Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

My setup: '72 4001 JG, '79 4001 burgundy refin, or '80 4001 Autumglo all with RI horseshoe pickups into one of two 70's SVT's (both with GE6550's) and either one or two 8x10's depending on the club... sometimes I use a homebrew Big Muff or Maestro Brassmaster clone and Dunlop 105Q bass wah.

My bass setup is a 4001 into either an early 80's MTI-made SVT with an SVT-style custom cabinet with 4 10's and 1 15, or into a Sunn 200S or 2000S into a custom 1x15 cabinet with a shelf port.

Guitar setup is a RIC 230 into a Korg reissue AC30 with Celestion Blues, a Sovtek Midget 50H, Mesa Dual Recto, or a number of custom made amps depending on which sound I'm looking for.

I use RIC 4003 basses into an Ampeg V-4B all-tube 100 watt head. Speakers are a 4x10 cab and a 1x15 cab (all Ampeg).

The beauty of the 100w all-tube Ampeg head is that for the typical club gig, I am playing with the gain on about 6 and the master on about 7, which works the amp into a wonderful, warm overdrive. If I need any more volume than that (and believe me, standing in front of that is plenty loud!), we just add some x-tra in the mains mix.

My 660/12 goes into a Mesa/Boogie DC-2 combo.

I Also use 70's Ampeg SVT's with original cabs, also one or two cabs and heads depending on the room and use no effects. My guitar setup is in the store, but I'm partial to old Fender Bandmasters, they have a really clean bright pretty sound which compliments a Ric guitar.
Dean, you must have a new V4B-H (or how ever they designate them) if you have a master volume on yours.

Bob - yes, mine is a reissue V-4bH from 1996. I've been extremely happy with it. I took it in to a knowledgable local luthier for a new set of power tubes last year, and he liked it a lot, although he said it was different than the old ones. I like it a lot and it's the perfect power for the club gigs we do all the time. It is not extremely loud, though, so for bigger gigs we use the mains for more juice. It's got a balanced output jack that works great for that.

I have had a lot of bass players ask me at shows what kind of amp it is. Pushing the tubes as hot as I do really warms up the sound. I haven't seen anyone else using the same head, although I'm sure they're out there. Last time I checked Ampeg's website, they were still in production.

Here's a photo of my rig, taken in our storage space; when we play out, I use the 4x10 on top and the 1x15 on the bottom.

Here is my bass rig, at least the rack.



I match it up with any of several cabinets I have, a custom made 1-10 EV, Traynor YS-15 or SWR Bass Monitor 12. I am thinking of making a 3-10 cabinet in a column configuration.