faceman

Oh my word! That is the exact bass colour i've always wanted from a Fender. It's been 9 months since I've done any buying/selling but the GAS pains continue!

Hey guys, I've got my Open Mic Night (see my last thread) gig in two hours time and I'm trying to decide which bass to take, either my 4003 or 3001 Rickenbackers. I really prefer the tone of the 4003 as it is so much more distinct than the 3001 but at the moment, it's so hard to play. If i can't do anything, it'll be the 3001 but thought someone here might be able to tell me what I can do without f***ing up the neck or bridge. I've just taken a few photos attached to show the situation of the bass and how high the strings are. Judging from these photos, it seems the action is very high. In the next two hours, what can I do to improve this? I'm aware it needs a proper setup (going to take to the Gallery in Easter) but for the moment, what could be done. Do I need adjust the truss rod (loosen it slightly?) or lower the saddles? Seb

Fancy taking my Rickenbacker in for part exchange and some cash Pete?

The original 90s reissues, like the one I had, have the original wooden bridges that offer little adjustment (although this simplicity is part of the instrument), the later reissues had metal bridges that can be found on the internet if you want one. The 58s also have these wooden bridges. Although for some reason, the previous owner stuck on a standard Fender Precision bridge that meant the strings were two miles of the fretboard and was slowly destroying the body! Also check out this video of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band performing 10th Avenue Freeze Out in 1975, with Gary Tallent playing his original Danelectro Longhorn, which sounds very sweet. The bass comes in at 0:11 and really drives the band along. They sound much better here than anywhere else [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAvolRT3sX4"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yAvolRT3sX4[/url] EDIT - Adjustable bridge [url="http://www.danguitars.com/Parts.html"]http://www.danguitars.com/Parts.html[/url]

I used to own one of the original Korea reissue ones and I enjoyed playing it a lot, quite a Rickenbacker-ish tone with plenty of 'honk' and 'growl'. The newer reissues seem to have better pickups and less gloss on the body from what I can tell. Possibly better made too...check out these two YouTube videos to get an idea of what they can do. [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKPUvcejSD0"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZKPUvcejSD0[/url] - how good does it sound in this one! [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3au3Zfluvk"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B3au3Zfluvk[/url] Out of all the lower end basses, I think they are some of the best you can go for. I'm considering picking one up again, as a more portable bass...anyone with any actual experience of them?

Each to their own as they say I find Jazzes as comfortable as anything use but a Ric is just so different to every other bass I've played. Only bass I've really taken a dislike to was a Hofner Club, too narrow string spacing! Thanks for all the help and advice, I think by paying more attention to left hand technique and ensure I don't pluck too hard is the key to this. I'm building myself up a playlist of stuff to practise - I've got Tusk (Fleetwood Mac), Money (Floyd), Sirius (APP) and Gimme Some Lovin (BB cover) so far, all of which I love playing along to but also keep my fingers in shape. I'll report back in a few days and see how the buggers are doing!

Thanks for the advice guys, I'm seriously considering a proper setup (any recommendations for anyone in the NE?) and some new strings. The thing with the Ric is, that I always want to play it, it's like I have a bond or something stupid like that. I think it's the 'one' for me, just a few big kinks need ironing out With much difficulty, I managed to photography my fingers and you can see the shoddy state of my fingers. They simply seem to be big blisters - is this caused simply by string type or can this be affected by action/technique? I've been noodling just now with a better left hand technique. It feels weird now but I think I can grow into it. The joys of no formal bass education! FYI - First picture is left hand, second is right.

Plus you can see in that photo I have quite small fingers the the 'massive neck' of the Rickenbacker makes it hard work, but you get back in tone the effort you put in, i suppose Also Rich, this is what I always do. For example in the song I was mentioning, I play the D on the A string with my first finger and the octave with 3 or 4. 2 is too much of a stretch, 3 is a stretch and 4 is painful! And to add some information BurritoBass, I play in practises twice a week and usually noodle for 15 minutes once a day. I've been playing for nearly three years, although I haven't been become a decent player until the last year or so. My technique in the past was shocking until one day I just fell into something natural! I usually play finger style towards the bridge of the bass, and usually rest my arm on the bass, see the photo above. Anything else that might help? Back in the day, my hands were obviously blistered a lot because I wasn't used to it but when I become more competent at playing, they gotten used to it and it's only the past few weeks the problem has arisen again. This could also be fact I've been playing my 4003 again, as it has been relegated for a while...

Thanks for all the comments guys, I will obviously try new strings but I've never had this problem before with my old Lakland or even my other Rickenbacker for that matter! I've attached a picture and I've adjusted my playing style to try and combat this issue. I have the bass higher on my body and replaced the clunky thing with a Pickguardian pickup so I know either play over the bridge pickup or just below the neck pickup. I agree that playing near the bridge is harder on the fingers, hence why I made the adjustments. I'm tempted to take the 4003 to be set up properly with new strings and adjusted action that might relieve the problem. The Rickenbacker was a present a deceased-family member so I have very mixed feelings about. I'd love to swap it in a moment for something more comfortable but it has a lot of continental value, plus it looks the dogs bollocks. Any thoughts of swapping/selling make me feel guilty but then the pain my fingers are in at the moment isn't good!

Afternoon all, After a standard 2 hour band practise today, I noticed my fingers are now in a shocking state. The skin on my index and middle fingers on my left hand are pretty bad, with the top layer of skin leaving a hole on the index finger while my right hand was in agony. The middle and index fingers are bruised, dirty and generally hurting when they contact anything! I've been playing bass since February 2007 and I just don't understand how at this point they have gotten so bad. Just using my laptop now with my right hand is uncomfortable. It's bloody annoying because I need to keep practising for a big upcoming gig but it's so painful using my right hand that I have to use thumb and pick, both of which aren't ideal for some rhythms., One immediate thought is strings but they are standard D'Addorios roundwounds that I have been using for years so I'm not sure if is this? Playing style? Size of the frets? Honestly, I get very tired of my 4003 sometimes. The ergonomics are ridiculous and it can be so painful to play. Even reaching for an octave on a note can be pretty bad - the chorus of one of our songs does this and I can barely keep it up because my third finger can't reach very well and my pink isn't strong enough. There are so days I long for the neck of my Daryl Jones again! Seb

Hey everyone, One that's be pickling at my mind for a while. Chris Baio of Vampire Weekend is one of my favourite bass players of current times - his lines are melodic, imaginative and damn right funky! He uses a Kustom bass, which seems to be a rare bass from the 60s in vein of short scale basses of that era. The pickup placement is neck (bang on) and bridge, pretty close. Check out these live and album video to get an idea of the tone I'm talking about... Cousins (Live) - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFfNffB4Vh8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OFfNffB4Vh8[/url] M79 (Studio) - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTjwXwl_be8"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTjwXwl_be8[/url] A-Punk (Live) - [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ5TEg6vfLE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VJ5TEg6vfLE[/url] It's got some Rickenbacker balls in there but the hollow body adds something extra. So I'm wondering what sort of things are more readily available that have a similar tone to this? Hofner Club bass comes to mind but this seems to have more bass, the Eastwood Gretsch style is humbuckers so a much warmer tone. I'm stuck on ideas on this tone! Thanks!

I used to be a big Eagles fan, saw them live at at O2 Arena back in 2008. Randy used Fender P-Basses for the first two albums, then moved to the Hagstrom for the third/fourth albums and the Rickenbacker 4001 for Hotel California. His tone on Hotel California live is fantastic, just like a good Rickenbacker should be [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-qlORj0n2M"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=m-qlORj0n2M[/url] Timothy B. Schmit currently uses various Fender Jazz Basses, good live time! I've seen some photos of him using a single-coil Precision too around the time The Long Run. What can anyone tell me about Hagstrom basses? Don't know much about them! Hope that helps!

I'm selling my Ashdown EB180 on the forum at the moment, I've had it for two years and love the sound of it. It's surprisingly good for the size and cost of the amp. I found the Ampeg to be too much bass and a very inadequate sound compared to the Ashdown. No experience of the Hartke though.

Well after some Boxing Day eBay bidding, I have managed to get myself a Little Mark II (plus carrying case) for only £370 so I'm rather chuffed with that. The more I think about it, the more I loved the sound of the LMIII at the gig we did back in December. So back to the cabinet front. Thanks for all the advice, I think a single Aguilar 1x12 wouldn't be enough to hold it with keys and guitars so I'm still thinking a 2x10. Ashdown's 2x10 isn't much lighter than my 4x10 but I imagine would be lighter. Has anyone got any suggestions of any other 2x10s cabinets to look at? Does anyone have any thoughts on the Little Mark 210 Traveller? Thanks, and merry christmas all!

Although I don't own this DVD, I came back from university with it left in my laptop. It's a cracking DVD with the bad in very tight form and all the tunes are brilliant. Plenty of classics like Josie and Pretzel Logic, while the newer stuff is particuarly good. I loved Jack of Speed, What A Shame About Me and Cousin Dupree. Any excuse to talk about the Dan is good with me! Now just need to get Pete Academy's Nearly Dan DVD and I'll be happy