Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Interesting info on Chris Squire at the Wikipedia site...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chris_Squire

I wondered about this quote from there...

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Squire's main instrument is a Rickenbacker 4001, which he has owned and played since 1965; it was the fourth Rickenbacker 4001 ever imported into Britain from the United States. This instrument, with its warmth and distortion, is a significant part of Squire's unique sound which is achieved by a technique known as 'bi-amping'. By splitting the stereo signal from his bass (which divided the signal from the pickups into dual high and low frequency outputs) and then sending the low frequency output to a conventional bass amplifier and the high-frequency output to a separate lead guitar amplifier, Squire produced a tonal 'sandwich' that added a growling, overdriven edge to the sound while retaining the Rickenbacker's powerful bass response.


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I have not read about guys here trying to get Chris' sound by using a regular guitar amp connected to the treble pickup. Do any of you do that?

Marshall tube amps are too expensive and too heavy for me to want to do that. I'm sure it sounds awesome though.

I use the Ric-O-Sound feature into 1 amp. I send the bridge pickup through a parametric eq and Hartke VXL bass attack pedal for a bit of tube overdrive and top end and then use a Digitech BP80 and use the Ampeg SVT sim for the neck pickup. The sound is fantastic. It definitely makes the Rick come alive. This way you have fully independant eq and sound on both pickups. It adds a lot more warmth and you get a 3D sound effect.
It's a lot cheaper than having 2 rigs, but the effect is the same.

As far as I remember it was the 4th one - the first ones being The Ox, Pete Quaife (the kinks) and Donovan (Chris now owns his one as well)

i sent my signal via a stereo cable with the treble going through an Owen Bass Gremlin overdrive pedal, DOD Octoplus and Boss Flanger into a Behringer UB502 mini mixer. The bass pickup went straight into the second channel of the mixer and then i sent the output to my amp

and Donovan (Chris now owns his one as well)

He used it on the Old Grey Whistle Test video.

Back in the '70's I read Chris used Fender Guitar amps.

He used Sunn for a while.

Chris was using Sunn Colisuem guitar heads with two 6 X 12 cabinets when I saw the band twice in 1973. The second time, our keyboard player rented his B3 to Rick Wakeman and I was onstage at Gannon College in Erie, PA, for setup & soundcheck. The entire band was very nice to all of us. Later, when I saw the band at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, I saw our drummer onstage sitting beside Alan White for about half the show. Never did forgive him for not getting me up here, too.

Small world. My daughter just spent 4 years at Gannon University (college is now a Univ)! Had I known Yes had been there it would have added cool to my visits. Where did they play? Hammermill Gym?

Wow, just watched the whole Old Grey Whistle Test video of Hold Out Your Hand. Great to see him using Donovan Fireglo! I wonder if he used that bass to record the song? It does sound a bit different from his Cream 1999. ????

John: It was in the gym at Gannon. Those were the days when you didn't have to pay $150 and drive to an arena or amphitheater to see a top band. The Association played my college fieldhouse in 1968. In the early '70s my band opened for the Allman Brothers, again in gym, somewhere in Ohio, and shared the bill with the original James Gang in a frat house at Kent State in Ohio. Not too long after that Emerson, Lake and Palmer played at a small college outside Cleveland. Great days!

Great to see him using Donovan Fireglo! I wonder if he used that bass to record the song?

Nope. His bass was used, DC127.

Thanks Henny! Still cool to see that FG! I must have missed it, but any particulars on Squire acquiring Donovan's FG! When, etc?

Dave, I've spent a lot of time in that gym - my daughter played volleyball for Gannon.

Back in 1973 there was a 5 band concert at Tempe Diablo Stadium at ASU in AZ. ELO, ZZ Top, BOC, another breaking band I can't remember the name of (REO SW??) and the highlighter was 3 Dog Night. The 4 breaking bands were just great, but since it hadn't rained in months, it started pouring just when 3DN was going to play and they had to call it. All for $5 to get in.

Also saw Grand Funk in Tempe at the Big Surf water park. Played as the sun went down. Pretty awesome. Interesting factoid - I live about 2+ hours from Flint, MI but I see GFR 2000 miles away on the AZ desert!!