A Bass with a Rickenbacker sound

[lug]

The 2nd one sounds good, but is more of a J bass tone...it's missing the upper end "chime" of the Ric..

You can't hear the difference? Or is that just an approximation of a Ric sound?

It still sounds good, and makes me gas for a T-40 ....they are a nice dark contrast to my Ric...now that I have heard one...thanks!

It's the closest I can get with any of my basses to a ric sound. I typically play the T-40 solo on the neck pup in single coil mode, very beefy and a lot more grunt compared to this clip. Chime is a GREAT word to use in describing the Ric tone.

 

[12stringbassist]

My Burns Bison reissue oddly sounds more like a typical souped up Ric should than my Rics do.

Partly a function of me making basses sound like me, but the Bison being a bit 'mad' and beyond taming.

 

[bassman1185]

I just played a Burns Bison bass last night, and you can get some Ric-esque tones out of it.

 

[bassman1185]

My Burns Bison reissue oddly sounds more like a typical souped up Ric should than my Rics do.

Partly a function of me making basses sound like me, but the Bison being a bit 'mad' and beyond taming.

Ha, I posted my reply before I even saw 12string's post.

 

[bongomania]

Man, that bass second from the left must have MASSIVE tone! Huge!

 

[Labi]

Yamaha Attitude can sound pretty close.

 

[The_Lucek]

What about aria basses?
There are some up for sale in my country.
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What would you recommend?
If not an aria then what?
And how can i mod my bass to sound like a ric?
New pick ups?

 

[Kingbreaker]

Hrrrrmmmm.

If you want to sound like McCartney and cannot get a Rick with flats (which is what he used)

. . . get a HOFNER.

The Rick on Revolver, Rubber Soul, and Sgt. Pepper's sounds NOTHING like Geddy Lee or Chris squire. McCartney himself was trying to emulate his earlier Hof (which had intonation problems high up on the neck.) He had flats and (presumably) used the built-in mutes on the Rick bridge.

 

[billybrix]

I know I'm late to the party, but... I believe that if you get something like a Boss GEB7 bass EQ and play with it you can get a somewhat Ric-ish sound with almost any bass. Rics have a very scooped sound and very hot pickups so you'll find that cranking gain and doing the smiley-face EQ will get you in the ball park. (No, nothing *really* sounds like a Ric but a Ric.) As others have said, McCartney did use flatwounds and a pick (plectrum) on many songs back in the day so if that's the sound you're trying to get you'll need to do that as well. Listen to one of the Chris Squire isolated bass tracks on youtube to get an idea of how clanky and overdriven it sounds when played wide open with strong pick-work.

McCartney


Squire

 

[primussucks9126]

I know this is an old thread, but maybe this will be interesting to some.

I designed a bass with the purpose of making it sound like a Ric, and I think the project was a success.
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/upc...ent-john-kallas-content.925584/#post-13326690

Here are sound clips I did in a hurry comparing it to my Ric
https://soundcloud.com/sexonexmusic

It isn't identical, but I think it's really close and would be hard to tell apart in a band setting.


As far as T-40s go, you need to flip the pickups to get the best results.
That would put the neck pickup in single coil mode at the 24th fret (same spot as a Ric) and the bridge pickup about 1/2" from the Ric location. With some tweaking of the knobs to your own personal taste, you can get really close.

The Gibson Ripper is another good choice as a substitution, although it is a bit different.

I've owned all 4 of these at the same time (got rid of the Ripper because I needed money. Would love to have it back), so I was able to A/B/C/D them.

Hope this helps.

 

[Ric5]

McCartney sounds pretty much the same no matter what bass he plays.

Basses with a true neck pickup will help as well.

 

[SteveV74]

From what I hear the Line 6 Variax has a setting that sounds very close.

 

[SteveV74]

A Gibson Ripper will get you close...

Don't believe me?

Get Faith No More's "We Care A Lot", and "Introduce Yourslef" albums....

It's a grindy, Squire-like tone on those albums...but add flatwounds, and a cleaner amp...

Both basses are made from Hard Maple(neck and body), and have passive pups...I really feel the hard maple adds to the initial "thump" because of it's attack characteristics...

Besides that, I'd say get a 51 P bass(or reissue ) with the single coil P-pup and slab body...

Billy Gould is an awesome bassist....Faith No Mores Angel Dust is one of my all time favorite albums, remonds me of being 18...1992, Angel dust just came out and Bram Stokers Dracula was in the theater (one of my favorite movies)........sigh

 

[WorkingBassHero]

Get a bass with a neck pickup, flatwound strings and use something to muffle the strings close to the bridge, like rubber foam. A Gibson/Epiphone SG or something like that. And play with a pick, of course.

 

[Niff]

peavey T40

 

[FaithNoMan]

Billy Gould is an awesome bassist....Faith No Mores Angel Dust is one of my all time favorite albums, remonds me of being 18...1992, Angel dust just came out and Bram Stokers Dracula was in the theater (one of my favorite movies)........sigh

Mine too!(obviously).

I'd like to correct myself in that was a neck-through Aria Pro bass on those earlier albums, not a Ripper.

 

[FaithNoMan]

I know this is an old thread, but maybe this will be interesting to some.

I designed a bass with the purpose of making it sound like a Ric, and I think the project was a success.
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/upc...ent-john-kallas-content.925584/#post-13326690

Here are sound clips I did in a hurry comparing it to my Ric
http://www.talkbass.com/threads/upc...ent-john-kallas-content.925584/#post-13326690

It isn't identical, but I think it's really close and would be hard to tell apart in a band setting.


As far as T-40s go, you need to flip the pickups to get the best results.
That would put the neck pickup in single coil mode at the 24th fret (same spot as a Ric) and the bridge pickup about 1/2" from the Ric location. With some tweaking of the knobs to your own personal taste, you can get really close.

The Gibson Ripper is another good choice as a substitution, although it is a bit different.

I've owned all 4 of these at the same time (got rid of the Ripper because I needed money. Would love to have it back), so I was able to A/B/C/D them.

Hope this helps.

Nice! The maple makes a big difference(and I also found the thickness makes a difference as well)

 

[KeithPoker]

+1 Jazz and Ripper.

Rics can make many different sounds but if you're looking for the growl, throat, and zing then try one of these and dig in hard. A lot of popular Ric players people seem to like dug in hard.

Yes I know Js don't sound quite like Rics but it's closer than a P imo and what bass does?

Another option go to a Ric parts site and buy the pickups and .047 cap if you like that. Put them in a bass you like that is perhaps maple.

 

[Ritchie_Darling]

My MIM jazz bass sounds quite a bit like a Ricky.

But, that's because I installed a Bartolini 4003 replacement pickup.

And dropped in matching pots and cap.

 

[GIBrat51]

My '96 Carvin LB-20 sounds very much like a 4003; it was spec'd out that way by a guy who wanted a lefty Rickenbacker, but they had recently stopped making them. Laminate maple neck thru and maple body wings like a Rick, but with humbuckers. However, the switch turns them both into single coils, and A/B'd against my 4003 it's hard to tell the difference - with the 4003's cap cut out. Cap in- not so much. Sounds completely different now, though; I restrung it BEAD with 65-135 Roto tapes cuz it wasn't getting much use as a faux Rickenbacker. And, for what it would cost to duplicate it today, you could get a new 4003, anyway...