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[quote name='merello' post='1321916' date='Jul 31 2011, 06:23 AM']Did early Stranglers not feature JJ on Hiwatt guitar cabs as they could not afford bass ones?[/quote] Yep. I've used guitar rigs in the past myself and got very good results.

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1321908' date='Jul 31 2011, 02:21 AM']Didn't Macca use a Hofner?[/quote] Mostly Ric on Revolver, all Ric on Sgt Pepper And MMT....

[quote name='xgsjx' post='1321889' date='Jul 31 2011, 01:34 AM']Do Rics usually lack any actual "bass" to their sound, or is it just that video? Nice looking basses though.[/quote] As with any other bass, it depends how you eq it and what you're playing it through. Early JJ Burnel doesn't have a lot of "bass" but I don't think many people would suggest a Precision inherently lacks low end. Have you ever heard the Beatles?

The secret is the interaction between a Ric (which is certainly a factor in the equation) and the rig, as well as (obviously) the player. I've found a lot of more modern rigs just don't do it unless you're using effects. Avoid tweeters. Also eq plays a big part; a far bigger part than most realise. I eq heavily. Of course a degree of distortion helps, but my best Ric tone has been through early Trace amps/cabs so it's not always the be all and end all; the right amount of bark from the amp/cab should suffice. I see you're using Trace so I'd use the pre-shape (mid-cut)and eq from there. Use your ears! Low action helps unless you play hard (like Geddy & Lem), as do the right strings (I use Rotos because they're more aggressive, although some hate them).

[quote name='Fozza' post='1320058' date='Jul 29 2011, 08:53 AM']How's about Jean Jacques Burnel and Jah Wobble?[/quote] Both definitely up there.

[quote name='risingson' post='1319616' date='Jul 28 2011, 06:38 PM']Some bass players seem to suffer from the idea that they'll be forever under-appreciated and have to compensate. I think it's the same mentality that you describe here that drives people to put LED's in their fretmarkers. After all no one can be accused at the end of the night to have not paid attention to you as your fretboard has been lit up like a Christmas tree for the whole evening![/quote] The only thing that ever prompted me to have LEDs as fretmarkers (and I've had 3 basses with them) is so I can see where I am on a darkened stage! Nothing to do with attention seeking. It actually really helps you know....

[quote name='wombatboter' post='1320013' date='Jul 29 2011, 07:39 AM']You can't blame someone when he finally has the opportunity to play the bass of his dreams to unpack everything he's got..[/quote] I like this! One other point; some people like busy, fast playing. Obviously some don't. However there's nothing actually wrong with it unless it's out of context (i.e. used where it isn't appropriate). Surely when you're trying out a bass in a shop there is no broader context so anything goes?

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1319675' date='Jul 28 2011, 07:48 PM']I would say it's most irritating on drums. Slow down, for God's sake![/quote] I don't slap much. I mainly widdle. But seriously, if I don't try playing a bass fast, how do I find out if I [i]can[/i] play it fast? As I believe Chuck Rainey said, you don't want the instrument to hinder your expression. Therefore you have to see what you can do on it. When I'm trying an instrument I want to see how little it limits my expression, not whether I can play a blues in A; being able to play it with as little hindrance as possible is very important to me. One other thing, people always seem to assume that people playing fast in shops (slapping or otherwise) are showing off/attempting to show off. Why? I'm usually in my own little world (see first para), and unaware of most people around me. I know plenty of other people who are the same.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1319672' date='Jul 28 2011, 07:45 PM']Not necessarily the best. Living or dead. My choice is Marcus: [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2dnerYZs-c&feature=related"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u2dnerYZs-c...feature=related[/url][/quote] I think we've been here Pete. I'll keep my mouth shut this time. Coolest? For me? Probably Mr Lynott off the top of my head. Although Lem is [i]damn[/i] cool.

[quote name='Pete Academy' post='1319638' date='Jul 28 2011, 07:03 PM']Working in a music shop, I find the most annoying thing that bassists and drummers do is play as fast as they can. I always feel like saying, 'But what if someone asks you to play a slow blues or a groove?' Why the need for speed? [/quote] To see whether or not you [i]can[/i] play quickly on it. It's something I always do. I want the instrument to be as easily playable as possible.

Oh arse. I'd love to go but am totally, utterly brassic and being at the other end of the country that makes this a no-go.

[quote name='51m0n' post='1318468' date='Jul 27 2011, 05:33 PM']There is no point setting the input gain lower than you need to just because you are capable of hitting the string harder than you ever would, for one thing you are lowering your signal to noise ration, and for another you are lowering the maximum output of tha amp, since the gain is lower than it need be.[/quote] When I was young and even more impressionable , a music shop assistant advised I should have the gain on my Trace head at about half. What he didn't tell me was he used a high output active bass and played much harder then me. I spent the next year or two wondering why I sounded so weedy and thin. Imagine my surprise one day when I decided to try turning the gain up to near max!

[quote name='BigRedX' post='1318022' date='Jul 27 2011, 10:32 AM']On the move it by hand bridges I've lost count of the number of times I've tried to make a small final adjustment to the saddle position only for it to slip away in my grasp and then have to start all over again. Plus on a lot of these designs the very act of locking the saddle in place by a grub screw causes it to move slightly as you turn the screw. So is there a clear tonal advantage or is it just lazy engineering?[/quote] This irritates the crap out of me too. Some people seem to swear by them but I can't stand them. Worst piece of non-aesthetic design for me is having to take the neck off to adjust the truss rod as Wolverinebass mentioned. And this from a man with an engineering background eh? Who'd have thought.

[quote name='simon1964' post='1035385' date='Nov 24 2010, 07:05 PM']A But as I said several posts ago, I'm not defending Rics as a design. I love them, but I readily accept the bridge, pickups, and lack of countours are as old fashioned and flawed as a Morgan Roadster.[/quote] I love the lack of contours. I cannot play basses with forearm contours, they cause me tremendous pain at any height. So I'm rather grateful that they've kept them that way. Anybody who wants contours, why consider one in the first place? It's like criticising Raquel Welch for not being Sophia Loren.

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' post='1033774' date='Nov 23 2010, 01:28 PM']In fairness to Rickenbacker whenever they have tried to modernise (4004 for example) no one really likes them.[/quote] Fixed.

[quote name='Chris2112' post='1038829' date='Nov 27 2010, 03:35 PM']Ignorance is bliss, eh? I don't suppose he gets a chance to try much else, otherwise the Ric design would have surely improved![/quote] Strange, mine have been far more reliable than my Statii or Fenders or Warwicks.....or indeed anything else bar the Alembics. In addition, the majority of the issues some people seem to have with Rics (generally the ones who wish they were something other than what they are, which I've touched on in a previous thread) have been solved on the 4004, yet nobody ever mentions them. No binding, different and more functional bridge, no pickup cover, hum-cancelling pickups, no chrome pickup surround. Why do people seem to conveniently forget they exist? "Oh, the P-Bass is no good. It should have a thinner neck and twin single-coil pickups and a different body shape". "That'll be the Jazz you're after then". "No, the P-Bass is all wrong, too many things I don't like; I need 2 single coils and a thinner neck". "So have you tried a Jazz?" "Why don't Fender just make a bass with 2 single coils and a thinner neck?" "Are you listening to me?"

[quote name='Musicman20' post='1033539' date='Nov 23 2010, 10:12 AM']+1 If they evolved Rickenbackers I would own one.[/quote] So why haven't you bought a 4004 then?

I always find the "I don't like that kind of bass playing" when applied in a general sort of way a bit weird. I happily listen to groove stuff, aggressive stuff, dub stuff, virtuoso pyrotechnic stuff, whatever; I either like it or I don't and whether it's busy or simple, traditional or out there has no bearing on it for me. I think Hadrien is a tremendous player; I love his tone, fluidity and articulation. He probably has my favourite solo tone of the fusion guys. I do find his music a bit fuzaky sometimes (this from a big Mahavishnu/RTF fan) - I only watched part of his set the last time he was at Bass Day - but stuff like this I love.

I've owned both as and as Loz says they're massively different basses. My Wal Custom had walnut facings and was a nice enough weight; not overly heavy. Probably about 9lbs; no more. The 2 Alembics I've had were a SC Deluxe (rosewood top and back) and my custom-built Triple Omega (effectively an MK Deluxe with various extras including superb walnut facings and a hollow body). The Wal was a nice bass but tonally didn't really work for me. I also found the ergonomics a bit strange. The neck was quite nice IMO but I've played necks that suit me better. I loved playing it at home but in a band setting it just never worked for me. My SC D had a fabulous neck, great tones and sustain and a musicality that was out on its own. As you'd expect, for flash stuff it was amazing, but it was also incredible for dub; the best dub bass I've ever played. It wasn't really a big low-mids bass though. It was IMO much better made than the Wal too. I much preferred it except for one thing; it was incredibly neck heavy, and to make matters worse the body actually kind of fell away from you (it weighed about 10 or 11lbs). A non-issue if you sit down but for me a big issue; I found it extremely uncomfortable to play standing. The guy I sold it to loved everything about it except the ergonomics (which he hated for the same reasons) and sold it on immediately. My Triple O was a masterpiece. The most stunning bass I've ever laid eyes on bar one (a buckeye burl Triple O in Ed Roman's, all of $20k or something similarly wallet-busting) incredibly made (beyond anything else I've ever played), with a wonderful neck and tremendously classy tones. Although I marginally prefer my old 72 Ric in terms of it being something I've bonded with and duplicating the tone I hear in my head, the Alembic was in most ways the bast bass I've ever played. It was also ergonomically great except for one thing; it weighed about 11lbs and eventually my prolapsed discs couldn't cope anymore and I had to sell it. If my back was ok it would have stayed forever. For me, there was no comparison between the Wal and the Alembics, weight and ergonomics aside; of course YMMV. One thing though; I once played an Alembic SC Brown Bass (hollow body in those) and although it was also head heavy it weighed half of what my SC did and the neck was unbelievable. Worth consideration if you can find one and can live with the neck-heaviness.

[quote name='hairyhaw' post='1312441' date='Jul 22 2011, 10:22 AM']Correctamundo. Never been a fan of them myself. I always felt the Rick holy grail was the RM1999.[/quote] Indeed, something I'll sadly never own. However I obtained my own personal Ric Holy Grail in Feb of this year (a '72 Azure with full-width crushed pearl, checkered binding etc) so I can live with it.

They're very rare. And some Ric collectors/players really, really like them. I played one once (maybe '82-ish???). Can't remember what it was like though, which I guess means it didn't blow me away.

[quote name='paul_5' post='1307261' date='Jul 17 2011, 11:24 PM']Herman Munster doing Baldrick's famous "slug balancing act" on a unicycle - where do I sign?[/quote] It was worth reading this thread just for the Amy Pond avatar. Nice one.

Some of this is semantics. To me there's a big difference between describing somebody as a great bass player and describing them as a Great (bass player). Being the generation I am I describe many things as great; a great pizza, a great film, a great evening last night etc. That doesn't mean I think they were some of the best pizzas/films/evenings that have ever existed. Bass Greats IMO are very, very few and far between; maybe half a dozen people at most. Having said that, just because someone is a Great doesn't mean you have to be a fan. You can (and probably should) acknowledge their impact but that doesn't mean you have to like them. Ultimately a great bassist may be far more important to you than a Great. Someone like Marcus is probably nearer a Great than Tal, but I'll take Tal's playing every time.

[quote name='dave_bass5' post='1309305' date='Jul 19 2011, 04:11 PM']Thats called having a different opinion and if people dont want other opinion (and im sure they do) they really shouldn't post on a public web forum.[/quote] Maybe, but I often think it might be more constructive if people didn't take it as yet another opportunity to argue over who's worthy and who isn't (and I'm also guilty as charged). These threads always end up the same and nobody ever gets anywhere. Getting back to Tal, I have a dvd of the entire JB Crossroads set, and I think the playing on it is excellent. But of course that's only my opinion....