Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Great early photo of Geddy holding his black 4080 along side his 73 jetglo and a very strange looking bass. does anyone know what it is? a VOX perhaps>?

That is/was Geddy's Fender P-Bass that he had altered to that shape after getting his 1st 4001.

leftybass wrote:That is/was Geddy's Fender P-Bass that he had altered to that shape after getting his 1st 4001.

Yeah, it was referred to as the tear-drop P-bass.

What's up with the bass strings near the tailpiece? Is the picture distorted?

teeder wrote:What's up with the bass strings near the tailpiece? Is the picture distorted?

The picture is fine.. you're just Hallucinating

bartyclue wrote:

teeder wrote:What's up with the bass strings near the tailpiece? Is the picture distorted?

The picture is fine.. you're just Hallucinating

+1 I see nothing wrong.

someone poured water on geddys double before taking the foto !

They're probably just TI Jazz flats.

Wow, on All the World's a Stage I could swear Ged has a full fret marker split tailpiece 72....of course he picked up either a 74 or later with the full 1 inch gap at the neck prior to Hemispheres I think...

the "all the world's a stage" bass is a '73,which he then had a badarse bridge and white plastic surround installed. the 1" jetglo with the badarse bridge and its black plastic surround would be a late '76/'77 due to the un-even knob placement on the pickguard. the bridge surround mods make it easy the identify these two basses from a distance, even in blurred shots. i've never seen a foto of the later 4001 with it's original bridge.

teeder wrote:What's up with the bass strings near the tailpiece? Is the picture distorted?

Two possibilities:

1) Geddy just played them and that's how much they move with his aggressive right hand style

2) The strings are flinching in expectation of being played

Ronbo,

Thanks for that information-always wondered!! BTW, I see you are in Buffalo which I seem to remember is the original home of another MONSTER bassist, (although not a Rick player) Billy Sheehan!

John

Perhaps not as well known for his playing as he is for his basses, Joe Zon is from Buffalo.

i'm not from here, i just happen to be living here !

i remember seeing sheehans advert in the back of guitar player magazine in the early '80's with an east delevan address. used to go see his band TALAS at the GASWORKS bar in toronto in the early '80's as well when i lived there. that's the first time i heard his old p-bass (the one in the "yankee rose" vid) sound like a B3 organ ! (chords, i mean !) he had an eventide harmonizer in his frank zappa sized refrigerator rack of effects. monster player. too bad his talents were too much for other players to deal with on an ego level. i won't mention my interesting link to him one day in toronto after returning from a DWaRf TOUR !

i deal with a few people who worked for moog and zon as well.