What would YOU do to a Rickenbacker bass...?

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 10:32 am

life and a day for Fender pickups and active electronics, or how about a big ol' EBO pickup? Yeah two Gibson mudbuckers, I mean humbuckers

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 10:52 am

Chop off the headstock and make it a headless bass with the tuners back at the bridge ... and put huge fat ugly humbuckers on the sucker ...

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 11:03 am

Jeff,
I think you get the death sentence for that, and banishment from any Ric dealer. Put a bad *** bridge on it! har har!

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 12:02 pm

Hm... A Steinbacker. I mean, a Rickenberger.

banta · Post by **banta** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 12:09 pm

The only serious thing I might consider doing to a Ric that would involve using something other than Ric parts would be replacing a rosewood fretboard with ebony & custom inlays.

The only thing I would do with a Ric copy is either smash it or burn it.

mortivan · Post by **mortivan** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 2:00 pm

While you're at it, go ahead and scallop the fingerboard ...

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 5:49 pm

Brad said: "The only thing I would do with a Ric copy is either smash it or burn it".
LOL, that's it, treat that copy as though it was a F*nd*r!

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 6:24 pm

Rickenberger ... can I get fries with that???

What color is that .. ketchup glo???

ricnvolved · Post by **ricnvolved** » Mon Jul 14, 2003 11:01 pm

Bob Young-- Sorry, but I can't badmouth Gibson EB0 pick-ups. Or even EB-3 pick-ups. I'm the biggest Jack Bruce fan in the world and the farty sound he got playing through those Marshall Majors was auditory bliss to my 14 year old ears. I realize some here at the forum hate that tone with a hellish passion, but that's okay. Jack Bruce's sound & style of playing aren't for everyone. But then, Rickenbackers aren't for everyone either.

Joey Vasco-- If you mean the newer Fender stuff, then I can go along with that. But I still revere the classic vintage instruments, my '66 Precision in 3 tone sunburst among them. To me, the venerable Precision is the most *versatile* bass that's ever been produced, even more than a Ric. (Yep, I said it.)

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 4:39 am

Bill Wyman was my biggest influence but Jack Bruce's tone is the reason I have an EB-0L. You'd be surprised how much definition is possible if you know how. Of course, it's not a Rickenbacker and it's not versatile, but if you want that tone, there's no substitute. Try duplicating that with your battery-powered modern bassses!

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 5:06 am

Jeff I agree with you on both counts, Jack Bruce was a huge influence on me also and I love old P basses, actually I aim for kind of a P bass sound with the flats on 4003's, which I think the 4003's are good at. One of my most coveted basses is an EB-1, I also like EB-3's, and I once owned a 67 EB-2 which I regret selling along with my 68 Candle Apple Red P bass.
I also loved Felix Papallardi's sound and bass playing. Tim Bogart was another one, along with James Jamerson. My main influences were the 60's guys actually. I also love Bill's sound and playing on the early records.
Dave have you ever owned a Framus bass? I asked that in Don's column, and someone answered yes, but I forgot who it was. I just thought of a good idea for a new thread.

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 6:20 am

No, I never owned a Framus. Or a homemade fretless! Wyman's influence on me was in how he defined the role of the bass.

Stop and think about the bass in 50s rock, pretty much tonelessly thumping along in the background. But Wyman is one of an elite handful from the early to mid 1960s who really redefined how bass is played. Not to take anything away from those who became stars slightly later.

Poor Felix! He and Gail Collins had an "open marriage" but when it got too open for her, she shot him to death! Wonder if she's still in prison.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 6:39 am

Yeah, Felix was a great bass player, singer, writer and producer, he had it all. And Bill pulled the frets off of his Framus didn't he? Did he start on upright, I always thought he had because of the fretless and his playing position with the neck pointed almost straight up.

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 3:32 pm

Bob, the Framus Star was fretted. But he had a no-name Japanese bass and all the frets rattled, that's the one he defretted, sawed down, reshaped and fitted with a new pickup. That's the "homemade fretless" he used on most of the early singles. But he toured with the Framus (he may have had more than one) and used the fretless in the studio.

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Tue Jul 15, 2003 5:06 pm

Jeffrey D. Bauguss - yeah, I meant the newer stuff that Fender makes...good for firewood. I wouldn't bash the older Fender models, but I still much prefer a Rick over a Fender.