Peter Buck on Ric bass

[electrofaro]

Pictures courtesy of my friend Lucy who was at the Baseball Project gigs at SXSW yesterday

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[byu]

Hmmm. Looks like late '73 - early '75. Very nice.

[rickenbrother]

Hmmm. Looks like late '73 - early '75. Very nice.

I was thinking the same thing.

[jimk]

I'm impressed. You guys really know your Rick basses.
JimK

[electrofaro]

I'm impressed as well... I don't see any difference between them basses at all

Could this be Mike Mills' Ric bass?

[chrisdski]

Hmmm. Looks like late '73 - early '75. Very nice.

let's see how many I get:

neck inlays are not full width and no checkerboard inlay- post mid 1973 transition
has a modern highgain in the bass pickup (post mid 1973 transition), but retains the 1/2" position (my 1974 is similar), perhaps this is phased out by 1975 to the 1" position?
TRC may still be the back painted variety (as my 1974 is)- perhaps phased out by 1975 also?

That's it for me.

[electrofaro]

TRC may still be the back painted variety (as my 1974 is)- perhaps phased out by 1975 also?

Judging by the colour it has in the picture below I'd say it's a back-painted one.

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[byu]

1/2" spacing was out May '75. I think the back screening lasted 'til the end of the year. I don't think that bass is Mills' bass. His had full width inlays.

[electrofaro]

I don't think that bass is Mills' bass. His had full width inlays.

Okay, I never actually checked what Mike's bass looked like, they all look the same to me

[wmthor]

Here's the Houston Chronicle's SXSW review of The Baseball Project:

It sounded like a terrible idea on paper: Music vets Steve Wynn (the Dream Syndicate), Scott McCaughey (Young Fresh Fellows, R.E.M.) and Peter Buck (yes) creating original music about baseball. But Wynn and McCaughey could make a song cycle about funeral homes sound like radiant pop and while there’s obvious glee in this project (who doesn’t aspire to rhyme something with Calvin Schiraldi?) their subject also lends itself to a bit of gravitas. Like the sport itself, these songs are full of intricacies, fame and obscurity, love and heartbreak and death.

[loendmaestro]

I actually had the opportunity to record with one of Mills' old Rick basses back int he early 90s. He has sold it to the owner of the studio I was recording in at the time. Mills had done the Bartolini/Hipshot mod to it, but it was fun to play. I posted a pic of it here years ago...

[electrofaro]

Thanks, Chris, at least I and some others now know what happened to Mike's Ric bass.

[rickaddict]

Those look like the chrome RIC Schallers to me.

Probably swapped for a set of exploded Grovers.

[Low End Lover]

I actually had the opportunity to record with one of Mills' old Rick basses back int he early 90s. He has sold it to the owner of the studio I was recording in at the time. Mills had done the Bartolini/Hipshot mod to it, but it was fun to play. I posted a pic of it here years ago...

Thanks for info. If I was ever wealthy, acquiring one of Mike's Rics he used in the early 80's would be the ultimate for me. I still wonder why he went to the P-Bass back in the mid 80's. I have always thought his playing style was tailor-made for a Ric. When I listen to something more recent like Accelerate, I keep thinking how much better a Ric would sit in the mix than a P. Oh well, I guess this is coming from a guy who went in the opposite direction, i.e. from a P to a Ric and I ain't EVER going back!
Of course I am just being facetious, but I have to wonder if the idea for the name "Baseball Project" came from the fact that a P neck feels like the business end of a baseball bat!

Thanks again,

LEL (Jason)

[loendmaestro]

Found the pic. Please ignore my oversized glasses. This was 1993.