Von Death

Re that Black Sabbath stylee BC Rich Eagle with EMG and Cross inlays that I saw on Fleebay years ago found some Pics... thing is I cant remember how to upload onto this.

I will just add my 10P worth, as I have been a Geezer Fan for many years! I am sure Geezer said he used his precisions up to Master and this record (in his opinion) has his favourite tone of Sabbath's 70s albums. The Dan Armstrong was used on Vol 4 and Geezer reckons that this album has his worst sound. He did however stick with shorter scale basses thereafter, 1st the White JB, (Sabbath Bloody Sabbath era) and then a succesion of JB SG ish styles sun burst maple neck also an 8 string (Sabotage era) then all black for (Technical era Gypsy & Its alright Vid)) and finally Black & white Stripe (Never say Die & Hard Road VID) this is a different one to the JD Humbug further up the thread. I think he got the humbug one later on during the Never Say Die US tour. Never uses that one on all pics I have seen for UK tour (Always the JB). Geezer reckons that he got the cross inlays before Tony (his idea). As for the Never Say Die Ric. I have quite a few pictures from the recording sessions and only the Ric is in any of the photos. As for the BC Rich Eagle, when he says it was custom made for him, He probably means he ordered it, as they were all pretty much handmade. Also it did not have EMGs, I am certain that they were loaded with stock Dimarzios. All photos from programme etc support this... I was very lucky to see Sabbath up close at Newcastle on the "Die Young" tour 1980 and Mob Rules 1981 tour. Interestingly (to me perhaps not anyone else) about 5 years ago I did see an all black BC Rich Eagle with ebony fretboard cross inlays, a cross on the Headstock and EMGs. So perhaps he did custom order an Eagle with EMGs? but I dont think he ever used it in studio or on tour.I got a Born Again programme and he seems to be using an Aria and the standard Eagle at this time.

Great riffs etc... Wish this was in NE!

I have two Mockingbirds, an 82 USA Deluxe and a heavily upgraded Heritage. The BC Rich stock pickups that you get on the export (NJ Heritage, Platinum etc) are terrible. To get the benefit of the two P pickup sound you need the Dimarzio DP122. These are not that expensive and can be coil tapped. I am hooked for me it goes back to bass sound on Black Sabbath Heaven & Hell bass through to Megadeth's Peace Sells. On the other hand I was listening to an interview with the Chic bassist (dont remember his name), who admitted that he used a BC Rich on many recordings. Yes they are neck heavy, however placing the pin on the end of the top horn helps. Like thunderbirds, you need to be a big chap to play them comfortably. The way they lie is such that they dont tuck in at the hip like precisions but you play them very much across your body and as such the nut end of the bridge is some distance away!. They also have pretty wide necks. But thats all good for me as I am a big clumsy goon.

Probably bought it with the money he received from Sharon Osbourne in exchange for his artistic integrity following his shamefull agreement to re record Bob Daisley's bass parts on the sham re release of Blizzard of Ozz/ Diary of a Madman.

Well I love my Marshall VBA 400, and loved my Dynamic head, Jubilee and Integrated head before that. I’ve used Marshall heads and cabs for about 25 years now. Lovely, lovely bass gear. Then again I am a ridiculous Heavy Rock caricature. Von

My Blackbird, Hipshot Supertone bridge, 2 x volume pots, kill switch, brass nut..... I like this bass now!

[sub][attachment=110682:SAM_1480.JPG][attachment=110682:SAM_1480.JPG][quote name='Lorne' timestamp='1339813876' post='1694906'] I never said that There were about 4 built [/quote][/sub] [sub]Well in that case I will be waiting for a very long time......... I saw Neal Moser bought a long scale one on ebay USA to restore .... I would love that! [/sub] [sub]Re my heritage..... I dont know how it was filled... I have just had the back shaped to make it more comfy[/sub]

[color=#5a5a5a][font=Helvetica][size=3]Just bought a Black Hipshot Supertone off Guitar Parts Resource (USA) for my Gibson Blackbird.... Only £66 plus postage! What a difference...... I bought this bass about 5 years ago due to a (ongoing) John Entwistle appreciation thing! I liked the Blackbird variant as it suited my grim disposition. I modified it, put two volume controls (one for each pickup) kept the on/off switch. Got it refinished..... But still I didn’t really like it that much...... I was thinking about selling but I figured the market wasn’t particularly good at the moment.... So after reading reviews on this site I decided to take the plunge..... Piece of piss to fit.... You will not need any assistance. I am an idiot and I managed! What a bloody difference..... I could go on about sustain and tone, but that’s a personal thing..... The thing no one has mentioned is how the bridge and the saddles make the strings sit so much better. As I play with my fingers this has made a big difference. I cannot recommend this bridge highly enough to Gibson fiend![/size][/font][/color]

Where does it say that these are genuine Gibson USA pickups? These look like exactly the same pickups that were fitted to the Silverburst (which according to reviews were terrible!) At that price these pickups will not be USA Gibsons. Unfortunately no Epiphone Thunderbird sounds anything like the Gibson, The main reason being the unbranded Chinese stock pickups. I fitted genuine Gibson USA pickups to an Alpine White Epi thunderbird. Sounded nice but still nothing like my Gibson. Probably because its not an all mahogany through neck. Very nice looking bass though.

I read an interview with Geezer in "Beat Instrumental" around the time of "Never Say Die" where he was talking about owning a Rickenbacker & rarely using it but carried it as a spare. He was meant to be playing one of his John Birch basses for the filming of the video but the truss rod went in the neck before filming & the bass was unplayable so he had no choice but to use the Rick.. [size=3][color=#222222][font=Arial]Sounds right, he certainly used his Black/white striped John Birch SG on most of the other dates..... Later on he had a hideous Jaydee Humbug thing (pictures of it on the Jaydee website). You do get the impression that Geezer only has about 2 basses at any one time! and only gets a new one when he has broken his current one. It is also rumoured that Robert Plant did some backing vocals on Sabotage but for contractual reasons could not be named, but certainly Zep and sabbath used to jam together on occasion. Anyway back on thread.... Zep and Sabbath are great...anyone who says otherwise is wrong and their opinions should be politely disregarded as gibbering waffle. So there[/font][/color][/size]

Never Say Die Side 1 and Sockwave are pretty decent Way better than Technical Ecstacy. The rest however, is worse than anything I can imagine. Re the Ric Intro to 'Junior's Eyes'? No question! The Ric Geezer Butler used on the Vid.... He says on some occasions, that he lent it of Glenn Hughes after all his gear was held by customs. In another interview he says that he swapped it off Glenn in exchange for his thunderbird (which I have never seen a picture off). As Geezer is a short arse this is plausible. However I have seen tons of photo's for the Never Say Die writing and recording sessions and the only bass on display is the Ric. .

I would say that although Led Zep are the greatest hard Rock band of all time.... Black Sabbath's debut was the better. I love them both including the Black Sabbath Dio and Gillan line ups. I have however lost all respect for Ozzy, after he and Sharon sold out the Blizzard of Ozz. I find it quite amusing that on the Black Sabbath forums, there is a sugestion that Bill Ward may have been ousted as he is no longer capable of performing at the highest level. How then is Ozzy in the band... He has been totally rubbish since 1981.

[i]I used to have a MusicMan Stingray bass..... Well sort of... a 77 neck, a replica body, proper 3 band EQ and pickups, Badass bridge.... Black/Black Maple. Loved it.... Why did I sell it.... to pay for a BC Rich Bich Bass. Which I also sold (I bought it off the net.... it was short scale eugh!) . I would love to get that one back. [/i]

[i]Influential moments i recall were Smoke on the Water live in Japan, when i heard that bass come in i said, "thats what i want to do"[/i] [i]Exactly the same for me.........In the 1st year at school we had a band, none of us had instruments but I played the bass! Once I got a bass it was Bob Daisley/Geddy Lee (The Trees was a right of passage) If you could play this well you could consider yourself to be a a bassist of repute! [/i]