Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

JakeK wrote: If I bought one, could I learn bass on it?

Well, I highly doubt that you'd buy one and learn oboe on it.

I don't think the weight is the issue because he plays Les Paul guitars, which are as heavy as a Rickenbacker bass.

I saw a picture of his bass cabnets from the Citi Field concert, and he was using 4 of them. Three of them had only one speaker, and one of them had three speakers. What size do you think they were? I'm gona guess the single speaker cabnets were 18", and the cabnet with three speakers was a 15" and two 10" speakers. Does that sound possible?

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/19/arts/ ... rtney.html

Could be. 18s can really put out some serious low end and the smaller speakers might be there to give it a bit more definition. I don't think I've ever owned any bass speakers that would really "saturate" the area the way my old 18" Sunn cabinets could. They were genuine earth-movers and even speakers like JBL E-140s and modern Eminence 15s just don't come close, especially outside. Yes, he also uses a Les Paul, but if you get old enough and play bass for most of a whole evening while moving around like he does, trust me, weight is an issue. Combine that with the fact that the Hofner sounds pretty good and it's what the general public expects him to be playing and it's kind of a no-brainer. He's also one of those people who can play entire songs while concentrating on doing the lead vocal without seeming to need to pay any attention to his hands while they crank out a very solid bass line. That's not easy to do and being very familiar with the bass and its scale length probably helps. Now if he happens to come out wearing a walrus suit, that's a different story and the Hofner just wouldn't be acceptable.

Jake, there is no reason you couldn't learn to play bass on a Hofner (or any one of a number of good basses for that matter, including a Rickenbacker). It's mostly a matter of whether you have the bass player gene or not. Some folks got it, some folks don't. I'm kidding, but only to a certain point. Most good bass players seem to have a natural feel for the groove and the timing, which I suspect is very hard to learn. A beat is actually a very long time. If you're going to play a note on that beat, there are several ways and places to do it. It can be elegantly done and drive the tune, or it can be kind of lacluster and just follow along with everybody else in the band. I've known some really excellent guitar teachers who would occasionally do double-duty and teach some bass lessons. They knew the theory and the scales like the back of their hand, but if you put them on stage with a band, they would sound like **** because they didn't really have a feel for the instrument. The only way to find out whether you can be a good bass player is to try it and see where it leads. As far as your amp goes, it can be hard on the speakers of most guitar amps at anything higher than bedroom volume, so it would be better to pick up a cheap little bass amp to preserve your guitar amp for what it's made to do best.

I've read him mention that weight is definitely a factor, as well as that he feels that his Hofner has the ideal tone. I don't think you'll see him play his Les Paul for very long at a spell onstage.

What I enjoyed so much about this interview with McCartney is the humour that surfaced from Paul. To grow up in Liverpool in the 1960s, at least from a distant look, required tremendous coping skills to be successful. The Beatles certainly embraced humour and a strong sense of determination throughtout their tenure on top of the charts. To see it nearly 50 years later in Paul was refreshing.

The guy's closer to 70 than 60, but you sure wouldn't know it from this performance.

Giants still walk the earth.

sloop_john_b wrote:

JakeK wrote: If I bought one, could I learn bass on it?

Well, I highly doubt that you'd buy one and learn oboe on it.

Bassoon maybe?

woodyng wrote:i wonder if he still has flatwounds on his hofner....

Paul is using Pyramids flats on his bass (at the Halifax concert, I was close enough to see the green silks!)

Never tried Pyramids. I'll have to do a Pyramid vs. TI Jazz vs. La Bella Deep Talkin' Bass comparison. Right now I lean toward the La Bellas. Problem is, my basses sound so different that it's hard to tell. So, I usually end up just choosing a string for each bass.

fireglo wrote:I saw a picture of his bass cabnets from the Citi Field concert, and he was using 4 of them. Three of them had only one speaker, and one of them had three speakers. What size do you think they were? I'm gona guess the single speaker cabnets were 18", and the cabnet with three speakers was a 15" and two 10" speakers. Does that sound possible?

IIRC, the two Mesa/Boogie cabs that Paul uses are Diesel Series cabs in 2x15 and 1x15+1x10+2x6 configurations. They appear to be four separate cabs, because of the way the metal grills were styled for these boxes. I am also under the impression that he only uses both cabs when he plays the really large venues. When it's a more modest stage plot, the "1516" is the only one employed.

Here's a pic I found where you can see the grill config that makes it looks like two separate cabs.