a bit more JJ Burnel than JJamerson - and 9 times out of 10 that's the way I'm headed too!
My first P bass influence as a very young teenager was JJ Burnel. Motown/Stax it ain't!
His bass tone was and still is a monster. 60's P, Rosewood board, Roto's and a pick? No problem!
LOVE JJ's sound,I could also say the same about John Wetton's Pbass tone on King Crimson's RED. Mostly i find p basses pretty uncomfortable to pl ay,but maybe i just have not met the right one yet. I got to play a friend's '63 P recently,and while i was knocked out by the sheer aural presence of the thing,i sure didn't like the neck feel or the action on it. I agree that a 4004 would get you closer to a precison tone,especially if you put some non-clangy flatwounds on it. I just put my old Maxima flats on my 4004c after a band mate mentioned my "bright" sound as a sort of non-compliment ( ). That's about as far as i would ever concede. If someone in a band said i needed to play a different bass,i would have said "No,you need a different bass player".....i have 4 Ricks now that each get a Very different sound. One of them is bound to work for whatever sound you want,even if it's just dull,thumpy. (That's where the tone rolloff come in...)
And don't get me started on bands hung up on a certain look......
Re: It's really hard to like Rickenbackers...
Posted: Fri Feb 20, 2015 7:45 pm
by Captain Bob
You guys would bring up The Stranglers.....same band live (warning....board recordings) - 1979 Played with a 4001 and on 'London' and 'Hanging' thru a Maestro Brassmaster. My only pedal at the time.
Funny thing Chris Squire mentions in his interview on meeting Jimi Hendrix is that Yes was playing Motown covers at the time. And he was playing them with his Rick and fresh rotos
Re: It's really hard to like Rickenbackers...
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 8:29 am
by Ashgray
I too have played Motown & other R&B classics on my Ricks without adverse comment from anyone in my band (or audience, that I'm aware of). Neck pup selected, tone rolled off, and there's plenty of meat to the sound, particularly with my 4002. Whether or not it would satisfy the purists is another matter though...
Ash
Re: It's really hard to like Rickenbackers...
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 12:21 pm
by jps
Purists should poke their eyes out and then see if they can hear the differences enough ...
Re: It's really hard to like Rickenbackers...
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 12:31 pm
by Ashgray
I've often noticed that some "purists" will say "...but in my day, we'd have had to" / "been expected to" etc...
TBH, at 57 years of age, I can't give a toss for that argument anymore - their day is now my day, in a sense. I know the material that I'm asked to play well enough to know what's expected of me as a bass player, both tonally and stylistically. If someone doesn't like the shape of the instrument I choose to play or the name on the headstock, that's their problem, not mine.
Ash
Re: It's really hard to like Rickenbackers...
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 2:28 pm
by 59jazz
I'm a P bass, Music Man, Lakland, flatwound user and have been for years. I play americana, blues and folk rock, my main gig is contemporary praise music. The 5 bassists at my church (myself included) all use active 5 strings, so when I told my musical comrades I was purchasing a RIC 4003, I got the "your Lakland works best in the mix" and "you're not the Rickenbacker type". True, I'm no Chris Squire or Geddy Lee, but Randy Meisner played a 4001 and that's who I prefer to listen to. My other basses sounded great through church's large sound system, but occasionally my signal would get washed out in the mix. Armed with my new MG 4003 equipped with a Wilder vintage harness and Dunlop Bright Nickels, the opinions have changed. So as of now, this one is my "go to" bass.
Re: It's really hard to like Rickenbackers...
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 2:57 pm
by cassius987
I had a similar experience. I was already a heavily gigging bassist rotating between a USA Jazz and a 90s EBMM SRay when I ordered my first Ric in the quest for tone. There was no question that it was an improvement as far as my bandmates or I were concerned, the gig at the time being a blues-rock three piece. I started doing jazz combos shortly after and the deep Ric tone fit in very well there too (coming from a 4003FL). The common theme I've found to Ric tone is not the famous high end (Jazz Basses and really anything else will do that just as good as far as my ears can tell) but the deep, rather insistent bottom end. It's not dominated by low mids like the P Bass, nor is it scooped like the Jazz, but there seems to be an irrepressible low end thump. Maybe it's just something about how I play plus the Rickenbacker tone, but that's what I've noticed.
I've since had brief affairs with Fenders (and Fender copies), a Hofner copy, a Dingwall Combustion and more EBMM basses but for various reasons I keep going back to the Ric. While tone is one good reason, I think the biggest is actually the feel of the neck and the ergonomics of the thin body. Also, every band I bring a different bass to quickly begs to have the Ric back for the tone. And the funny thing is, I'm no Ric snob. I'd just as soon get along with a Jazz if I could. It's just not in the cards I guess.
Re: It's really hard to like Rickenbackers...
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 2:58 pm
by jps
59jazz wrote:I play americana, blues and folk rock, my main gig is contemporary praise music....my new MG 4003 equipped with a Wilder vintage harness and Dunlop Bright Nickels...is my "go to" bass.
Re: It's really hard to like Rickenbackers...
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 3:32 pm
by henry5
wints wrote:
a bit more JJ Burnel than JJamerson - and 9 times out of 10 that's the way I'm headed too!
My first P bass influence as a very young teenager was JJ Burnel. Motown/Stax it ain't!
His bass tone was and still is a monster. 60's P, Rosewood board, Roto's and a pick? No problem!
He's a beast isn't he? One of my biggest earliest influences too. Black & White is still one of favourite albums.
Re: It's really hard to like Rickenbackers...
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 5:29 pm
by rickboy88
jps wrote:
59jazz wrote:I play americana, blues and folk rock, my main gig is contemporary praise music....my new MG 4003 equipped with a Wilder vintage harness and Dunlop Bright Nickels...is my "go to" bass.
I like that video! I hadn't seen an old Ric in a Roy O. video before.
Re: It's really hard to like Rickenbackers...
Posted: Sat Feb 21, 2015 6:27 pm
by Captain Bob
wints wrote:
a bit more JJ Burnel than JJamerson - and 9 times out of 10 that's the way I'm headed too!
My first P bass influence as a very young teenager was JJ Burnel. Motown/Stax it ain't!
His bass tone was and still is a monster. 60's P, Rosewood board, Roto's and a pick? No problem!
I always used a Jazz Bass for the main part of the soul set in the
eight piece soul band I had.
I brought out the 4001CS or the FGV63 for Stevie Wonders "Uptight" on the encore section.
Eventually it was easy to just take one bass no effects and the Ampeg and set up as quickly as the brass section.
There is an image issue if you are booking gigs for a Stax Motown Atlantic and Northern Soul
band and its not so much the anti Rick tone brigade as the overall look of the act so its not all about the sound you produce.
If the rest of the guys are playing Ibanez 7 strings and Explorers and Roland VDrums etc. then you might have an issue.
If you have a Fender I would get the P bass setup as good as you can for that gig and go for it.
And dont forget to rip out a big chunk of foam padding from your SM58 mic case for the bridge!
Re: It's really hard to like Rickenbackers...
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 11:39 am
by wings012345
This always gets me. Playing thru an Decent Bass amp, Any Bass can sound like any bass. If you have a decent amp that has a DI out that captures both your BASS and Amp sound combined is what your going for. Amp is just as much involved in shaping the Total sound of what the end result is.
Re: It's really hard to like Rickenbackers...
Posted: Sun Feb 22, 2015 12:34 pm
by wints
henry5 wrote:
wints wrote:
a bit more JJ Burnel than JJamerson - and 9 times out of 10 that's the way I'm headed too!
My first P bass influence as a very young teenager was JJ Burnel. Motown/Stax it ain't!
His bass tone was and still is a monster. 60's P, Rosewood board, Roto's and a pick? No problem!
He's a beast isn't he? One of my biggest earliest influences too. Black & White is still one of favourite albums.
Shaun...Actually, by time he gets to B&W he's gone to the black P bass, and it's just the same as the green one for me. Rattus is the defining sound for me.
There's so much scope for an all round sound today from various basses/amps, it does become almost a visual issue rather than a sonic one in many ways. Saying that, if your looking to reproduce a specific sound then going back to the original just makes the most sense for most...and that's probably the way it's always going to be.
Mostly i find p basses pretty uncomfortable to pl ay,but maybe i just have not met the right one yet. I got to play a friend's '63 P recently,and while i was knocked out by the sheer aural presence of the thing,i sure didn't like the neck feel or the action on it. I agree that a 4004 would get you closer to a precison tone,especially if you put some non-clangy flatwounds on it. I just put my old Maxima flats on my 4004c after a band mate mentioned my "bright" sound as a sort of non-compliment ( 
). That's about as far as i would ever concede. If someone in a band said i needed to play a different bass,i would have said "No,you need a different bass player".....i have 4 Ricks now that each get a Very different sound. One of them is bound to work for whatever sound you want,even if it's just dull,thumpy. (That's where the tone rolloff come in...) 
