The Big "I'm Not An Ignoramus" Bass Info Thread

[fretlessman71]

So, I was just reading another post, where I found out that I've been mispronouncing "RickenBACKer" all these years, mainly due to the fact that I've heard everyone ELSE around here mispronounce it as well. And now I'm practicing... "Geddy played a RickenBACKer... Tom Petty plays a 12-string RickenBACKer... Lemmy played a RickenBACKer." Feeling a bit foolish, but not nearly so foolish as I might feel had I run into the poster who mentioned the pronounciation and I had screwed it up in his presence.

And it got me to thinking... maybe this is a great place to have a list of little things we ought to know in order to prove our bassist mettle. Some things theory-oriented (It's MixoLYDian, not MixoLODEian), some things bass-oriented (A P-style pickup just LOOKS like two pickups; two coils, one pickup, got it?), but all informative.

I figured it would either be very helpful, good for a good argument, or good for a good laugh... and hopefully all three.


I'll start it with the two mentioned above, though in no way do I claim ownership of the concepts:

1) It's RickenBACKer, not RickenBOCKer.
2) A Precision pickup looks like two pickups, but functions as only one.

[Atoz]

I found out the truth about #1 a couple of years ago, but the proper pronunciation always seemed awkward to me. I just call it a "Ric" to avoid trouble.

[coolrunner989]

so its rick-en-back-er not ric-en-bach-er?!?!

[bassman1185]

Huh, I always thought that it was a softer A.

[Atoz]

Originally Posted by coolrunner989

so its rick-en-back-er not ric-en-bach-er?!?!

Look Here.

John Hall (Ric CEO) puts the issue to rest about halfway down the page.

[fretlessman71]

How about:

3) There is no mode called "Delorean", nor is there a chord called a "demolished 7th".

[Taylor Livingston]

Originally Posted by fretlessman71

(It's MixoLYDian, not MixoLODEian), some things bass-oriented (A P-style pickup just LOOKS like two pickups; two coils, one pickup, got it?),

Are these things people get mistaken about? How could you read Mixolydian and think it was pronounced Mixolodian? Is there a language where Y is sometimes pronounced like O? I don't get the P pickup thing either. The Rickenbacker thing is common (I've never been sure, so I kind of split the difference), but these kind of seem like made-up misconceptions to me.

[cheesemonkey]

Originally Posted by conical johnson

Are these things people get mistaken about? How could you read Mixolydian and think it was pronounced Mixolodian? Is there a language where Y is sometimes pronounced like O? I don't get the P pickup thing either. The Rickenbacker thing is common (I've never been sure, so I kind of split the difference), but these kind of seem like made-up misconceptions to me.

I've called it mixolodian a couple of times... it just sounds more natural than mixolydian so it just rolled off the tongue and i got into the habbit... doesn't matter as long as everyone else gets it. And the rickenbacker is common and i refuse to pronounce it correctly... and i can see where one would be confused with the P pickups though that hasn't happened to me.

[fretlessman71]

Originally Posted by conical johnson

Are these things people get mistaken about? How could you read Mixolydian and think it was pronounced Mixolodian? Is there a language where Y is sometimes pronounced like O? I don't get the P pickup thing either. The Rickenbacker thing is common (I've never been sure, so I kind of split the difference), but these kind of seem like made-up misconceptions to me.

Consider that many students don't read worth a snot anymore - and I'm talking ENGLISH, not standard notation. They hear a word, they see the word, they memorize the look and the sound, and if they get it wrong, oh well. And "Mixolydian" sounds just enough like "Nickelodeon" to confuse people and lead them down the primrose path...

Also, I've had people tell me that their bass has two pickups, only to have them produce said bass and find out it's a P copy, and they counted the coils as separate pickups. It's happened to me more often than I would have ever thought.

[fretlessman71]

Originally Posted by cheesemonkey

I've called it mixolodian a couple of times... it just sounds more natural than mixolydian so it just rolled off the tongue and i got into the habbit... doesn't matter as long as everyone else gets it.

See the thread title. We're supposed to be HELPING each other on this thread, not enabling each other! Yes, it does matter, even if everyone else gets it, just like it would matter if I pronounced your last name wrong enough times for it to stick with everyone else. It's as bad as people pronouncing Porsche "Porsh".

[T-Bird]

Hi.

Squire/Squier.

Now this has been discussed several times, but still people can't read the writing on the headstock .

I don't know why, but it annoys the crap out of me every time I see it .

Regards
Sam

[Slater]

Originally Posted by fretlessman71

How about:

3)...nor is there a chord called a "demolished 7th".

Wait 'til you hear me play it before you make that statement.

Originally Posted by T-Bird

Hi.

Squire/Squier.

Now this has been discussed several times, but still people can't read the writing on the headstock .

I don't know why, but it annoys the crap out of me every time I see it .

Regards
Sam

I've always remembered Squier like this:
FendER -> SquiER

[StarscreamG1]

Peavy/Peavey

I've seen that typo a few times and its annoying. The Squire/Squier one annoys me as well.

[Munjibunga]

The "floppy B" is a function of the string, not the bass.

[kesslari]

The "floppy B" is a function of the string, not the bass.

And they sell drugs to fix that for you.

[dinghy]

P's are BETTER than J's.

kidding, please don't eat me.

[Deacon_Blues]

It's Lakland, not Lakeland. At least if you speak about the bass brand...

[Jerose]

Originally Posted by fretlessman71

How about:

3) There is no mode called "Delorean",

Where we're going, we don't need modes.

[Curtybob]

Originally Posted by Munjibunga

The "floppy B" is a function of the string, not the bass.

+ at least a few.

[Higgie]

Originally Posted by Deacon_Blues

It's Lakland, not Lakeland. At least if you speak about the bass brand...

Lākland if we're being picky