chriswareham

I know what you mean - for instance in the mid 1980's it seemed like nearly all funk and pop bassists used a Stingray, but a few years later it was those Warwick Corvette things. Around the same time every indie, punk or goth bassist seemed to play a Precision. I seemed to be the exception with my Westone! In the last fifteen years I think the web's been a great leveller though, enabling people to indulge in all manner of basses via online shops where in the past they were limited to the handful of models their local music shop stocked. As a result, when I now go to gigs I'd would be surprised to see two bands featuring bassists with the same model of bass.

I had an AP100 Mk II back when I was a student. Best amp I've ever owned - clear, punchy sound with loads of volume. I now own a similarly designed Sound City 120 which is a cheaper alternative to both the Simms Watts and Hiwatt DR103.

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1394625470' post='2393386'] Played with these last year... [/quote] Ooh I like that - psychobilly meets horror punk. The band name does bring back bad memories of a few nights at the Slimelight[1] though ... or the mornings after at any rate. [1] legendary goth and industrial club in London

[quote name='Annoying Twit' timestamp='1394662264' post='2393906'] &--#60;p&--#62;You're correct - I didn't look carefully enough at the neck.&--#60;/p&--#62; &--#60;div id="myEventWatcherDiv" style="display:none;"&--#62; &--#60;/div&--#62; Edit: Why are my posts full of escaped HTML? [/quote] What operating system and browser are you using?

[quote name='TimR' timestamp='1394650406' post='2393751'] I wonder how many players would just go back and be happy playing that first bass that they learned on. [/quote] First bass? No, as it was objectively an appalling instrument (Aria Pro II with a neck that couldn't be set up properly). But I'd be content with the the second bass I owned a year into playing (unidentified Peavey), which actually cost me less than the first one.

[quote name='lemmywinks' timestamp='1394617634' post='2393284'] It's just personal preference, I gig cheapys nowadays and they're actually very nice basses with nice pickups and comfortable necks. I really dislike bass snobbery and the whole "not good enough for me" ethos you get, especially for covers/function band players because obviously we all [i]need[/i] a new custom bass to play Good Times right? [/quote] Same here - I now gig with a "cheapy" with a wonderful neck that I got for a couple of hundred quid from eBay. The only difference I can see between something like a Squier or lower end Yamaha and basses in the £1000 to £2000 bracket is the materials - the Squier Jazz I owned was as nice to play as a US Fender for example, while the cheaper materials made it lighter and easier to move about with. The only reason I stuck with a Stingray for fifteen years was because of the neck, which had dimensions I couldn't find on anything cheaper and the only time I regularly see high end or custom basses (Foderas and the like) is in covers or function bands cranking out standards to a small room!

[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1394444513' post='2391277'] Or K-Log as he prefers to be known... [/quote] An Archer fan as well?

[quote name='Musky' timestamp='1394393574' post='2390991'] [url="http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/10-x-BLACK-new-Washers-for-Swing-Top-Grolsch-Bottle-/281275947130"]http://www.ebay.co.u...e-/281275947130[/url] [/quote] And to quote from the listing: "[size="2"][font="Arial"]Now for you[u][b] gui[/b][/u][size="2"][u][b]tar[/b][/u][size="2"][u][b] players[/b][/u] out there [size="2"]i have been told that these make excellent guitar strap lock"[/size][/size][/size][/font][/size] [size="2"][font="Arial"][size="2"][size="2"][size="2"] [/size][/size][/size][/font][/size][size="2"][font="Arial"][size="2"][size="2"] [/size][/size][/font][/size]

[quote name='lemmywinks' timestamp='1394284408' post='2389857'] My parents' have always had awful taste in music (Cher, Michael Bolton, Kenny Loggins....) [/quote] How dare you mock the Loggins ;-) [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=siwpn14IE7E[/media]

My Dad was into prog rock in a big way - Yes, Genesis and Pink Floyd in particular. I grew up loathing it and still do, but my brother loves it. My Mum listened to a lot of Fleetwood Mac and Del Shannon, which I wouldn't go out of my way to listen to but it does evoke memories of long journeys in my parents car as a kid whenever I hear it.

It reminds me of those pictures of deformed calves that are either stillborn or die soon after birth.

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1394050993' post='2387460'] But in that case it's not doing anything we can't we do that here? I'm guessing it could be linked to from the eBay forum, but either way I'm not sure, if you can't buy and sell, what the point is given that the faker thread is pretty comprehensive? Am I missing something? [/quote] The problem with the Basschat Rickenfaker thread is that while there's a lot of information, it's scattered all over and most of the images and links are dead since they point to long defunct eBay auctions.

[quote name='matski' timestamp='1394012718' post='2386817'] What brand of faker is this? It's pretty close to the real thing. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrHN9tJLaQ0 [/quote] Can't believe I just watched a Buble video!!! The bridge and pickup cover are identical to the ones on the Rockinbetter branded models, so I'd guess that's what it is.

[quote name='Beedster' timestamp='1394005701' post='2386714'] Good stuff Chris, can it have a marketplace or will that run into problems? [/quote] My understanding is that it would be legal for sales by private sellers in the UK at least, but it's not something that I'm interested in hosting. As icastle points out, it would mean that the site couldn't be linked from Basschat which defeats part of the purpose of it since people often post on here with queries regarding Rickenfaker identification.

[quote name='tommorichards' timestamp='1393979513' post='2386666'] And a vid of sounds http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uu92Qp1oKUA" [/quote] I've added a page for your Gherson - many thanks for the pictures. I've added a credit with your name to the bottom of the page, and the "alt" attributes on the images mark the pictures as copyright to you. Do you know what the model number or name of the bass is?

[quote name='Bassassin' timestamp='1393977729' post='2386645'] Hi Chris, just checked out the site and it's a good start. I'll get some pics & info together of my 3 (Kasuga bolt-neck, Matsumoku-made through-neck/dual truss, & unknown (possibly originally a Shaftesbury) through-neck. I've also got numerous 70s catalogues which feature pics & model numbers (including the Hondo) so if I can get my laptop to talk to my ancient scanner, I can get these to you as well. BTW the Hondo's Korean, not Japanese. Jon. [/quote] Oops - I'll correct the Hondo page straight away!

[quote name='tommorichards' timestamp='1393976501' post='2386633'] Ive advertised that you're after info over at the rickenfakers facebook page! [/quote] Cool! If memory serves I think you're the guy with a Gherson - would you be up for sending me some pics and technical details of it if you still have it? From what I've read the Ghersons were Italian made and one of the best.

[quote name='BassTractor' timestamp='1393975738' post='2386627'] Nice one! Thanks for doing this. I can send you the measurements for the Rockinbetter if you don't have those. [/quote] Yes please! That's the only one that's up there at the moment that I no longer own. Mine was the later model one which I found to be very well made, although the pickups weren't very aesthetically pleasing to look at. I considered putting pickups from [url="http://classicamplification.net/Pickups/Rick_pickup.htm"]Classic Amplification[/url] into it, but then sold it when I got the Hondo.

[quote name='Billy Apple' timestamp='1393973863' post='2386584'] Burn the Kay with fire! [/quote] I have soft spot for the Kay - crudest construction I've ever seen but it sounds fantastic! I own another one in blue, but it was just a parts donor since the scratch plate was so badly cut that it pressed up against the pickup surrounds and broke them. I harvested the bridge and ashtray cover from it since the previous owner of the "tobacco burst" one had stuck on a Fender Jazz bridge with string spacing that was too wide.

[quote name='dannybuoy' timestamp='1393973555' post='2386579'] Nice one - images are missing for the Jolana by the way! [/quote] Yup, they should be up tomorrow. The only ones I have at the moment are from when I first acquired it, complete with truss rod cover that looked as though it had been fashioned from a plastic lid using a pair of scissors!

Hi folks, I've just put up the basics for site devoted to Rickenfakers: http://www.rickenfaker.info/ I'm hoping it can become a useful repository for descriptions, technical specs and pictures of bass guitars that are influenced by the design of the Rickenbacker 4000 series. So far I've added incomplete pages for the Rickenfakers I have owned, and I would love it if the owners of other models felt like submitting informations on those that they own or any further information on the models already up there. I'm particularly interested in scans of original promotional material such as magazine adverts or catalogues as I guess these are the "primary source material" for reliable information. Note to the moderators - I pledge not to my site for anything commercial (for example, trading Rickenfakers) and I wont be adding any advertising to it. However, if you feel this post is inappropriate for Basschat then please remove it. Cheers, Chris

I love the distorted bass sound on this track from a few years back: [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZMUlZQoZw0[/media]

My Rickenfaker lust is now completely sated, as I've taken delivery of one that ticks all the boxes in terms of aesthetics. It's a black Greco with checked binding, but it doesn't have as nice a neck as my Jolana D Bass:

Burman amps are pretty legendary, and this one seems to be up for a Buy it Now at a fair price: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Ultra-RARE-Vintage-BURMAN-Pro-4000-Tube-Bass-Amp-head-/121287599595 The seller looks like he's having a big clear out to pay for a divorce settlement (ouch). Amongst his other items is a wonderful Ovation Magnum bass that I'm hoping someone on here will buy to remove the temptation ...