Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

With Weller receiving a life time achievement award at the Brit awards last night, The Independent newspaper here in the UK ran a special on him last week, which included a small section on Rickenbacker guitars.

http://enjoyment.independent.co.uk/music/features/article344377.ece

Hurray!
I feel like an imposter in this forum because I am not a Beatles/Birds fan. I am, however, a Jam fan. One of my best friends in high school was a huge Jam fan, and purchased a 330 on a trip to the US. This was the first Ric I ever played. The first song I played on my own 330 was "It's Too Bad".

"the Rickenbacker look - the antithesis of metal and heavy rock - immediately conjures up the Swinging Sixties and Carnaby Street cool."

What about Geddy Lee or Chris Squire or Cliff Burton or Roger Glover? Unless they're talking just about the guitars, in which case I'd then have to agree.

Greg: You are not alone. Although I'm a huge Beatles/Byrds fan, I bought 'In The City' in 1977 at age 16 and I was hooked. My playing style has been largely influenced by Paul Weller. This has resulted in more than a few casual observers pointing out that I play a lot like Townshend (even though I didn't know much about him when I was copying Weller). Through Weller I also became a fan of The Who, The Small Faces, and Italian motorscooters. My Rick collection currently includes (5) 330-series guitars. I am very interested in creating a Weller replica guitar like one of the black ones he played in 1982-1983 with all the right details.

With the mention of Peter Quaife and the bassist for Franz Ferdinand the article is not limited to just Rick guitar players. So, Bob, the likes of Lee and Squire I suppose were inadvertently left off.

I love the look of those black Rics, and the white one in the Town Called Malice video. I play in a ska band, so I would love to have either of those clolour schemes.
Another of my close friends in high school entrusted me with his life savings so I could buy him a 4001 on a family trip to Toronto when we were 16. I managed to find him a black & white one, '76 or so for $450(Cdn)!!! He idolized Foxton. He still has that bass more than 20 years on.
I saw the Stiff Little Fingers a while ago with Foxton on bass. He mainly played p-bass though. That reminds me - the original bass player for SLF, Ali McMordie (?) played a Ric bass.

Another huge Weller/Jam fan here. PW, along with John Lennon, influenced my decision to buy my first Rick when I was 17, back in '82.

Count me as a Jam fan, although here in the States I came late to the party - 79 or 80. Setting Sons had just been released here.

Ted: 'Setting Sons' has my favorite live track on it. Although I never had a chance to see them live, on videos I always like 'Private Hell'. Weller slashes at the guitar and never fails to make a lot of noise at the end. It's always intense!

Though I dig The Beatles and The Who very much, i'm not sure if I would have bought a Rickenbacker guitar if it wasn't for Weller. (I had a bass years before I got a guitar)

I have been a Jam fan since first hearing "In The City" at a friend's house a LONG time ago. I have all of their albums, some of them on CD and DVD, and really appreciate the songwriting and energy of the band. One of my favorites. Foxton was a big influence on me too, very melodic lines with a punk edge.

>>It's always intense!<<

Repo Man's always intense. Paul Weller and the Jam as well.

Anyone here from Minneapolis? "The Dig" was a big "Jam" type band from the early 80s onward. Great band with a nice JG 330. I got to look at it once, but was told not to touch it. Of course, I was just some kid in total awe of the guitar and the band. They often played with an all female band "The Blue Up", which featured a white on white Rick - I think a 330 as well.

My own Jam live photos - plenty of Ric guitars, but not basses, sadly (????). Looking at them, some of these are due for re-scanning and enlarging a bit...

http://www.crazeeworld.plus.com/pages/concert/jam.htm

Ian: I've never seen pictures of Weller playing a 330 MG. Thanks!