Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Yeah, a few I forgot:

Jack Casady
John Wetton
Andy Frasier

Bruce Thomas on This Year's Model, Armed Forces and Get Happy!

Roy Wood on The Move's Message From The Country LP.

Chris Squire on "America"; Dave Meros on Spock's Beard's TKOS (or any of them, really); John Wetton on any King Crimson stuff; The Ox on "Live at Leeds"; Colin Moulding on XTC's "Nonesuch"; +1 on Pete Farndon and the Smiths; JPJ on "Houses of the Holy".

First thing I thought of was "Let Me Roll It", which is probably McCartney on his Jazz. However, on "Wings Over America", he plays it on his Rickenbacker.

Crazy On You was Steve Fossen on a late 50's maple neck Precision bass. Dave Hope got a similar tone with Kansas on Song For America. I believe Tiran Porter was using a pre CBS rosewood board P bass as well on Taking It To The Streets. He did play that Rickenbacker on the earlier stuff like Jesus Is Just Alright. You can really tell on that little riff he does before the lead.

As far as favorite tones I'd have to go with Paul Goddard on Spooky and I love Chris Squiers tone on Our Song and Going For The One.

Sorry about the typo on Squire's name. Fumble fingers!

Deep Purple's Pictures of Home - Roger Glover on a '72 Ric with Roto's, and the Beach Boys' Good Vibrations - Carol Kaye on a Fender Precision w/Fender flats.

Thanks Bob! I was always curious about what basses were used on those songs. Now I know the rest of the story...

Chris Squire- just about anything that he used his Rick on, but my very favorite bass tone of all time is on the YES version of the song "America".
The same goes for Geddy and Macca with their Ricks.
Ed Gagliardi, Roger Glover and Glenn Hughes has great Rick tones also.
Fred Turner of BTO, the intro to "Flat Broke Love" has a very cool tone. (might be his F*nd*r Jazz Bass).
For a F*nd*r, John Paul Jones' tone is very cool on "The Lemon Song".

I don't think the bass on "Taking It To The Streets" sounds like a Rick, More like a Fender played with a pick.
One song that I occasionally hear on the radio, "For Your Love" by Gino Vanelli, sounds very much like a 4001 with flatwound strings played with a pick, a very cool tone.

I want to add any and all Smithereens songs.

I'm surprised no one's mentioned him before: James Jamerson; who played on just about every important Motown record ever released and will probably be remembered as THE greatest electric bass player of the 20th century. Had a great sound on his Fender P with flatwound strings.
I like the upright sound on Good vibrations also, I think the bass on that song is predominantly upright with the electric doubling it in places.

Lyle Ritz played upright on Good Vibrations, but Carol didn't double it, they had different parts.

Ilan, Roger Glover's Ric is a '71.

Ilan, The two bass setup was likely the same people for "These Boots..." by Nancy Sinatra. Carol was on National Public Radio a year or two ago and told the story of the big double bass and electric bass on that song. They wanted her to have a hard pick sound to contrast with the string bass. I think she pulled it off pretty well. It was likely that same fellow on the double bass, but I'm not positive.