Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

So, I've been playing with a new band for the last couple of weeks. I played with them a few months ago for a one off thing, but we're making it more permanent now. They're the best musicians I've ever played with. It's actually quite intimidating.

Anyways, the point is this:I have usually been playing my Ric with full volume and full tone. I like the really aggressive and prominent sound. For some of the songs with these guys it works. But some of the stuff is a lot softer, and they were looking more for the sort of bass you "feel but don't really hear." They asked if I could adjust the tone to provide this sort of sound. They commented wanted something that had less of a "growl" (they used the word, not me! And they don't know much about Rickenbackers!).

So, I flicked the bass just to the neck pick up and dialed back the tone and all of a sudden my bass was providing them that deep, thumping sort of bass. It reminded me of my Precision Bass.

I just thought I'd share a bit of a story (that I'm sure you all have your own versions of) regarding the versatility of a Rickenbacker.

Cheers!

-s.

Yes, there are many here who will agree and vouch for the fact that the 4003 is no one-trick pony.
I have played many hundreds of gigs over the years, and while I usually bring several different basses, I rarely ever need a tone that a good 4001, 4003 or 4004 can't provide.

Agreed. I've played countless gigs in various cover bands with only a Ric. Look at the Artists section for the range of versatility that these beasts deliver.

If a player can't get just about any type of tone desired with a Rick, either they don't truly know how to play a bass guitar and or use their gear or they are just too narrow minded to give it a good enough try.

Cool! To flip the switch to the neck pick up only would have been my suggestion as well! Personally, I like the growl of the treble pup in conjunction with the strong underlying bass sound the neck pup delivers. It sure is a versatile instrument!
This is my second ownership experience with Rickenbackers and it has me seriously wondering what I ever saw and heard in my ole Fender P bass.

Sepp

crawlspacestefan wrote:So, I flicked the bass just to the neck pick up and dialed back the tone and all of a sudden my bass was providing them that deep, thumping sort of bass. It reminded me of my Precision Bass.

In my experience a Ric has even more of that bottom-end thump in the neck position than a P Bass does.

I've never had a problem getting what I want out of any of my Rick basses. Unfortunately some folks still propogate the myth that Rickenbackers aren't versatile basses and I'd wager most never actually owned or played one for any length of time. If they had they'd know better.

+1 on what Joey said. In fact, I need different tones for different bands/songs and I've never had to go to just the neck pickup - although now I might try it just for a difference. While I tend to back off the volume of the neck pickup a bit for more driving feel, by simply turning it back up to full and fingering in a different way, I can still get that powerful "feel" you talk about. A of of players don't always grasp how much of their tone comes from the fingers.

cassius987 wrote:

crawlspacestefan wrote:So, I flicked the bass just to the neck pick up and dialed back the tone and all of a sudden my bass was providing them that deep, thumping sort of bass. It reminded me of my Precision Bass.

In my experience a Ric has even more of that bottom-end thump in the neck position than a P Bass does.

I'm convinced Rick haters mistake low-mids for bass.

psychomatthias wrote:

cassius987 wrote:

crawlspacestefan wrote:So, I flicked the bass just to the neck pick up and dialed back the tone and all of a sudden my bass was providing them that deep, thumping sort of bass. It reminded me of my Precision Bass.

In my experience a Ric has even more of that bottom-end thump in the neck position than a P Bass does.

I'm convinced Rick haters mistake low-mids for bass.

Mind if I quote you on that? My thoughts exactly..

I too used only a Ric for years in several cover bands. Strung with half round strings, I'd switch between neck only and both pickups, fingers or a pick, and play near the neck or back by the bridge. I got every tone I needed for the situation ....and then some!

If you don’t trust your own ears then look at some of the famous users over the years – McCartney to BeeGee to BTO to Lemmy To Chris Squire (and many, many more)…… if that’s not a wide sweep in tone and versatility I don’t know what is.

MaplegloMatt wrote:I too used only a Ric for years in several cover bands. Strung with half round strings, I'd switch between neck only and both pickups, fingers or a pick, and play near the neck or back by the bridge. I got every tone I needed for the situation ....and then some!

Exactly my story too! OK, I use regular rounds, but anyway... I have other basses that I love, but the one thing that I miss the most is having a neck position pickup that's REALLY at the neck. I've had a couple of sound guys tell me they're cutting my lows out front.

cassius987 wrote:Mind if I quote you on that? My thoughts exactly..

Go for it.

Yeah, the real bad thing is that he used a bridge-spaced J-pickup instead of a neck-spaced pickup next to the bridge so the strings don't center over each pair of polepieces!!
(as he ducks the incoming....)