Let's rename the 4001C64 the "Gene Schilacci LE"
Just Kidding, now,
Garry
What would YOU do to a Rickenbacker bass...?
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
I'm only into useful options that the average bass player would find helpful:
First, I think a cigarette holder on the back of the headstock would be nice, ala Bill Wyman's Steinberger bass. Since his is a headless design with no place to jam his cigarette between the strings and headstock, he had a cigarette holder glued to the end of the neck, and it's a useful feature that many RIC bass owners could appreciate as well, especially if they are used to jamming their cigarette between the strings and truss rod cover and melting the plastic, then being appalled at the replacement cost and procedure that Mr. Hall insists upon. While Ron Wood plays a concert with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth or stuck between his fingers, Bill is cool and displays proper smoking manners at all times. He is a role model for civilized bass players, and his exemplary stage manner should be adopted by more guitar players who smoke during the gig. I'm sure that RIC is ever mindful of the public image their customers display.
Secondly, for those not into smoking (or wishing to combine their recreational drug habits), an optional swingout beer bottle or whisky shot glass holder that deploys from the lower horn would be a most useful feature. A positive locking device would need to be incorporated into the design, because if the owner decided to play "windmill bass" in an effort to borrow some moves from Pete Townshend and create a unique stage image, the results of accidental deployment could have disastrous effects on his string plucking hand. (Cindalee Hall is an attorney, I hear, and she could well understand the wisdom of a positive locking device on this optional feature. Perhaps a signed and witnessed legal disclaimer form should be required before installation of this feature as well.). Why John Entwistle never had one of these devices installed on his Buzzard Bass, I'll never know.
Thirdly, when RIC bass buyers place an order for their new axes, the company should mail them a dispenser full of tranquilizer pills with sticky pads that they can attach to their current favorite bass. When they think about how long their order has been in, and still no new RIC bass, they just dispense a pill and play on! "Oh, when did I place that order? Hmmmm.........who cares?"
Fourthly, for those who have all the above options installed and make regular use of them, a narrow slot could be machined into the body and a thin white plastic pullout sheet installed in order to write down things that will likely be forgotten during a gig. For instance, the note progression to a new song that the band recently added to the playlist and has not had the time to be so deeply burned into the player's mind as to be an automatic reflex response. Or the phone number of a new groupie the palyer just met that night. Endless possibilities with this feature.
First, I think a cigarette holder on the back of the headstock would be nice, ala Bill Wyman's Steinberger bass. Since his is a headless design with no place to jam his cigarette between the strings and headstock, he had a cigarette holder glued to the end of the neck, and it's a useful feature that many RIC bass owners could appreciate as well, especially if they are used to jamming their cigarette between the strings and truss rod cover and melting the plastic, then being appalled at the replacement cost and procedure that Mr. Hall insists upon. While Ron Wood plays a concert with a cigarette hanging out of his mouth or stuck between his fingers, Bill is cool and displays proper smoking manners at all times. He is a role model for civilized bass players, and his exemplary stage manner should be adopted by more guitar players who smoke during the gig. I'm sure that RIC is ever mindful of the public image their customers display.
Secondly, for those not into smoking (or wishing to combine their recreational drug habits), an optional swingout beer bottle or whisky shot glass holder that deploys from the lower horn would be a most useful feature. A positive locking device would need to be incorporated into the design, because if the owner decided to play "windmill bass" in an effort to borrow some moves from Pete Townshend and create a unique stage image, the results of accidental deployment could have disastrous effects on his string plucking hand. (Cindalee Hall is an attorney, I hear, and she could well understand the wisdom of a positive locking device on this optional feature. Perhaps a signed and witnessed legal disclaimer form should be required before installation of this feature as well.). Why John Entwistle never had one of these devices installed on his Buzzard Bass, I'll never know.
Thirdly, when RIC bass buyers place an order for their new axes, the company should mail them a dispenser full of tranquilizer pills with sticky pads that they can attach to their current favorite bass. When they think about how long their order has been in, and still no new RIC bass, they just dispense a pill and play on! "Oh, when did I place that order? Hmmmm.........who cares?"
Fourthly, for those who have all the above options installed and make regular use of them, a narrow slot could be machined into the body and a thin white plastic pullout sheet installed in order to write down things that will likely be forgotten during a gig. For instance, the note progression to a new song that the band recently added to the playlist and has not had the time to be so deeply burned into the player's mind as to be an automatic reflex response. Or the phone number of a new groupie the palyer just met that night. Endless possibilities with this feature.
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jwr2
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mortivan
Phil, you reminded me of when I use to smoke those cylindrical carcinogens, I played Fenders then, see what nicotine does to your brain! I had a burn mark on every bass I owned from letting the cigarettes burn into the headstock between the E string key and the nut. Oh and how about a cash drawer in the back of the bass like a cash register for all the big bucks we make playing our Rickenbackers every weekend?
Bob, I actually forgot one of the best options for those who have the cigarette holder on the headstock. It would be nice to put a folding cigarette ashtray somewhere down near the control knobs so that a player could tweak tone and flick ashes or put out the smoking butt at the same time for less wasted motion.
I think the cash drawer would probably be converted into a stash drawer by a lot of players if that feature were added.
BTW, that cigarette holder on Bill Wyman's bass was a metal cap from a fountain pen that he glued on with something like quick set epoxy. For the other players in the old Rolling Stones band, attached alligator clips and a rolling paper dispenser would have been more appropriate.
I think the cash drawer would probably be converted into a stash drawer by a lot of players if that feature were added.
BTW, that cigarette holder on Bill Wyman's bass was a metal cap from a fountain pen that he glued on with something like quick set epoxy. For the other players in the old Rolling Stones band, attached alligator clips and a rolling paper dispenser would have been more appropriate.
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jwr2
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jeff_ulmer
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jeff_ulmer
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