Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Don't be bitter, Dan. I didn't respond that way, anyways... And there are several other players people are chiming in about.

Ultimately (I hope) none of us would play Rics if we didn't like them on our own. It's the fact that these players GUIDED US to them that is neat. I would have never looked them up if not for Paul d'Amour, but now I am very glad I did.

Tarrbot wrote:I was wondering this last night myself about why people picked a Rick over something else here.

Let me be clear that no one should buy a Ric because anyone else did but famous players are a marker on the map to look somewhere for a clue. If your favorite player plays a Ric, it's a clue that you should try one to see if you like it too--but it doesn't mean you necessarily will. That's not the message of this thread.

For me the answer to the question hands down is Sir Paul.

Squire for me...

I can still remember where I was when "Yours Is No Disgrace" first came grinding out in loud stereo, and I was all ears...

Joshua states:

Let me be clear that no one should buy a Ric because anyone else did but famous players are a marker on the map to look somewhere for a clue. If your favorite player plays a Ric, it's a clue that you should try one to see if you like it too--but it doesn't mean you necessarily will. That's not the message of this thread.

I agree with your statement. What I was trying to say is that as much as people talk about x person or y person here, that I had wondered why they chose a Ric over another brand.

Your thread takes it one step further by asking what celebrity bassist (that played a Ric) influenced the buying process.

I didn't know much about Rics then or who played them. It was happenstance that I ended up walking into the shop that day and seeing that 4001 sitting there and playing it.

After that, there was no question about my preference. So much so that I will hardly look at another bass that's deemed "high-end" because if I were to spend money on that, it would be money taken away from spending on a Ric, which is why I have some "inferior" basses that I play as well. I can't ever justify taking money from the Ric fund. GGMR (Gotta Get More Rics).

I hope that doesn't imply that I'm some elitist snob that knew better just because or something. I just loved the feel and sound I was getting.

That may be partially due to the basses I had played in the past. Some Fender copy that I borrowed when I was 13 and then my first bass... a really craptacular BC Rich Warlock that I ripped the frets out of later in its life.

Cliff Burton was my main inspiration to get a Ric, in fact, he inspired me to first pick up the bass guitar a few years back, although after hearing Geddy playing his Ric on Passage to Bangkok in July '07, so I'd say it's about 50/50 between 'em both.

This is probably a new one for most of you, but for me, being born and raised in the Eastern Europe, my first biggest influence that made me fall in love with the Rick bass sound and tone was Tamas Mihaly from Hungarian band - Omega.
Of course Yes and Chris Squire will always be my all time favorite with Roger Glover of Deep purple a very close second.

100% Chris Squire....period.

My first and most beloved RIC is my 1995 4001 CS.

But, in actuality, my wife purchased it for me....but ONLY because she knew how much CS influenced me and ONLY because it was a Chris Squire LE model.

The weird thing for me was that Squire was one of the last people I found out played a Ric; I'd been playing at least a couple of years before I discovered he was famous for it (I know, I know...) and I already loved Rics by then. On the basis of that I bought Classic Yes and the rest is history.

FWIW I think I was probably subliminally influenced by my love of the Beatles aged around 8 or so, and my dad's bassist (in my mid teens) using one that looked exactly like the 72 I have now. I voted for Lemmy though, as he was the next thing to God when I started playing and was by far my biggest early influence.

aceonbass wrote:In between Yes' Relayer and Going For the One albums I got hooked on the very melodic playing of Starcastle's Gary Strater. Although he was also obviously influenced by Squire, I think he really took it to the next level. Starcastle's last album released a couple years ago, was proof again of how dynamic and melodic of a player Gary was.

Gary was indeed a great player/innovator. Obviously influenced by Squire, but he added so much of his own soul to the music Starcastle made. And he grew. May he RIP.

Great post, Dane.

Not sure why Les Claypool is listed. While he does own a Ric, he's not associated with them. The only time I've seen him play it is in the Government Mule footage. Rutherford should certainly be there and possibly Mike Mills. Too bad it's limited to 10.

Although it was Pete Agnew (Nazareth) in 1975, it also was indirectly Roger Glover, because he lend his bass (4001 FG, with two slanted J-PUs) to Pete for their Europe tour.

byu wrote:Not sure why Les Claypool is listed. While he does own a Ric, he's not associated with them. The only time I've seen him play it is in the Government Mule footage. Rutherford should certainly be there and possibly Mike Mills. Too bad it's limited to 10.

Really? The only DVD I've ever seen of him has featured a Ric prominently for the whole concert.

i saw les with primus about 8 or so years ago in a small venue in seattle. he played most of the show on some very organic looking basses with which he is closely associated (the name escapes me). it was all thwaketa bump very rhythmic and (to my ears) atonal stuff. they then played an encore,and he was using either a rick or a jazz bass-it was the only time that nite that the bass sounded "musical".....it was a enjoyable show-the place was sold out and all of the compositions were extremely booty shakin to the max,but as music,each song sounded just like the previous one.....

kriz-i had an omega lp years ago,(when i still had lp's) and really liked the band,esp. the bass playing. i suspected maybe a rick bass was involved,but didn't know for sure....