Why so many "Bass" posts vs. "Guitar" posts?

heinpete · Post by **heinpete** » Fri May 11, 2007 8:46 am

Someone a bass players joke? These are also better than the guitarist jokes!?

(If you have some humor)

cmuk · Post by **cmuk** » Fri May 11, 2007 9:19 am

Rob,

Johnny Marr, The Smiths - This Charming Man is played on a Fender Telecaster and not a Rickenbacker.

"I'll try any trick. With the Smiths, I'd take this really loud Telecaster of mine, lay it on top of a Fender Twin Reverb with the vibrato on, and tune it to an open chord. Then I'd drop a knife with a metal handle on it, hitting random strings. I used it on 'This Charming Man', buried beneath about 15 tracks of guitar... 'This Charming Man' was the first record where I used those highlife-sounding runs in 3rds. I'm tuned up to F# and I finger it in G, so it comes out in A. There are about 15 tracks of guitar. People thought the main guitar part was a Rickenbacker, but it's really a '54 Tele. There are three tracks of acoustic, a backwards guitar with a really long reverb, and the effect of dropping knives on the guitar -- that comes in at the end of the chorus."
- Johnny Marr on "This Charming Man", Select, December 1993

j_gary · Post by **j_gary** » Fri May 11, 2007 11:26 am

John, how did you ever find Clatter?

Very cool, she sure manages to fill a lot of room with a bass. I would love to see them live. I imagine trying to play some of those parts while singing is a tough job. Some of the 12 string bass stuff really works.

A 12 string Rick bass, hmmmmmm..................?

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Fri May 11, 2007 4:08 pm

Right from the corporate website:

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Fri May 11, 2007 7:02 pm

12 string bass ... cool ...

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Sat May 12, 2007 3:58 am

Hmmm...maybe a clue..as to a future model?

admin · Post by **admin** » Sat May 12, 2007 4:04 am

Would this be the short scale model?

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Sat May 12, 2007 4:09 am

I love this place...

heinpete · Post by **heinpete** » Sat May 12, 2007 6:09 am

But this 12 string bass probably has a brass nut?
Or do we all go nuts again?

red_rob · Post by **red_rob** » Mon May 14, 2007 2:23 am

Thanks for that Clive, I'd heard that telecaster rumour but never seen the man himself say it. Much period footage of the 330 getting all the credit on the live stage though...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qx-rbA_Musc

cmuk · Post by **cmuk** » Mon May 14, 2007 8:11 am

Rob, no worries. I hope you don't think I was being a smart ar*e. Let's face it though, I'd choose the Rickenbacker for the pure pose factor every time too, even if the studio work told a different story.

red_rob · Post by **red_rob** » Mon May 14, 2007 8:17 am

not at all mate. always interested in learning more about the technical side of the smiths

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue May 15, 2007 1:54 am

The Rickenbacker web site forums also have a 2 to 1 ratio of bass to guitar posts ...

admin · Post by **admin** » Tue May 15, 2007 2:24 am

In creating a database over the past while, I have found that Rickenbacker Basses can be found most anywhere. Even in seemingly remote regions. I have not found the same to be the case for Rickenbacker Guitars. Basses seem to cross over to all types of music more so than the guitars do.

In the samples that I have taken so far, this trend has held up. I would not be so bold as to claim that RIC has made more basses over 75 years than guitars. Just that the basses have been more prevalent in the samples that I have seen to date.

As always, stay tuned!

firstbassman · Post by **firstbassman** » Tue May 15, 2007 7:25 am

Ok, my two kopeks:

I don't think the thread was originally intended as a discussion over whether who were better musicians - guitarists or bass players. And I also don’t think it was about which sells more or which sounds better, etc. All non issues.
However! ...
I think I have noticed that RIC bass players relate to their instruments differently than RIC guitar players. (I don't own or play a RIC bass so I can't speak for myself on this.) Not better or worse, just different. More "attached" and more concerned about the minutiae if you know what I mean.