Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

From what I've read and seen throughout the years, Martin Gordon (Sparks 1974) and Steve Priest (Sweet), for instance, played 4001 basses in a stock configuration.

The first of the English invasion , Pete Quaife of the Kinks.

How about Rick James?

Apparently Rick actually preferred his Stingray...

I don't think Paul Goddard of the Atlanta Rythym Section or Ed Gagliardi of Foreigner made any modifications to their 4001 basses.

Chuck Panozzo from Styx played a stock 4001.

I forgot about Chuck Panozzo, he went on to use Alembic after using the 4001.

Later he settled on Sadowskys.

Loads of stock 4001's back in the 70's, early 80's for ex. The Vapors. I think modding Fenders was a lot more common and a lot easier too, I had a P bass with a Jazz neck for years. Berry Oakley put a Guild Starfire pickup near his neck, that was a common mod back then, putting a neck PU on a P bass, for more bottom. The bass player for CCR put an EBO PU next to his neck on a P bass. When I bought my 68 P bass in 77 it also had an EBO PU near the neck.

And the bass player for "Fusillade" (Boston area, mid '70s) used a stock '72 MG except for a poor refinish.

;^)

Amy Humphrey of Clatter. She jams on it as well.

I think modding Fenders was a lot more common and a lot easier too, I had a P bass with a Jazz neck for years.

I modded my '76 Fender Precision with DiMarzio pickups and a BassAss II bridge to make it sound good. When Chuck Panozzo switched from Fender to Rickenbacker, I remember him saying that he switched to the Rickenbacker so he could be heard.

Yeah, he had a pretty good sound too although he was usually buried in the mix, I don't know if it was the bass or the producer, haha!

A lot of sound guys (and presumably producers) seem to think bass should be felt, but not heard.

Let's turn up the mids & treble and make them deaf, then we can play what we want!

"A lot of sound guys (and presumably producers) seem to think bass should be felt, but not heard."

These people are obviously not bassists. If you want it to be felt, not heard, buy a kickdrum and just play that.