Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Tony, I don't remember. I had both the C64, and C64S at one time. Mr. Al Rubio, bought the S, and the C64 is in Italy somewhere.
I hope to have another S model someday. I loved the neck, and satin finish on it.


I love the Blues and old Motown stuff.
Pick up Johnny Winter Live in NYC '97 for some hard rockin Blues!

The Beatles made me a bass player and I taught myself to play by listening to McCartney, Stones, etc. However, one of the best things about growing up in the '60s was the great variety of music that was on Top 40. Within two years I knew just about every style, and during high school my band was strictly soul oriented. Of course I learned all the prog rock stuff too and still love it. When I play now, it's curious mix of all styles that almost everyone comments on. I guess it's the diversity of my influences. About the only thing I don't play well is jazz, and that's because I've never been in that type of band. If you want to hear some modern laid-back funk, listen to Freddie Washington on Donald Fagan's new CD, "Morph the Cat."

Cool, lot's of funk on "Brite Nightgown".

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000E5N62U/qid=1144256950/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/102-8476946-2310522?s=music&v=glance&n=5174

I'll Take You There was recorded in 1972, so roundwounds were available at that time. However, the recording does sound like flats.

Dave, that is one thing that I think a lot of musicians today are lacking, the mix of different genres. I loved listening to the radio growing up, with Stevie Wonder, The Stones, Sabbath, Soul, and everything else ON THE SAME STATION! Now everything is so compartmentalised and pre-programmed that you don't get that kind of variety.

In 1972, Rotosounds were just starting to crack the market here (Pittsburgh) thanks to Chris Squire. Maybe the studio guys had them sooner, but I think they would have been reluctant to change because the flats just sounded so good and had been the "hit" sound for 20+ years. I remember paying $13 a set for Swing Bass 66s. At the time, I was one of the only players in Pittsburgh that I knew of who used them. Pittsburgh has always been a soul and blues town and flats stayed in vogue for a long time. I know heads turned the first time I played my 4001 with Rotos using a pick. I've come full circle now -- back to using Thomastik Infeld Jazz Flats, which I love. I still like the sound of rounds, and in about a month I'll have a new Lakland, so I can have one with flats, one with rounds. As for variety on the radio, we're lucky to have an independent public radio station in Pittsburgh -- WYEP-FM -- where you can here the same kind of diverse mix of styles from today's bands. You can still hear all the stuff I grew up on -- ad infinitum -- on three or four commercial stations in town.

I haven't read this whole thread but to me MIM Fenders are junk especially the pickups, parts and set up, they are just cheap Fenders no way around it, only thing is that the finishes are sometimes better as they can pollute the air in Mexico all they want. I agree that Japanese Fenders are pretty good but they're still cheap Fenders. A,B and C necks refer to the width and shape. All the old Jazzes had A necks, they are the thinnest and my favorite. Most old P basses had C necks, very wide. I think the old Fenders for the most part kill the new ones, if you want a good Fender bite the bullet and buy a 50's or 60's bass. 99.9% of anything you hear from 60's records, especially the top 40 pop hits were done with a Fender bass and flatwounds, many used picks also. David Hood also once answered an inquiry of mine very quickly, I too was surprised. Old P basses sound better to me than the old J basses and were the studio standard back in the 60's although both are very nice sounding and playing basses. P basses have more body and punch but can sometimes sound muddy in a live situation. My favorite Fender bass was a 68 P bass body with a 66 J neck.

Bob, I'd love to have a vintage Fender also, but at the prices these things are getting, it ain't gonna happen. I am very happy with my '97 5-string Jazz, it sounds like a Jazz should! I've had some others that were junk, but this one is my favorite of all of them.

I should be getting Marc Seligman's Geddy sometime next week... it's my first J-Bass (or real Fender, for that matter) so I'll be sure to fully report when it comes!

Bob:

You make a good point, vintage seems to be the way many players like to go.

BUT, what is confusing to me being new to Fender, is just taking a moment to look at Ebay. It is amazing how many FAKE Fender parts there are!

You can even purchase a "vintage" FENDER decal, slap it on a $79.00 neck, coupled with a REISSUE body that has been sanded to look like a relic, and pass it off as "VINTAGE". I don't have the guts to venture into the world of $3000.00 and up used basses not knowing what I'm getting into.

I thought I'd give this inexpensive bass a try just to get a "feel" for a Jazz bass. It has a thin neck, so that is a great selling point for me. I'd imagine I could pick up a "classic" set of pickups and pop them for giggles and see what it can do.

There aren't any shops in my area where I can even go and try a vintage bass out. The only way I can do this, as I have done with my Rickenbacker's, is to buy and try, and what I don't like, let it fly!

I highly urge anyone who likes the vintage Fender style and sound to check out a Lakland Skyline Bob Glaub P bass. They sell for well under $1000 and are modeled after Bob's 1960 P bass. Lakland also just introduced a Skyline Duck Dunn model, which has a Jazz style neck. If you have never played a Lakland, at least try one. The USA-made basses have almost the same specs as the Korean-made Skyline series and you absolutely can't beat the bang for the buck on the Skylines. I got back into playing bass with a Skyline 5 string and liked it so much that I bought the USA-made model and have a Skyline Glaub with Dark Star pickup coming this month. Great basses (although I still miss my '72 4001).

Yes it's very easy to get ripped off nowadays, I don't think I would go spending 5 grand on a pre CBS Fender bass from Texas unless I was absolutely sure it was real, and then how do you know how it sounds and plays because not all of them are as wonderful as people would have you believe. I'm thinking of getting one within the next year or two and haven't decided how to go about it to tell you the truth. I've even thought of having their custom shop make me a bass based on their 64-65 models except with an A neck. I'll tell you though when you get a good one they feel and sound great. The bass I mentioned before, the 68 P with the 66 J neck was my main player for almost 20 years and then I sold it like an idiot. It wasn't pre-CBS but was still a nice bass.
Those stack pot J basses were only made for two or three years and go for a fortune thanks to Jaco. Joe Osborn the famous 60's session player owns the first J bass ever made, it was made in 1960 and was a prototype that they made for him to road test and he wouldn't give it back and still has it, it was on many many 60's hits.

Tony if you are going to try a Fender for the first time I would at least try an american one, they feel and sound better, the MIM might turn you off to what can be really nice basses, I realize some people like them but from the ones I've tried in the stores the Americans have been much better quality both in sound and playability.

Sorry -- the Lakland Glaub is modeled after his 1964 P bass, not a 1960 P bass. One more thought -- many of the older Fenders have the dreaded "dead spot" around the 5th fret, mostly on the G string. My '59 P bass did, and because I played it exclusively for the first seven years of my career, to this day I usually play A, B & C on the D string (I also like the timbre better on that string). Newer Fenders and all Laklands don't have this problem. Lakland also makes a Joe Osborne model J bass. I've also heard good things about the Ken Smith Designs J bass models, which came out last year.

Yup mine had them too and most I've played had dead spots. The new ones aren't as bad. I think I avoid that area also now that you mention it. The notes don't ring out low on the G on many basses, notes sound fatter played up on the neck anywhere actually.