Cosmo Valdemar

The clip on the website sounds awesome! Very King Crimson/John Wetton. I want one.

I remember seeing a load of Grassroots basses on Denmark St years ago, just before the LTDs started to appear. We're talking late 90s.

[quote name='MacDaddy' timestamp='1449527448' post='2924450'] Lemmy plays 'rhythm bass', no distortion but lots of Mids. [/quote] No distortion?!

[quote name='Norris' timestamp='1449399473' post='2923116'] I think that the 4004 would be a lot more popular if it wasn't so darned expensive. I'm a Ric player (4003) but you can get a heck of a lot of bass for that kind of money from other manufacturers. I'd love to try a 4004 but they are kind of hen's teeth, and I very much doubt I'll ever see one in the flesh let alone own one [/quote] Guitar Guitar seem to have a few, if there's one near you...

[quote name='howdenspur' timestamp='1449398028' post='2923095'] A band of two halves - they needed that creative tension to make their best stuff. IMHO of course. [/quote] Undoubtedly.

Although prone to smart-arsery, I do love 10cc. I could listen to Kevin Godley's singing all day. Nice to see them get their own documentary but as always with these things it felt a bit hurried.

[quote name='ezbass' timestamp='1449248388' post='2921968'] Or just buy a 4003s [/quote] There is that I suppose They are much harder to get hold of though!

[quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1449237910' post='2921853'] Thanks Ben you've answered my real question without me actually posting it! Kudos. I am much more of a trebly player and I had a hunch the humbuckers would produce a darker sound. I'd probably prefer the single coils too, I'm just curious why the cheyenne is more! Would you have to use Rick pots or can you use any pots? I can imagine rick charging a fortune for parts [/quote] To the best of my knowledge, any pots. A relatively quick and cheap fix if you're handy with a soldering iron. For some reason RIC use 330 pots in all their guitars and basses even though they are often not the most suitable. Interesting bass, the 4004. It fixes all the problems people have with the classic Ricks - uncomfortable body, noisy pickups, upsetting holes in the body, 'unique' bridge - but they remain very much a curio, and rarely seen. I think they are beautiful and I would love another one - with different pickups

[quote name='EliasMooseblaster' timestamp='1449064813' post='2920480'] I noticed he offers an 8-string version as well...anyone have any idea what the damage might be on one of those? [/quote] Not sure, but probably cheaper than you would imagine! You can email Carlo via the website, he'll give you a quote.

The question should really be "4004 vs. 4003" - the 4004 has two variants, the Cheyenne and the Laredo. Laredos are maple, whereas the Cheyenne is maple and walnut (I believe), and tends to have a nice top wood. Laredos have solid colour finishes. I've not compared the two but the Laredo is said to be slightly brighter - however, as stock both basses are on the dark side, and don't have much of the trebly clank you would expect from a Rick. However this is easily fixed - for some reason Rickenbacker see fit to install 330k pots which combined with the humbuckers give that dark sound - swapping them for 500k brings them to life a bit. I used to own a Cheyenne very briefly but the neck was very cluby and cumbersome. Modern ones have the same neck profile as the 4003 which is good news! I would love a Laredo but in all honesty I would probably swap the pickups for single coils, thereby having the modern comfortable Rick bpdy but with the classic tone.

I'm [i]very[/i] close to pulling the trigger on Cataldo number 2...

[quote name='The-Ox' timestamp='1449014724' post='2920191'] Hey guys what are yer thoughts on this one? Cheers Taran [/quote] That looks uncannily like my old one, even down to the chip in the finish...

[quote name='LayDownThaFunk' timestamp='1448972786' post='2919656'] Another sell tickets for us and you'll get no money out of it competition. [/quote] Read the small print. I know the promoter Mick - definitely not a pay to play merchant!

I'd love to hear some decent demos of these beautiful basses.

I've seen them several times over the past few years, and have countless live albums/bootlegs. Their current form is the best they've been for 15-20 years. Gillan had a dodgy few years a while back with his vocals but he's sounding much better - he'll never manage Child In Time but can pull off Into The Fire with ease. But there you go - DP, ever unfashionable BTW I'll be there on Thursday!

I quite like it! The pickup placement wouldn't work for me but there's no reason why it wouldn't make a serviceable sound... Perhaps we should all chip in a fiver and buy one?

There's no right or wrong way - it's whatever you're happier with. I briefly owned the VT but my favourite is the Leeds. I always use it in the effects loop when I can but on the occasions when this has not been possible it still performs admirably straight into the front of the amp. They are really bloody good though these pedals aren't they!

[quote name='Jazzneck' timestamp='1447710937' post='2909762'] Why Oh Why do they do this remix cobblers? Another great money making scheme - let's milk the cash cow - the mugs'll fall for it again, game. This remix, remastering cods really piddles me off. Who bl**dy cares if you can make it sound different? It's not what really happened. Just enjoy the original stuff, warts and all, as it occurred in real life. Yes, I've got all the Beatles stuff on original vinyl and CD. I think I've paid enough over the years and I ain't paying anymore for stuff I don't need or want, thank you! Rant over - Thank you for reading this and I wish you a goodnight! [/quote] To be fair, I think the main selling point with this new release is the Blu-Ray/ DVD. It's full of promo clips, lots of which I've never seen before. Also, not sure if I should mention this or not, the visuals have also been restored and they look glorious.

For the full effect of the pedal, plug into the amp's effects return. This way you'll be getting the tone of the pedal alone and won't have any colouration from the amp. Of course this only really works if it's going to be an 'always on' pedal. If it's going to be an occasional effect go into the amp's input as normal.

[quote name='Meddle' timestamp='1447535540' post='2908463'] Note the picks stuck in the pickguard. John used pick quite a bit back then, sometimes with palm muting (like the intro to Sparks), but people typecast him as a fingerstyle player. [/quote] I'll second this. At least 50/50 pick and fingers back in the day. His pick technique always gets overlooked which is a pity as it's pretty phenomenal.

It's recently been playing up for me too. Try flicking the little switch icon top left of your comment box, that worked for me.

[quote name='Wolverinebass' timestamp='1447249046' post='2906099'] Were it me, I'd be getting a Cataldo (and I have considered it in the past actually). Not that I've ever played one, but sound samples I've heard sound great. As long as they're put together right, I'd imagine they'd be very, good instruments. More than likely because the pickups have some serious kick. [/quote] Next time you're around SE London/Kent pop round and have a go on mine! Bring Buzzards

[quote name='Truckstop' timestamp='1447289160' post='2906506'] Turn the bass almost completely off, leave the mids and treble set mid-way. On the bass, you'll want the tone set to about 75% zing. Tonnes of gain. Sounds counter-intuitive, but play lightly and let the amp do the work. Sounds pretty horrible solo'd but in the band mix it'll cut through like a knife. No need to use effects, just utilise the gain controls. [/quote] With all due respect I have to disagree with this. You've got the P bass - leave the tone wide open, without a doubt. You'll need the full beast coming through. It's a bit tricky to question the EQ setting without knowing what you are referring to - possibly the VT bass? I would start by saying the VT bass isn't going to get that Leeds sound - it will give you a nice aggressive valve sound but the Ampeg tone is very different to the Hiwatt tone. I'm going to sound like a broken record here but the Tech 21 Leeds is what you need. Use it as a preamp rather than a standard stomp box and with a P bass the tone is there. Don't take too much notice of the demos on Youtube as they go completely over the top - even the official Tech 21 demo. I have this pedal and use it all the time, and know from experience that with a P bass the sound is there. Of course a proper Slab would give you that extra push on top but it's certainly not vital. Definitley don't abandon the low end though!