Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I'm with John.(And welcome to the Forum, by the way!)

We could call his monstrosity.....The V-68!

What do you guys think? Would anyone buy it?!

Definitely! Make mine JG.

Welcome John Fay ... don't you have a signature guitar? ... oh ya ... that is John Kay ....

Welcome.

Sure, I'd get a V68 JG. If it had the shoes though.. hmm.. I'd take em out.

..and I'd buy 'em from 'ya!

I LOVE the 'shoes....and with my playing style, they aren't in the way!!

The compromise...

68 without shoes....


Ignore the poseur....

They are in the way with me. My right hand technique is kinda like Geddy's.



Like that 45% of the time. The shoe's would not be in the way with that half of the playing.

But the other 55% is with a really hard attack above the bridge pickup. So hard I broke an E string once.. hehe. And I destroy my callouses sometimes.



Typical above the pickup playing. I try and play behind the surround sometimes, but the string are too tight there. In front of the surround they are too loose. That bridge pickup is my precise playing sweet spot.

That's still a beautiful bass Wints. (I usually call people by their first names on here, but I like the nick name. )

I used to break strings all of the time, years ago. Mostly from playing Rush tunes. I have since learned to play softer with a much lighter touch.

Andrew, what do you mean "without shoes...."? I see shoes and they're Fireglo!

I don't like playing soft. I smash those string... maybe it was the months of playing without an amp and struggling to hear myself.

Some time I need to play softer. Like Iron Maiden. Those trips with two fingers need to be played soft to you do't tire out. I cheat and use three fingers.

I remember what I was doing when I broke that E. It was on my 5 string Dean edge.. I was playing "Roll the Bones" and the E uncoiled at the bridge. I tried to struggle through the song using the B string but it didn't work and I gave up.

Yes, it is kind of a sinking feeling. The core breaks then the winding gives up slowly. You can hear the pitch drop until the string hits the pole pieces. I broke several D's and G's playing songs like Tom Sawyer and Red Barchetta.

I'm suprised I haven't broken one on "Free Will". I smash the strings HARD on that song.

I tried playing some old Pink Floyd with a pick today. My grandmother sent me a 12 pack of Dunlop gator picks. Well My thumb hurts when
I use a pick. I think it's because I grip them too hard and try to hit the strings as hard as I do with my fingers.

I've been playing Rush since I've been playing bass (about 5 years), and I've ALWAYS hit the strings really hard. As such, I have NEVER broken a string; not nickel rounds, not steel rounds, not flats, not light gauge or medium gauge. The ONLY time a string broke was when I gave my old P-bass (with the stock Fender strings on it . . . I sold that bass to afford my current amp) to a friend, who proceeded to slap on the E-string. The string took a beating for about 10 minutes and then it unraveled from the bridge.

I play "Red Barchetta" all the time really hard, as well as "2112" and "A Farewell to Kings". I guess it's only a matter of time until I break a string . . . unless I'm really lucky.

Strings are MUCH better these days.