Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

There he is!

WELCOME to the forum JIM!

I'm glad you finally got around to joining! Nice to have you "officially" aboard!

My CS has a softer, more refined sound than my V63. The CS is a 1995 and my V63 is a 1988. The V63 definitely has a more aggressive edge to it.

I've heard it said that the V63 is a CS without the cost, but mine are two very different basses.

If I remember correctly, wasn't it stated here on the forum that the EARLY V63's had magnetic HS pickups? That the actual HS's, not the poles, were magnetic?

My 4003's couldn't compare to the others. They were great in their own right, but different.

Again, WELCOME Jim!

Question:
How exactly did Squire Bi-Amp if his bass only had a mono output? Unless I'm missing something.
Second question:
Is it possible to buy the 4003 and replace the pickups with the V63 pickups?
Third question:
If I wanted to get the Squire sound without buying the CS, would I be better off getting a V63 or the new 4003 since the 4003 has the stereo jack and the V63 only has the mono?
I'M CONFUSED.
Luke

Luke, Squire had his bass rewired with a stereo jack.
Sure you can replace your pickups with V-63's, if you can find any.
It would seem that a V-63 would get closer to the tone, but I have read posts where some people get the tone with a 4003. It all depends on your rig and strings I guess.
My CS sounds fatter and beefier than my V-63, but the V is still a great bass. (And replacing the mono jack with stereo is no problem).

Wow- great insight. Thanks for the info!

Thanks, Tony. Take care of that hand!

Seems like a lot of forum guys have a V63 AND a CS. Someday I'd like to join that exclusive club but the ones I have now will have to do.

Luke, I honestly feel that a lot of Squire's sound comes directly from his style of playing and FX. I've been a fan for over 30 years and can get close to his sound, even on my Guild B302, if I set everything up right. That said, playing YES tunes on the V63 just feels better. But the 4003 is just as satisfying in it's own right. "Long ago, Lord Railey said 'All decisions pertaining to sound must come directly to the ear and from it, there can be no appeal!'"
(from F. Alton Everest's audio engineering course).

I wonder why RIC didn't build the CS with a stereo jack? I know that the Squire's RM1999 didn't originally have ROS, but it also wasn't originally white. Since Squire installed and used a stereo set-up for many of those great YES recordings I think it would have made sense for a CS signature bass to come with ROS.

.....and Squire invented Ric-O-Sound!

Jim,
It is true that alot of the CS sound comes from his setup and playing style. I can actually aproximate it on my lowly Ibanez GSR200, if you can believe that. I can get the low end growl and punch but my high end notes sound thin and weak. One more question:
Can you use a stereo jack with only one amp? Or does it always need two? Also, can you get a new V63 from Ric? Or are they all gonna be used?

I don't know what the advantage would be using ROS with one amp, even one with multiple inputs, since the idea was to split the two very different sounding pickups to suitable amps capable of driving each tone independently,Or, better yet, to separate inputs on a recording console to process the signals independently for mixing on the track. I don't play bass in a live band, if I did and used ROS, I would probably send the bridge pickup to a (Carefully eq'd) guitar amp. (Drummer may retaliate with snare double mic'd!)
V63 production stopped around 1999, used ones can be found in FG and MG and are well worth the $2k selling price.

There's nothing to stop you from putting both outputs into one amp, as long as you have a way to combine them. Two inputs on the amp, or a stereo preamp with mono out like the Alembic F-2B. You could put effects on one and leave the other clean, for example. No guarantees what it would sound like though!

Actually, as I think about it more, certainly one of the main advantages of splitting a signal is to put effects on one (effects that might affect the low end), and leaving the other clean so that you can maintain the low frequencies. You don't need Ric-O-Sound to do that though, you can use a splitter box instead. Not exactly the same, but comparable. I do it all the time when I record, and the Alembic F-2B is the perfect complement to the technique.

My doubleneck as well as my soon-to-be-completed 4008 are wired in stereo. I have a Boss ME50 for the guitar or bridge pickup and an ME50B for the bass or neck pickup. I run directly into the effects without pre-amping them which gives me better control over the gain and then run directly to separate pre-amps on my Ampeg PortaBass 800. Although it's technically not "stereo" I achieve the objective I was going for by being able to process each signal discreetly. This so far works great on the doubleneck since I obviously don't want my bass to sound like or have the same effects on my guitar.

Welcome Jim, from another V63 lover!

My two V's sound completely different even though I have the same strings on them. The FG '92 is warm and deep, like a cross between a P-bass and a Rick. The MG '93 is more aggresive, with better sustain.
They weigh exactly the same, so wood density should be the same. The difference must be in the electronics.

I don't wish to be the "feces in the punch bowl" but Squire
did not invent ROS. It was available in 1960 on the 360.
Squire did see the tonal benefit of using it.
Question: Did he discover ROS on his '70 and then convert his 1999?

We know. It is just a running joke around here.

Does anyone have a 4003 with a toaster top neck pickup and if so how does that differ soundwise from the regular pickup in the newer 4003? Sorry for all the questions, just trying to decide if I want to try and wait for a V63 or pick up a new 4003.