

Wasn't Paul plugging right into the desk at that point in time? He could have been playing the Höfner exclusively throughout Let It Be and Abbey Road.

Dave, in '91 I had an idea of putting a band together to play Beatles tunes(they were a fave of mine), long before I ever heard of Beatle tribute bands. Three very good friends of mine who I'd been in a band with in the early '80s in Corpus Christi, had all ended up here in Austin. Two were guitarists and one was a keyboard player who was now playing drums. And they were all big Beatle fans too. Perfect. We rehearsed for months before landing our first gig, on the back of a flatbed truck on a cold December morning. We didn't have the "correct" instruments tho' I had a 4003FG and a Vox bass amp. One day the rythym guitarist showed up with a 320 and it was on! I got an Epi Viola bass(soon replaced by the real deal-a Hofner '63 reissue), our lead guitarist got a Casino and our drummer got a '65 Ludwig kit in the correct finish. We still did cheeseball gigs but after a few years we landed a Friday evening happy hour weekly gig in the middle of downtown Austin. That is where the fanbase started. We were wearing matching suits by then but only doing stuff from up to about '66. A couple years of that and we started getting corporate gigs and a few weddings. A fan turned out to be the drummer from the '60s band Bubble Puppy, and wanting to expand into the later Beatle tunes we asked him to join and our original drummer went back to his real instrument, the keyboards. About this time I got the 4001S above. Our lead player left soon after and we got the lead player we have now. He got a Country Gent, a Casino, a Strat which was quickly painted like "Rocky", and a Ric 12-string. Our rythym guitarist got a Casino too. We now played tunes from every Beatle period.
We were rolling, the word was getting out, we appeared on several local radio stations and in 2000 we came in 10th for Best Cover Band in the Austin Music Awards. That was huge, we hadn't even tried. We hired a guitar tech 'cause guitar changes were numerous and slowing down the show. We met some resistance from people who wanted to hire us but thought a whole night of Beatles tunes might be a bit much, so we added a "British Invasion" set. More local gigs, lots of local TV, we got a website, and started getting out of state gigs, a memorable one was playing in Salt Lake City in the arena the Jazz play. HUGE. In '01 we won Best Cover Band and the gigs started coming in, we didn't even have to go after them, they were calling us. We hired a soundman/crew that carted our backline around, set it up, and tore it down at the end of the night and of course did the PA. I haven't lifted my amp in 5 years!
We played the Governor of Texas' Christmas Ball in the Governor's Mansion, and started playing parties for golf Legend Ben Crenshaw. We've won the Music Award every year since '01 and we're hoping again in '06. Last year we even came in 3rd in a music poll in San Antonio, a city over 100 miles away.
I've met many famous people by being in this band, a couple that spring to mind are Dick Clark, and Sandra Bullock. The great guitarist Eric Johnson is a huge fan and always says as much whenever I've run into him.
It's very cool to be driving down the road and seeing cars pass with Eggmen stickers, or being at the grocery store and seeing someone with an Eggmen t-shirt.
Our drummer just retired last month and we've got a great replacement and things are going great.
That's it in a (rather large)nutshell.

Ronn(Nigel)
www.eggmen.com

Ron,

All that is well and fine but this is what really impressed me!

"I haven't lifted my amp in 5 years!"

Man, you've made it!

Really, it must be very cool to be doing what your are. That would be my dream gig!
(Or maybe a Zeppelin tribute, but then I would have to go back to playing my Ja$$ Ba$$, That just wouldn't do!)

Haha, and I remember it being VERY heavy!
It's a blast playing great music, on great basses, to very happy, appreciative fans. But it's also a lot of work disecting the tunes when learning new ones, we're working on "Side Two" of Abbey Road right now, hoping to spring it on the people at the start of the new season in March.
I was in an original-music band up til about 6 months ago, we had just got one of our new songs used in an episode of the TV show "Veronica Mars". Pretty cool, and we were getting great reviews for our new CD from publications all over the world, but at wasn't fair to them 'cause I was so busy with the Eggmen, so I felt I had to quit.
Speaking of Jazz Basses, my wife got me a lefty one for Christmas, looks just like the one my hero Dee Murray played.
Here's what I do for a little fun on the side, we open for the Eggmen every once in a while, when we think the crowd is hip enuff.
http://ouchthetribute.freespaces.com/

I agree about the Hofner on Something, but I've heard a good argument for it being the Rick with mutes on.