So why is the Ricky so 'special'

[molan]

So here I am sitting by the pool in Antigua (it's a tough gig but someone has to do it!) And trawling through my iPod for bass heavy tunes and I've noticed how many songs I have that feature some really great playing by Ricky users.

Currently have Chris Squire on playing some really amazing stuff from earlyish Yes. What a great sound he gets by the way, not sure what amps etc he was using?

Have also had some Mike Rutherford (bit of a prog fest going on today!) From early Genesis and also the ever wonderful Bruce Foxton.

I'm sure there's loads of other great Ricky players that have slipped my mind as well.

So what is it about the Ricky that brings out such great playing from people?

Such a distinctive sound and not the easiest to bass to play - in my opinion anyway - and I've always thought they look great as well.

I rarely see a 'bad' player using one. Bit like an SG amongst guitarists, so many SG players are really good and very distinctive, Zappa, Zal Cleminson, Angus Young etc.

Oh well, time for a dip

[Prosebass]

Sorry thought this was a thread about Eastenders.....

[skankdelvar]

Rick forum has (not unsurprisingly) a list of players past, present, famous, otherwise:

[url="http://www.rickenbacker.com/forum_view_thread.asp?thread_id=7137&forum=Sightings,_Artists,_and_Events&thread_name=Famous%20RIC%20Bass%20Players"]http://www.rickenbacker.com/forum_view_thr...0Bass%20Players[/url]

And it's cos they sound pumpy and look real purty.

Edited December 12, 2008 by skankdelvar

[Clarky]

They have a distinctive voice that cuts through some bands more than a thumping P bass (your list missed the great Lemmy and a certain Beatle dude!) plus they look the dog's nads IMHO

Edit: and of course the bassist from Hot Chocolate [attachment=17132:_4075484...brown203.jpg]

Edited December 12, 2008 by Clarky

[molan]

Damn, how could I forget Lemmy!

I always think of McCartney with a Hofner I guess (plus I hate the Beatles, lol).

Actually, wasn't Geddy a Rick player for quite a while? I can't stand Rush either so maybe my theory is falling apart already!

[Delberthot]

I couldn't get mine to sound anything like the Rick you hear on recordings.

It seemed to sound more like a Stingray. Conversely my Stingrays seemed to sound like Jazz basses, my Warmoth '57 sounds like a Rick and my gold Warmoth sounds like a Stingray since I made it active.

You'd probably be surprised at Chris Squire though. You'll probably find that a lot of stuff you believed was played on a Rick was actually his Mouradian or one of his other squillion basses that he uses live.

[OldGit]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='352860' date='Dec 12 2008, 04:14 PM']You'd probably be surprised at Chris Squire though. You'll probably find that a lot of stuff you believed was played on a Rick was actually his Mouradian or one of his other squillion basses that he uses live.[/quote]

And that Roundabout line was doubled on a Gibson 6 string gu1t@r ...

[lemmywinks]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='352860' date='Dec 12 2008, 04:14 PM']I couldn't get mine to sound anything like the Rick you hear on recordings.

It seemed to sound more like a Stingray. Conversely my Stingrays seemed to sound like Jazz basses, my Warmoth '57 sounds like a Rick and my gold Warmoth sounds like a Stingray since I made it active.

You'd probably be surprised at Chris Squire though. You'll probably find that a lot of stuff you believed was played on a Rick was actually his Mouradian or one of his other squillion basses that he uses live.[/quote]


Going a bit off topic, the most Ric-like bass sound i've ever got was from my old RD Artist.

Oh and you forgot Cliff Burton!

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

What about Rick James?
[spoiler]...Oh yes he mostly used it for photos & Oscar Alston played a musicman on Rick James tracks[/spoiler]

[molan]

[quote name='Jean-Luc Pickguard' post='352908' date='Dec 12 2008, 05:03 PM']What about Rick James?
[spoiler]...Oh yes he mostly used it for photos & Oscar Alston played a musicman on Rick James tracks[/spoiler][/quote]

I love that pic of Rick James with the Ricky and the huge platforms

[Happy Jack]

I was born in 1956 and I have an older brother, so I grew up listening to The Beatles (just like Mott said: [i]Well my brother's back at home with his Beatles and his Stones[/i]). When I was ready to strike out with my own musical tastes, the very first album I bought with my own money was Fragile.

So by far the two most influential players in my formative days were Macca and Chris Squire. Both players of intricate and melodic bass lines, rather than 'dig in and get that thump' types. I grew up thinking that the Ric "clank" was the ideal tone.

I've spent the last two weeks alternating between a Ric 4003 and a Lakland P-bass and it is truly startling (1) how difficult it is to get the Ric to sound like my heroes, and (2) how differently I find myself playing when I pick up the Ric. I hold it in a different way, play in a different position, set the knobs on my amp to a different combination.

That's it really. The Ric isn't "special" but, in a world full of Fender clones and derivatives, the Ric is different. In its own way that IS special.

Make mine a banana daiquiri.

Edited December 12, 2008 by Happy Jack

[molan]

[quote name='Happy Jack' post='352942' date='Dec 12 2008, 05:44 PM']I was born in 1956 and I have an older brother, so I grew up listening to The Beatles (just like Mott said: [i]Well my brother's back at home with his Beatles and his Stones[/i]). When I was ready to strike out with my own musical tastes, the very first album I bought with my own money was Fragile.

So by far the two most influential players in my formative days were Macca and Chris Squire. Both players of intricate and melodic bass lines, rather than 'dig in and get that thump' types. I grew up thinking that the Ric "clank" was the ideal tone.

I've spent the last two weeks alternating between a Ric 4003 and a Lakland P-bass and it is truly startling (1) how difficult it is to get the Ric to sound like my heroes, and (2) how differently I find myself playing when I pick up the Ric. I hold it in a different way, play in a different position, set the knobs on my amp to a different combination.

That's it really. The Ric isn't "special" but, in a world full of Fender clones and derivatives, the Ric is different. In its own way that IS special.

Make mine a banana daiquiri.[/quote]

Your drink is waiting for you at the pool bar, if it looks like the crushed ice is beginning to melt before you get here I'll have to drink it for you

[4000]

[quote name='Delberthot' post='352860' date='Dec 12 2008, 04:14 PM']I couldn't get mine to sound anything like the Rick you hear on recordings.

It seemed to sound more like a Stingray. Conversely my Stingrays seemed to sound like Jazz basses, my Warmoth '57 sounds like a Rick and my gold Warmoth sounds like a Stingray since I made it active.

You'd probably be surprised at Chris Squire though. You'll probably find that a lot of stuff you believed was played on a Rick was actually his Mouradian or one of his other squillion basses that he uses live.[/quote]

The bulk of the early and better known stuff (i.e. '70s) was played on a Ric (or, more accurately, a few Rics, including fretless; if you take "Awaken" as an example- although for me that's "later" - the recording was all various Rics, despite the use of the Wal & later the Wal copy live). Some may be surprised to find out that he used a 21 fret 4001 on The Yes Album and not his main Ric. The Mouradian came much, much later, as did the Ranney 8 string (his original was, surprisingly enough, a Ric), the Tobiases, the Carvins, Warwicks, Laklands etc. He did also occasionally use a modified Tele bass in the early days(which I believe he described as "playing like a dog"), and later used a Thunderbird on some bits on Tormato and Fish Out of Water, and of course he also used his maple necked Jazz on a few things (Parallels springs to mind).

FWIW, I've played Rics through just about every type of amp I can think of, and the only ones that seem to get "that" sound for me are old valve amps (Marshall, Hiwatt etc) and Trace and Ashdown. Whenever I play them through more modern, hi-fi stuff they just don't work at all. Once played my old 4003s8 through an Eden head and an Epi 3x10 and it sounded awful whatever I did. However through my 300SMX and 1153 it sounded like God. There's also a knack to eq-ing them, although obviously every player will sound different anyway. Oh, and Rotos help!

Have to agree with the OP though. Probably 95% of my favourite sounding bassists used Rics at the time I liked them best; Squire, Geddy, Glover, Hughes, Foxton, Jon Camp, Mike Rutherford, Pete Trewavas, Neil Brewer, Paul Gray and many others......including of course Lemmy and Phil.

There are people who play them and don't sound good (the bloke in the original Tygers of Pan Tang springs to mind) but when you get it right there's nothing to touch them in my opinion. Of course I'm biased.

[cytania]

Looked at in terms of 60s/70s basses the Rick has several key features. It's neck thru at a time when most were bolted or pocketed. The Rick bridge is huge compared to most other basses of the time and there's more metal round the bridge pickup.

If those didn't make for a different tone then Rickenbacker decided to varnish the fretboard. I was amazed by this when I handled one. It's not a subtle lacquer but a real glassy varnish. That's got to affect the way the neck resonates. It certainly affects the way your fingers interact with the frets.

Oh yeah, and it looks brilliant!

[Happy Jack]

[quote name='cytania' post='353351' date='Dec 13 2008, 08:45 AM']That's got to affect the way the neck resonates.[/quote]

In the same vein, don't forget the twin trussrods.

Spent another hour last night listening [i]very carefully[/i] through a pair of Sennheisers, trying to analyse the "clank" yet again. I still think it's got a lot to do with the bridge pickup sitting inside a tin enclosure rather than simply being sunk into a wooden body.

[redzombie]

No quite in the same league of popularity as the afforementioned bass players, but I think Scott Reeder and Paul D'Amour (who's tone sometimes sounds to me like it was stolen from Squire in broad daylight) have made some pretty awesome records with Ricks IMO.

[thebeat]

I couldn't get along with the ergonomics of mines...was the bass playing equivalent of wearing my girlfriends pants. Give me a P or a J anyday.

[Clarky]

[quote name='thebeat' post='353501' date='Dec 13 2008, 12:39 PM']the bass playing equivalent of wearing my girlfriends pants[/quote]
You make that sound likes its a bad thing

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

[quote name='thebeat' post='353501' date='Dec 13 2008, 12:39 PM']...was the bass playing equivalent of wearing my girlfriends pants..[/quote]
The consequences of the wife finding a pair in your jacket pocket?

[stingrayfan]

Never been able to get on with Ricks - it's the weird shape. That and they're f'ugly!

[Bassassin]

[quote name='molan' post='352857' date='Dec 12 2008, 04:10 PM']Actually, wasn't Geddy a Rick player for quite a while? I can't stand Rush either so maybe my theory is falling apart already![/quote]
He's associated with playing a Rick during the period which sort of defined his playing, but it seems he didn't use it in the studio as often as most people think - a lot of the time it's a Jazz or a P, even on the 70s & early 80s stuff. Whether or not you like the band or his playing (bit of a fan, me) he's an adventurous & technically gifted player. Very influenced by Mr Squire in his early days too, so that's probably a lot to do with it.

To answer your original question, I think the cutting tone & upfront nature of the Rick sound made it the obvious choice for music where bass wasn't constrained to root-note plonking, back in the days when bass & amp technology wasn't quite as versatile as it is now.

I've always loved them, although it's undeniable that they're awkward, uncomfortable, crude and generally feel "wrong" - but maybe that's part of the appeal...

J.

Edited December 13, 2008 by Bassassin

[cytania]

Oh, I finally got to see an Indie rick copy a few days ago. These are different from the 'Rockinbetter' copies I've seen. Indie actually have their logo on the headstock swoosh. The neck is more modern less clublike compared to Rockinbetter but neither have the recent comfortable Rick neck shape.

Where the Indie copy really goes awry is using a Fender type bridge and having no mountings for the pickups at all. The pickguard and knobs are wrong. Overall I'd say avoid. It's like someone had described a Rickenbacker to Indie maybe even drawn diagrams but the makers had never really seen one...

[Bassassin]

The Indie's the only recent Rick copy I've actually played - unfortunately I thought it was horrid, particularly considering it had a £500+ price tag. Didn't feel (or sound) anything like a Rick, and there was just something cheap & tacky about it. I really felt the body shape & control layout were all it had in common with its "inspiration" (doesn't even have a through-neck) and it just seemed like a generic low-midrange Chinese/Indonesian nondescript to me.

I'd like a proper look at a Shine or a Rockinbetter, they at least try & look the part.

J.

[4000]

[quote name='Bassassin' post='353534' date='Dec 13 2008, 01:31 PM']He's associated with playing a Rick during the period which sort of defined his playing, but it seems he didn't use it in the studio as often as most people think - a lot of the time it's a Jazz or a P, even on the 70s & early 80s stuff. Whether or not you like the band or his playing (bit of a fan, me) he's an adventurous & technically gifted player. Very influenced by Mr Squire in his early days too, so that's probably a lot to do with it.

To answer your original question, I think the cutting tone & upfront nature of the Rick sound made it the obvious choice for music where bass wasn't constrained to root-note plonking, back in the days when bass & amp technology wasn't quite as versatile as it is now.

I've always loved them, although it's undeniable that they're awkward, uncomfortable, crude and generally feel "wrong" - but maybe that's part of the appeal...

J.[/quote]

Geddy actually didn't start using the Jazz until Moving Pictures. Most of the recording before that (and a little on that) is Rickenbacker. So it's fairly safe to say that the sound of the Ric was, as you say, associated with the period that defined his playing, and for good reason. Interesting that he actually cites Jack Bruce as his main influence. Reminds me of Fish saying early Marillion sounded nothing like early Genesis.

Maybe the comfort etc factor of Rics is down to the individual. I actually find them far more comfortable than Fender types, but I guess I've been playing them since day 1 so that's doubtless a factor. Some people also find the necks odd but apart from Alembic they're probably the only necks I really like. Now the Fender Jazz...[i]there's[/i] a neck I don't generally get on with.

[4000]

[quote name='stingrayfan' post='353519' date='Dec 13 2008, 01:05 PM']Never been able to get on with Ricks - it's the weird shape. That and they're f'ugly![/quote]

Er, ok. You obviously have very different eyes than me; I think they're by far the most beautiful looking bass out there. Do you fancy Girls Aloud too?