Hi guys. Just accidentally found this thread while looking for something else, but it is a great site! Also, thanks for the nice words!!! I'm flattered, definitely. But I thought I'd hop in and and add something here to address the issue of the standard Ric vs. my black one on SB CD's.
The black one actually sounds extremely close to the white one through my rig, and actually a bit more Spock's Beard-ish, but the reason that it doesn't stand out the way it used to is because of different factors.
The last few CD's have been very production-dense, so the "tone" part of the bass is blended in with other stuff more than it used to be, particularly the guitar. Al's tone has gotten really beefy and the songs are more guitar oriented, which makes it a really hard balance to strike with my midrange bass tone, so what can ya do? It's all about the finished product in total, and I'm totally willing to give up a little tone glory for a better overall mix.
When Neal was in the band, the tracks were much sparser and thinner, so I really stuck out in the mix. Ah, the good old days.
But if you could hear the basic bass tracks when heard by themselves sound freakin' GNARLY. My tone got to basically what I wanted right after Beware Of Darkness, but it has steadily and slowly become a little more focused over the years. .. learning what works and what doesn't work in the mix.
I wouldn't abandon my trademark Ric tone ever. The main reason is because I really like it, but also because I remember that I was pretty disappointed when both Chris Squire and Geddy Lee went away from what they were known best for, so I always try to keep that in mind. But in my case, it's just a result of production and where the bass winds up in the mix, not the bass tone itself.
If you listen into the tracks and can pull the bass up in your own brain's mix and mentally peel away some of the other massiveness of some of the other instruments, you'll hear what I'm talking about.
Now, just to blab some more. . .my new bass was built to be pretty much a clone of my black Ric as far as tone. I originally wanted Rickenbacker to build it for me, but they kind of blew me off, so I went with a really cool independent guitar builder. (Ed Roman, Las Vegas)
I just wanted to try a little different look and also have a bass that was built more reliably and more in tune (Ric's are pretty funky in those two regards. ..I've never been able to get the low "G" on the "E" string to play perfectly in tune on any Ric that I've ever had, for example. . it is OK with guitars and even synths, but pure hell when playing with a piano).
Also, I wanted to combine the characteristics of what I like about Rick with what I like about Fender. Ric body shape, Fender body contouring, Rick style neck, Fender neck scale length, etc.
So anyway, I have it now, did the last tour with it. It plays wonderfully, but I think I might have to experiment with pickups a little. It's almost there. They put Seymour Duncan Quarter Pounders in there, and I think they are a little too spiky in a couple frequencies. I'm gonna swap em out for something more vintage sounding, and then they'll sound more like a regular Ric pickup or a stock Jazz pickup.
So that's my life story. .. sorry about going so long, but it's rare that I talk about bass gear to someone who is interested in basses and bass tone.
Cheers! Dave
