Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Has anyone noticed how previous Rick users, Geddy, Roger Glover, Bruce Foxton etc...
spend the rest of their careers with different basses, trying to recreate the sound of our beloved Rick.
Solution... Buy a Rickenbacker
S'easy........

True Mark....

I thought that for years about Geddy, while seeing him live.

Yeah, Dave I agree. I've owned a few Fender Jazz basses and they seem kinda sterile. Some of them are nicely made. Ricks are fantastic. Everytime I open my case it's like a major event. Still get a tingle when I pick it up. Lovely.
I wonder how many thousands Geddy has spent on equipment to duplicate the Rick.
Here's a tip Ged, try laying off the distortion/overdrive if you want a different tone.

That's told him!!!!

Geddy has openly admitted he LOVES the Ric sound, especially HIS Ric stereo sound...

He just can't play the thing! The binding and pickups drive him crazy.

He says he really has to attack or "pin down" the instrument to get it to sound how he wants.

With his Fenders it's a far simpler affair, whilst having a very close-sounding approximation.

I find his Fender sound actually a lot different than his Ric sound. Even on Moving Pictures. They are both very growly nice sounds though.

That's the truth! That's why I like Ricks. You have to 'manhandle' the suckers. They give as good as they get. It's worth it for the sound.
Come back to Rickenbacker, Ged. Chamfer the binding to fit your arm. I'm sure J. Hall would be open to a few suggestions for a Geddy Lee Rick 4003.

Anyone listening at Rickenbacker???

Interesting - it seems to me that Geddy is just as hard on his Jazz. If it's the binding he dislikes, why doesn't he get an S or a V63 or something? I'm sure he could afford it! He could always change the pickups.

There's reference to one reason Geddy gave for changing bass on this page:

Rickenbacker Forum - Chris Squire's Bass

Given what he uses now, it doesn't make a lot of sense...

A Geddy Lee Rickenbacker would be interesting, but I guess it's not likely whilst his other Sig is in production.

Jeez, they gave Lemmy a custom Rick for f**ks sake. I don't really rate him as a bassist. He seems a good laugh though!
I've heard loads of different reasons for Ged dumping the Ricky. None seem to ring true. Fingers crossed and here's hoping Geddy Lee see's the light and plays the Rick. Just 1 track would be good enough for me. Oh well....

I'll go out on a limb here.

Most of us here I believe, are weekend, bar band players, not that there's anything wrong with that!!!

But,, If I played in a career touring band like Geddy Lee, with unlimited gear resources, I would certainly try different basses simply to perhaps, express myself a little differently.

There's nothing wrong with Rickenbacker, Wal, Steinberger, Fender,,,,,ect....

But,, a person seems to approach a different bass,,, well,,,differently.

What feels and sounds good this tour,,may not work with the changes in the music and sound system of the next tour. I think a person develops a tone in his head early on, (like Geddy), and adapts that to whatever bass he is playing at the time.

Good point Scott.

I understand that Geddy wanted to get away from the trademark Rick sound, to broaden his horizons. Rush are my favourite group. No doubt about it. I enjoyed the Steinberger and Wal. I'm not too keen on the Jazz bass sound. I point out Moving Pictures. Great songs, but apart from The Camera Eye (played on A Rick) I find the bass end lacking. Red Barchetta was also done on the Rick, I believe, but not fond of the tone.
Rush have been moving back to the 3 piece rock ensemble for a while now. I hope that, despite all the problems, he decides to revisit the Rickenbacker sound in the modern era.

I know I won't be alone on having a party when it happens!!!

Go on my son!!! Hehehe!

Love the tone on both "Red Barchetta" and "The Camera Eye"! Two of my favorite Rush songs . . . thankfully he played a large portion of "Signals" with the Ric as well . . . otherwise, we wouldn't have that amazing sound in "Subdivision" or "Countdown" or "The Weapon" . . . ah those were the days (when I wasn't even born yet).

In a way, it's interesting to hear how Geddy and Squire get "their" sound thru non Ric instruments.
They always manage to get their signature sounds with their playing methods and roundwounds on any bass, it seems.

Chris more so with his Mouradians.

He's essentially nailed the 4003-with-roundwounds sound with his CS-74.

Laugh, but I just listened to Yes for the first time (aside from the odd play of Owner of a lonely hear on the radio) and I must say that I was impressed. Walkabout is a great song. I plugged in the 72' with Elixirs, dialed back the treble pickup a tad, grabbed a pick and played near the bridge. I had the sound to a T.

Squire's the man.

My idol.

S's rule.