Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

On a recent trip back east to Massachusetts, I was finally able to make some new recordings with my two Jetglo BTBH basses - a '93 4003S/8 and 2004 4003 that I bought from Phlemmy a while back. I was also able to take some pictures:





The 4003 is interesting - I'll post more about that later, but I think I'm just going to post a couple of soundclips for now.

Here's the 8-string, through the new MXR M288 Bass Octave Deluxe and a Budda Phat Bass distortion (plus Alembic F-2B preamp and some studio tube compressor):

black walrus

It's pretty long, improvised in the studio by me and my drummer, Greg DeGuglielmo. Played with a heavy Dunlop Gator pick. I would normally never put an octave pedal on an 8-string - not sure what possessed me! - but it was fun and I like the results. I'm probably going to overdub stuff on top later. My hands were getting tired near the end but the energy level kept ramping up!

Here's a much shorter clip of the 4-string:

driving the bus

This is just the Phat Bass distortion, also played with a pick. We fell into this groove from a much noodelier jam, and it just took off! I tend to pick hard anyway, but when I went down to that low E riff I was really whacking it - and it took it! I was really impressed - it reaffirmed the Ric as one of the quintessential heavy rock/metal basses for me.

Damn, that 8 sounds huge.

Wanted to add some better pics of the 4003:







This is the one that seems to have been specially made for the Japanese market. For my own reference, here's a thread on the bass before I became its guardian:

http://www.rickresource.com/phpBB3/view ... ilit=japan

The odd parts: 7-screw tailpiece, black trim after black trim was discontinued, silver lettering on the TRC, earlier version pickguard. I think that's it!

gorgeous bass with a baseball bat neck.

Nice pair of matching basses!

Love that 4003S8!

Wow, both nicely done. This is good for me--I never play music in this style and I need to be reminded that I should add it to my repertoire if I am going to freelance in a big city. How cool. I really love the tone of the 8-string. In general the tone on both tracks is very solid. Are you going to stick some tracks on top of them and make some demos?

I do love the black on black look! For the most part, I think black binding and pickguards just look better than white.

Great sound on both of those! As has been said, that 8 sounds HUGE!!!

phlemmy wrote:gorgeous bass with a baseball bat neck.

I just realized - I played the 4003 after playing my Telecaster Bass which definitely has a fat baseball-bat-sawn-in-half neck, so maybe that's why I didn't really notice the 4003 neck thickness! I love the bass - thanks Phlemmy!

s4001 wrote:Damn, that 8 sounds huge.

I have to remind everybody that I've got the MXR octave pedal on that track, which definitely resulted in some sub-bass massiveness. I have ideas for some overdubs, but my gear is pretty much in disarray - moved in January and haven't even begun to set up for recording...

First of all,, excellent clips.

Over the years,,the Rickenbacker bass has gone thicker, thinner, chunkier, ect...., back and forth. Your first pic of both of your wonderful basses really make this obvious.

Check out the difference in the body "horns".

cheyenne wrote:Over the years,,the Rickenbacker bass has gone thicker, thinner, chunkier, etc...., back and forth. Your first pic of both of your wonderful basses really make this obvious.

Check out the difference in the body "horns".

Definitely - I love the chunky '90s horn - in fact, looking at that bass:



I would be willing to say it's my favorite, and in fact I didn't really like the '04 when I first took pictures of it, but I was quickly run over by the delicate curve. Hmm, I sense a new thread...

hieronymous wrote:

cheyenne wrote:I would be willing to say it's my favorite, and in fact I didn't really like the '04 when I first took pictures of it, but I was quickly run over by the delicate curve. Hmm, I sense a new thread...

Hmm, I think I meant "won over" not "run over"...

Here's another shot from a slightly lower angle, with different stuff in the background:

loved the sound(s) your're getting on those tracks! the 8 string sounds ginormous,and the distortion really works well with both basses...i also see you have the octave strings on top,isn't that reversed from factory? (octave on top would be my preference as well )

woodyng wrote:loved the sound(s) your're getting on those tracks! the 8 string sounds ginormous,and the distortion really works well with both basses...i also see you have the octave strings on top,isn't that reversed from factory? (octave on top would be my preference as well )

Thanks! I definitely love the sound of distorted Rics - Roger Glover, Chris Squire, Geddy Lee and Lemmy were some of my big influences.

I did have the string order on my S/8 reversed - I couldn't get used to the factory order. And when I got a 4008 I knew that octave on top was more comfortable for me (I also owned a Tune 8-string for a while, which had the octave on top).

very sharp indeed! How do you keep them so clean? Also is it me or do the strap buttons look weird?