Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

cassius987 wrote:

rickenbrother wrote:

spongebob wrote:Funny thing is they interview Geddy Lee!

He states how he's not really played it for a long time, how he struggled to get a good sound.....and how they tried it recording 'Snakes & Arrows', but decided it couldn't offer anything that the Jazz couldn't without a lot of hassle!

Hardly a ringing endorsement!

I don't believe everything I ead in those magazines. Sounds more like Geddy is justifying his use of Fender basses. Must go with the territory of endorsement.

I think I can actually hear why a Jazz could be better for Geddy's sound so maybe he really did have issues getting the Ric to work for him in the studio. But I really don't care for his tone! Funny that he's so often associated with Rics.

I seem to recall a thread over at that talking forum that had Geddy's bass tech for many years detailing GL's secret to his Jazz sound. It was odd because he hinted at the sound for months as he was on the road and didn't have the luxury of posting consistently.

And we find out his main "sound" was due to a broken pickup in his Jazz.

I could see where GL might want his sound to be more disfunctional than that of a perfectly functional bass. And that's probably the problem GL had with the Rickenbackers.

They worked.

So, as far as getting a Rickenbacker to work in the studio it is probably more safe to say that he couldn't get a Rickenbacker to break in the studio...

Actually I thought the "secret" was just the spacing of the bridge pickup. But I could be wrong.

I think of Jazz Basses as mostly mids and treble, whereas Rics go a bit deeper into the sonic spectrum, thanks to pickup placement. It makes them a bit harder to tame for the untrained but I think it gives them a lot more potential, too.

/two cents

So, Geddy was untrainable?

I think a lot of people struggle with Rics because of the wider spectrum of the signal, I know it took me some time to dial them in for different tones, whereas with a Fender it's pretty much ready-set-go because they are already "optimized" for a tighter bandwidth because their pickups are closer to the bridge. They almost start at the first harmonic, not the fundamental, for the lowest notes and it's been shown again and again in tests that the first harmonic is where people "localize" the bass track in their mind. But the conclusions I'm putting out there are just my two cents. And I'm not saying anything bad about Geddy, so sorry if I seemed to be doing that. Anyways, I'm sure I've ****** off a few people by now some way or other, so I'll shut up.

cassius987 wrote:

rickenbrother wrote:

spongebob wrote:I think I can actually hear why a Jazz could be better for Geddy's sound so maybe he really did have issues getting the Ric to work for him in the studio. But I really don't care for his tone! Funny that he's so often associated with Rics.

Geddy's #1 during Rush's heyday was a Ric 4001. He's also pretty much the only well known artist to have used a 4080(/12). Even though most of Moving Pictures was recorded with the Jazz, the Ric was still his main live bass for the tour, as well as the following album (Signals) and tour. He was just one of "those guys", along with Squire and McCartney (who also hasn't really used his to any large degree in years) that set so many of us on our path to Ricinfatuation!

cassius987 wrote:Actually I thought the "secret" was just the spacing of the bridge pickup. But I could be wrong.

I think of Jazz Basses as mostly mids and treble, whereas Rics go a bit deeper into the sonic spectrum, thanks to pickup placement. It makes them a bit harder to tame for the untrained but I think it gives them a lot more potential, too.

/two cents

I agree. I love my Gibson stuff, and my GL Jazz Bass is great, but none of them have the low end of my Rics. They ARE harder to tame initially, but once you figure it out, it's worth the effort.

gearhed289 wrote:
I agree. I love my Gibson stuff, and my GL Jazz Bass is great, but none of them have the low end of my Rics. They ARE harder to tame initially, but once you figure it out, it's worth the effort.

I disagree, I agree Rics, have a great low end, however I get a better lower end from my Thunderbird Studio bass and especially out of my SG ressue bass which is also one hell of a tone monster,

getting back to the original idea of the post,i think it is pretty fantastic that the ric occupied the number one spot,not surprising to me,as i have loved "em for decades but just that a general consensus poll came to the same conclusion. YAY,RICKENBACKER!!!

as for Geddy, well he just has to follow what he thinks works best for him,right? (i didn't care for his live tone on the RIO album) i do love a good jazz bass,meself,and out of my current bunch of basses,my frankenjazz is the one that sounds the most like a chris squire sort of tone. i just rather play my 2 ric's more.

Congrats to Rickenbacker for being chosen over the hundreds of different makes and models out there.

I believe every bassist either has a Ric or wants one

marc61 wrote:I believe every bassist either has a Ric or wants one

I was at a MusicMan owner meeting last saturday (out of curiousity for the Bongo) and a lot of them are still in denial phase.

berth wrote:I was at a MusicMan owner meeting last saturday (out of curiousity for the Bongo) and a lot of them are still in denial phase.

Congrats to Rickenbacker! said grinning from ear to ear.....

johnhall wrote:

jps wrote:And, to top it off, Geddy is on the cover holding his Jazz Bass.

I figured that was intentional, so as not to give away number one in the countdown. I thought it was kinda cool, actually, in a smug sort of way!

John. Is there or has there been much of a relationship with RIC and Geddy, like there has with CS? I would be all over a special edition GL bass.

bartyclue wrote:

johnhall wrote:

jps wrote:And, to top it off, Geddy is on the cover holding his Jazz Bass.

I figured that was intentional, so as not to give away number one in the countdown. I thought it was kinda cool, actually, in a smug sort of way!

John. Is there or has there been much of a relationship with RIC and Geddy, like there has with CS? I would be all over a special edition GL bass.

Buy a mid/late 70s 4001, put on a Badass bridge and Schaller M4S tuners, and you're pretty much there! No certificate though....