Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

when i first started on bass in 2000, i was all fingers as well...but my previous hand injuries didn't do so well with it.

The tone is definitely different with and without a pick, but both are useful.

I am right with Bob, though - I am one hundred times more accurate and precise playing fingerstyle. Probably because I've logged thousands of hours fingerstyle and maybe tens of hours (if that) pickstyle. If the hours were reversed, I'm guessing the comfort level would be, too.

Jim, that's a good suggestion on pick guage. I have always used really heavy Dunlops when I do pick. So does my guitarist, so maybe I will have to scout some thinner ones my next time in a guitar shop.

I use mediums usually when I pick. One pick lasts me a year if I don't lose it first.

I have a .73 nylon Herco that I got in the mid '70s! Still going strong.

haha! Where'd you get it from the guitar player? I remember Hercos when they first came out.

got my first pick right after I got the Deep Purple Machine Head album.

Still can't play with the darn thang...

In my early years of playing I used a pick, and I am prould that I still have that same pick, even though I have gone through many basses!

Anyone here ever use a felt pick? I bought one when I was a kid, never really used it, just thought it looked cool and was told that was what bassists used.

I tried one of those once, Bob, and it was kinda cool, you dont get any pick "attack", but I realized that was part of "my sound" and stopped using it. Would be nice for something a little more muted, though.

Moving back to the "Lemmy" issue for a second, I've got to share this with you. Our lead singer just got back from Thailand and was showing us some video he'd shot whilst there. There was some footage of him and his new wife in a boat, with the outboard running flat out. We both listened, then turned to each other and said "is it me or does that sound like the start of Ace of Spades???" and then fell about laughing. We had to replay it several times, and it really did!!!It got funnier every time....oh, and those in the know are aware I'm a huge fan of the Lemster so I'm not having a go!!!

I guess I'm the other person on the forum still waiting on one of these ...

Ordinarily, I'd never consider buying a bass (or guitar) with gold hardware and top carving like that, so I guess I fall into the fan/sucker category. (Although I'm more of a Hawkwind fan than Motorhead fan - the funny thing is that Hawkwind's current bassist is a shameless Lemmy wannabe who even sets up his microphone too high so he can look like Lemmy when he sings! At least he can unquestionably play like Lemmy.)

Having humbuckers on the bass is no surprise, since he frequently used to put Thunderbird pickups in the neck position, starting from his first Ric (a 4000 without a neck pu - photos of the bass show the extra two knobs are not in the "normal" position). He actually played a Thunderbird on his last album with Hawkwind, 'Warrior on the Edge of Time' (which has the worst-sounding bass of any album he did with Hawkwind), but went back to Rics for Motorhead.

I'm sure it will continue to be a *major* collector's item in the future, both due to the small quantity made, and because it's the only Ric (AFAIK) to have a carved top.

Last time I saw Motorhead (about 2 years ago), he played the LK for the entire set. They're in SF next weekend, so if I see the show, I'll report back on which bass(es) he used.

But without having the bass in my hands, there's not a whole lot to discuss about it!

Doug, another huge Hawkwind fan here. Wasn't aware Lem used a Tbird on Warrior though, although that explains the woollier tone. Warrior is my favourite Hawkwind album actually, apart from Space Ritual, which is possibly my favourite live album of all time. Once had a chat with Lem re his Hawkwind days and he said he hated Doremi, which surprised me, and that Warrior was "ok, except for that bloody Opa-Loka" (no doubt why he didn't play on it!). When I saw Lem at the Hawkfest gig he played his LK. Got to say I've never heard anybody with a sound as penetrating as Lem live.

shaun, i use a different rig than lemmy does, but i got my tons close.

I played last Sunday and was gazing absentmindedly at the wall where there are a bunch of posters and the unmistakeable Ric bass shape cought my eye. I walked over to the poster and it was a Motorhead poster of Lemmy with his mapleglo.