Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

johnallg wrote:The cap blocks the lower frequencies and passes the higher frequencies - combined with the volume pot it forms a cutoff filter.

It also changes how the pickups "talk" to each other and as a result when both are on and the cap is in you hear a lot more mids that are filtered normally.

SquireFan91 wrote: I'm a 20-year old bass guitarist whose dream tone is the sound Chris Squire gets on "Yours Is No Disgrace" from The Yes Album. I also LOVE Geddy Lee's tone on the Hemispheres album, Paul D'Amour's (Tool) tone on the Undertow album, Jon Camp's (Renaissance) tone on the Scheherazade and Other Stories album, and Martin Turner's (Wishbone Ash) tone on the Argus Album. I know that on all of these albums a Rickenbacker 4001 was used, respectively: RM1999, 4001, 4001CS, 4001, and another 4001.

If your dream tone is that of Squire on The Yes Album, you can get there with a new 4003 - the key is the vintage tone cap. Contrary to popular belief, Squire didn't start running his basses in stereo until Fragile, although he probably still used two amps in those pre-PA days. On Yours Is No Disgrace, in particular, you can clearly hear the sound of his Rick with both pickups running. On A Venture you can hear him switch between the pickups and it's quite a distinct difference.

What amp you use is also important. I picked up a little Line 6 Lowdown 75 and my new 4003 throught the Marshall setting is an absolute joy. It's very easy to capture Squire's early sound.

I'm also a big fan of Jon Camp, and he always ran his Rickenbacker in mono. His sound is a classic example of everything on full with the cap engaged. Again, my new 4003 nails it.

Like Squire, Geddy Lee is another player who everyone uses as an example of a Rick-O-Sound user, but again this wasn't always the case. I'm not 100% sure about Hemispheres, but on A Farewell To Kings he's clearly using the bass in mono.

And as for Argus, that's a Gibson Thunderbird, neck pickup only, running to two amps. And agreed, it is one of the greatest bass tones ever. Martin Turner used his Rick on Pilgrimage.

Lorenzo St Dubois wrote:I'm also a big fan of Jon Camp...

He has always been #1 for me.

Welcome, Ben.

jps wrote:

Lorenzo St Dubois wrote:I'm also a big fan of Jon Camp...

He has always been #1 for me.

Welcome, Ben.

Thank you. I got fed up lurking in shadows.

Welcome,Ben! (love the original "producers" movie reference)
I haven't yet gotten to check out any of the new 2 piece slim necked variants coming out,but they sound like they will be really nice. Mid 70's 4001's are not all that hard to find or overly pricey,so that might be a good way to go,too. Especially the ones with the skunk stripe.....

Lorenzo St Dubois wrote:And as for Argus, that's a Gibson Thunderbird, neck pickup only, running to two amps. And agreed, it is one of the greatest bass tones ever. Martin Turner used his Rick on Pilgrimage.

Welcome Ben! When I saw them on the Argus tour in Chicago, he was playing the Rick.... through an Acoustic amp/speaker.

Lorenzo St Dubois wrote:

SquireFan91 wrote: I'm a 20-year old bass guitarist whose dream tone is the sound Chris Squire gets on "Yours Is No Disgrace" from The Yes Album. I also LOVE Geddy Lee's tone on the Hemispheres album, Paul D'Amour's (Tool) tone on the Undertow album, Jon Camp's (Renaissance) tone on the Scheherazade and Other Stories album, and Martin Turner's (Wishbone Ash) tone on the Argus Album. I know that on all of these albums a Rickenbacker 4001 was used, respectively: RM1999, 4001, 4001CS, 4001, and another 4001.

If your dream tone is that of Squire on The Yes Album, you can get there with a new 4003 - the key is the vintage tone cap. Contrary to popular belief, Squire didn't start running his basses in stereo until Fragile, although he probably still used two amps in those pre-PA days. On Yours Is No Disgrace, in particular, you can clearly hear the sound of his Rick with both pickups running. On A Venture you can hear him switch between the pickups and it's quite a distinct difference.

What amp you use is also important. I picked up a little Line 6 Lowdown 75 and my new 4003 throught the Marshall setting is an absolute joy. It's very easy to capture Squire's early sound.

I'm also a big fan of Jon Camp, and he always ran his Rickenbacker in mono. His sound is a classic example of everything on full with the cap engaged. Again, my new 4003 nails it.

Like Squire, Geddy Lee is another player who everyone uses as an example of a Rick-O-Sound user, but again this wasn't always the case. I'm not 100% sure about Hemispheres, but on A Farewell To Kings he's clearly using the bass in mono.

And as for Argus, that's a Gibson Thunderbird, neck pickup only, running to two amps. And agreed, it is one of the greatest bass tones ever. Martin Turner used his Rick on Pilgrimage.

Wow Ben, thanks for the clarification. I knew Squire "invented" Rick-O-Sound, wasn't sure of exactly when. Still need to pick up an amp for in home use, thinking of an Acoustic 2X10" combo (I know another important aspect of his tone was the use of 10" speakers) and I'm looking to trade out my gigging 1X18" cab for a 4X10". The head I use to gig is a GK 400RB. Also didn't know about Jon Camp's use of mono. I'm pretty sure that Hemispheres was done in stereo and that I read some interview or another that the headache of EQing two amps to mesh perfectly eventually got to Geddy, hence the switch to mono and eventually a J-Bass. And again, could be totally wrong, but I thought I read that Argus was recorded with a Rick but typically performed with the T-Bird because Turner preferred the feel of the Gibson, said the Rick neck felt too fragile to be completely comfortable using on stage. However, it is reassuring to hear that the new 4003 will do the job and I won't have to go on some insane and seemingly endless quest to find the right bass.

woodyng wrote:Welcome,Ben! (love the original "producers" movie reference)
I haven't yet gotten to check out any of the new 2 piece slim necked variants coming out,but they sound like they will be really nice. Mid 70's 4001's are not all that hard to find or overly pricey,so that might be a good way to go,too. Especially the ones with the skunk stripe.....

My only fears are of truss rod troubles and finish flaws. And as for the skunk stripe, never was too keen on it myself. But given my druthers, I've always preferred the more stripped down "S" look anyway.

SquireFan91 wrote:I knew Squire "invented" Rick-O-Sound

Not true, sorry.

jps wrote:

SquireFan91 wrote:I knew Squire "invented" Rick-O-Sound

Not true, sorry.

The way I heard it was that he'd had the idea to split his pickups signals completely independent of Rickenbacker and that he was using what would become known as Ric-O-Sound before Rickenbacker developed it on their own as a standard feature on 4001 basses. As I've just learned, it appears I was ill-informed about at least the later.

As I recall, Chris may not have been familiar with ROS and came up with his own way of splitting the pickups to separate outputs, unaware of the official ROS that had been implemented on various instruments, already by the factory, at the time.

That could very well be the case, and my "knowledge" most likely came from somebody who mis-read something written by someone who heard something from someone that knew a guys cousin, who's sister's husband has a buddy that might have made an educated guess about something having to do with Chris Squire's bass.

We all learn somewhere for the first time.

I might have the opportunity to get a 4001 V63 in the near future. So what can anybody tell me about a year 2000 4001 V63? They certainly have the LOOK I prefer, but do they sound right? And perhaps even more importantly, what's the neck like on that year?

SquireFan91 wrote:

Lorenzo St Dubois wrote:

SquireFan91 wrote: I'm a 20-year old bass guitarist whose dream tone is the sound Chris Squire gets on "Yours Is No Disgrace" from The Yes Album. I also LOVE Geddy Lee's tone on the Hemispheres album, Paul D'Amour's (Tool) tone on the Undertow album, Jon Camp's (Renaissance) tone on the Scheherazade and Other Stories album, and Martin Turner's (Wishbone Ash) tone on the Argus Album. I know that on all of these albums a Rickenbacker 4001 was used, respectively: RM1999, 4001, 4001CS, 4001, and another 4001.

If your dream tone is that of Squire on The Yes Album, you can get there with a new 4003 - the key is the vintage tone cap. Contrary to popular belief, Squire didn't start running his basses in stereo until Fragile, although he probably still used two amps in those pre-PA days. On Yours Is No Disgrace, in particular, you can clearly hear the sound of his Rick with both pickups running. On A Venture you can hear him switch between the pickups and it's quite a distinct difference.

What amp you use is also important. I picked up a little Line 6 Lowdown 75 and my new 4003 throught the Marshall setting is an absolute joy. It's very easy to capture Squire's early sound.

I'm also a big fan of Jon Camp, and he always ran his Rickenbacker in mono. His sound is a classic example of everything on full with the cap engaged. Again, my new 4003 nails it.

Like Squire, Geddy Lee is another player who everyone uses as an example of a Rick-O-Sound user, but again this wasn't always the case. I'm not 100% sure about Hemispheres, but on A Farewell To Kings he's clearly using the bass in mono.

And as for Argus, that's a Gibson Thunderbird, neck pickup only, running to two amps. And agreed, it is one of the greatest bass tones ever. Martin Turner used his Rick on Pilgrimage.

And again, could be totally wrong, but I thought I read that Argus was recorded with a Rick but typically performed with the T-Bird because Turner preferred the feel of the Gibson, said the Rick neck felt too fragile to be completely comfortable using on stage. However, it is reassuring to hear that the new 4003 will do the job and I won't have to go on some insane and seemingly endless quest to find the right bass.

A Rick was used on Argus. Martin said so on a recent post on his Facebook page.