Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Early French TV live performance. Looks like a clamp in front of the headstock (clearest shots at 0:54, 1:45 and 2:45). Couldn't be a capo, could it, I can't see why he'd need one? Can anyone shed any light?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U1b3R0y_0oY

Ah, the mystery bass... My questions about this one are all unanswered. Chris apears in videos with this bass as late as 1970, at least two years after he claims the RM was refinished and it is not his 21 fret MG. This one has a HS and appears to clearly have binding and not the flowered wallpaper that was removed from the RM at the time of the refinish, before YES was recorded. Perhaps it was a temporary stand in while the headstock on the RM was being repaired.

It shall remain a mystery unless Chris himself sheds some light...

Here is the earliest pic I can find of Chris with his original RM, from The Syn.

I like the white 360 WB guitar. Cool!

I have a Chris Squire Video done in 1990 by StarLicks He mentioned that the headstock was broken but he played it for years like that. He said in later interview (I think it was on the yes years video but I could be mistaken) when the strings were tuned the tension kept the headstock from moving around. He said mike Tobias repaired the break but used too much glue and joined the truss rods nuts to the head stock.it had to have the fretboard disassembled to clean out the truss rod cavity and then repaired again. I know he mentioned this in an interview just not sure where or when.

Tallpat

My brother John saw Yes at Manchester University around the time of the Yes Album and said Chris jumped up and fell breaking his guitar.

Interesting, so was that the Ric in this video your brother saw in Manchester, or his RM1999 when it got it's break, I wonder? Maybe not - I think that's jogging a memory...where have I heard Chris saying that his RM1999 was thrown across stage once, presumably breaking the headstock. Was it on the Starlicks video? Is that just my memory playing tricks? If I get time I'll watch it again tonight. Like I need an excuse...

John told me about Chris falling over at the time,not recently.
I will ask him if he remembers that night.

Not to cause any trouble (been a while since I posted around here, so just posting alone might cause trouble!), but I've thought a lot about Jim's question, and I honestly think it's the same bass, not two. I believe that the bass as it appears in the Leeds pic is the RM with silver sheeting on the front, not unlike what Syd Barrett's famous mirror disc Esquire had, only cut down to the body shape so the edges show (which looks like binding in some shots). It wouldn't surprise me if it had several layers of gunk on top of it by that point, including the Syn-era flower wallpaper underneath. Also, CS is more likely to be a year or two off remembering when Sam Li (or Lee) refinished/shaved his RM than to have never mentioned owning a 2nd RM in the early days. If you carefully compare the Leeds pic and good shots of the RM post-refin, all the "appointments" match - guard shape, surround shape, HS orientation, etc. Given the vast variability in RM basses, the likelihood of CS having two that appeared identical is astronomical. So, my money is on it being the same bass.

All this, YMMV, but that's how I reconcile it....

pacealot wrote:Not to cause any trouble...

That's it, Paul! I'm coming over there

Just kidding, of course! If I did come over, no doubt it would be with a Ric and wanting to discuss all related topics

Actually, I do believe that you are correct, as there really is no other explanation. The earliest that I can recall seeing the creme finish 4001S is in the two videos from The Yes Album, "All Good People" and "YIND". In older videos where Chris appears with a Ric, it is the one in question or the 21 fret MG, so the refin by Sam Lee must have came a little later than he remembers. Even the GW interwiew where he really firsts dicusses it came in 1987 (still have the issue), so that was 18 - 20 years after the fact, and what a period that must have been!

Now that Chris has his 21 fretter back, or at least knows that it is in good hands, perhaps the Telecaster bass will also surface, as he mentions it in his recent FOOW narration. Hopefully we'll all get to see them on tour in the next year or two!

just_bassics wrote:Now that Chris has his 21 fretter back, or at least knows that it is in good hands, perhaps the Telecaster bass will also surface, as he mentions it in his recent FOOW narration. Hopefully we'll all get to see them on tour in the next year or two!

No Way!! When and how did the 21 fretter re-surface???

Rory, Check out this long and informitive thread in the FOR SALE topic:

http://www.rickresource.com/phpBB3/view ... 55&start=0

Vincent Gallo comes through again!

I may have insight to the broken headstock bass in the video. Chris gave me a 64 RM that many years ago was given to him by Donovan. That bass has a repair behind the nut. It is possible it is that bass and I will check with Chris if he thinks so. It is also the bass Chris plays in the Fish Out Of Water footage. For the record, the Fish Out Of Water footage was premiered on television in the USA on Don K's ROCK CONCERT show. I looked for 25 years for a copy of it but none were to be found. I got a tip that the London Film Museum had the only 16mm print ever struck. With Chris's help I took possession of the print and spent $20,000 restoring it and creating the digital master. My idea was to release it with Yes Songs as a double bill theatrically only and never digitally. Chris asked if he could include it with the re-release of Fish Out Of Water. I reluctantly agreed, as I knew it would be on youtube forever and thus ruining the chance of a theatrical release. To make matters worse Chris did not wait for the Digi-Beta master but instead used a VHS dub of the master that I gave him just for personal viewing. The digital master is a lot better than what was released. When I finish my Rickenbacker bass book, at the release party I will project the original 16mm print.

Hi Vincent,
I was always under the impression that Chris got the Donovan bass in the mid 70s around the time when he supported Yes.

that is what i thought as well however i must ask Chris to think harder and give up more details

Chris is eight years older than me and I cant even remember where I put my watch last night!