From Garry Beers / INXS / AshenMoon.. Re Chris Squire..

[garrybeers]

Tho it's probably not so evident in my INXS bass-playing which is more James Jamerson / J.P. Jones - a player who I idolized was Chris Squire. "Tales" being my fav record - tho I am rediscovering Relayer. Plus if you haven't heard the Yes version of America (full version) then you are completely missing out.
So I've had a 74 Ricky forever but it's not the look and sound of Chris's 1999. So I've been on the hunt and took a gamble on a 70's Greco PMB800 from Japan which arrived today. Of all the Japan replicas I think the Grecos are the best- at least at making Fender Strats and Teles. Fujiken Factory from memory.
So the bass is here and a beauty- the risk well justified. Looks, feels and sounds excellent- I guess my 74 will soon be for sale !!
I'm prob going to put a Lollar Horseshoe in it and a Toaster from Creamery- the 63 (?)..
Not sure at this point if I'll go crazy and wire it the crazy stereo I read Chris had or shave off some weight and paint it as per Chris's.. Early days..
Also, I've been immersing myself in the Isolated bass and Drums stuff on Youtube. Type it in and heaven is there- the Beatles (separated track!, Yes- (Close to the Edge, just Chris and Bruford), Zep - basically most great bands and recordings are in there.
Enjoy!!
GGB

 

[JimK]

Cool stuff.
I revisited Relayer during the 2020 shutdown...wow, there are some very Return To Forever-ish '70s Jazz Fusion bits.
Guess I had forgotten, it had been that long.

The Yes Album
Fragile
CTTE
Relayer
...an incredible 4-album run.

 

[Kaa]

That's a sweet bass! Also, it's nice to see that professionals have clutter as well.

 

[garrybeers]

Lots of clutter, and partners who don't truly appreciate an attic full of cases and a garage full of 80's rigs.. Not to mention the GGB basses I'm building.. I guess it all adds up..

 

[garrybeers]

Another Ricky fan.

 

[31HZ]

I got nothin' except to say that I'm a huge fan of your playing (and that I sympathize with the challenges of finding a place for all of the gear, ha).

Cheers and thank you for stopping in!

 

[Wood and Wire]

Tho it's probably not so evident in my INXS bass-playing which is more James Jamerson / J.P. Jones - a player who I idolized was Chris Squire. "Tales" being my fav record - tho I am rediscovering Relayer. Plus if you haven't heard the Yes version of America (full version) then you are completely missing out.
So I've had a 74 Ricky forever but it's not the look and sound of Chris's 1999. So I've been on the hunt and took a gamble on a 70's Greco PMB800 from Japan which arrived today. Of all the Japan replicas I think the Grecos are the best- at least at making Fender Strats and Teles. Fujiken Factory from memory.
So the bass is here and a beauty- the risk well justified. Looks, feels and sounds excellent- I guess my 74 will soon be for sale !!
I'm prob going to put a Lollar Horseshoe in it and a Toaster from Creamery- the 63 (?)..
Not sure at this point if I'll go crazy and wire it the crazy stereo I read Chris had or shave off some weight and paint it as per Chris's.. Early days..
Also, I've been immersing myself in the Isolated bass and Drums stuff on Youtube. Type it in and heaven is there- the Beatles (separated track!, Yes- (Close to the Edge, just Chris and Bruford), Zep - basically most great bands and recordings are in there.
Enjoy!!
GGB

Rickenbacker did release a limited edition Chris Squire signature bass, back in about 1992-ish, if I recall.

It was basically a replica of his bass, and I believe it even had a thinner body, to replicate the layers of wood his luthier / roadie (I forget who actually did his refinish) shaved off, when they painted it Creamglo.

I saw one going for about $4K a couple of years ago, and I'm seeing them in the region of $8K now, but you can get an identical modern Creamglo 4003S for $2.5K brand new (the only difference is it's not the thinner body - and you might want to swap out the pickups).

I don't think I've ever seen a 4001S wired in stereo (they've never come stock with Ric-O-Sound), so unless you're specifically copying Chris' modification of having each pickup wired to it's own output, I'm not sure I'd bother.

That said, I've got a 1976 Ibanez copy of a Rickenbacker 4001 (same era, and factory as yours - though mine is less accurate, being a bolt-on neck), and it does have a stereo jack, but it's wired for mono - so it might be worth you taking a quick peek under the hood.

I keep meaning to figure out a way of setting up a switching system, so I can select stereo, or summed mono output - the best solution so far, seems to be keeping it permanently wired in stereo, and building a Ric-O-Sound break out box, with bass pickup, treble pickup, and summed mono outputs.

But seeing as the neck pickup is currently buggered, I haven't bothered with any of that malarkey.



BTW, has anyone round here dared check out those cheap Chris Squire copy basses? It sort of looks the part (as much as most of those terrible Chinese knock-offs do, and has dual outputs. But even at £450 seems risky).

 

[5StringBlues]

Thank you for the post Gary. Relayer is probably my favorite yes album. To be over must be 1 of the most beautiful pc of music ever, regardless of genre.

 

[woodyng2]

Those 70’s Grecos are great. Never seen an “S” model Rick copy in person, but I played a similar Matsumoku Ibanez 4001 copy that was a great bass. Really love the dark fretboard on yours.
I assume you’ve seen Miguelbass’ many Squire/Yes youtube covers, they’re a great resource.
Edit: just noticed in enlarging the photos that your Greco is not only a neck-through, but a 3-piece one, at that!

 

[Chickenwheels]

Love your work Garry.

 

[5StringBlues]

Sorry about the misspelling of your name Gary. I am posting voice to text, which is obviously a superior technology

Thank you for the post Gary. Relayer is probably my favorite yes album. To be over must be 1 of the most beautiful pc of music ever, regardless of genre.

 

[Snert]

I had one of those Grecos and it was at least as good as the factory Rics I compared it to. It told me I didn't like Rics though so I sold it.

 

[garrybeers]

Those 70’s Grecos are great. Never seen an “S” model Rick copy in person, but I played a similar Matsumoku Ibanez 4001 copy that was a great bass. Really love the dark fretboard on yours.
I assume you’ve seen Miguelbass’ many Squire/Yes youtube covers, they’re a great resource.
Edit: just noticed in enlarging the photos that your Greco is not only a neck-through, but a 3-piece one, at that!

The bass I got a Greco PMB 800 Ricky copy - the PMB stands for Paul McCartney of course- it's very well made and arrived in perfect playing mode- sounds great. I have been doing some "surfing" on google for more of the same and using an online translator page I found 2 more last night- one for $130 with free shipping. I'll let you know if it actually makes it to my door. I plan to make one a Chris Squire replica as best I can and another one a MacCartney replica with flats..

 

[garrybeers]

I had one of those Grecos and it was at least as good as the factory Rics I compared it to. It told me I didn't like Rics though so I sold it.

I've always been a P bass guy but there is something I really like about Rickys.. I'll never be Squire- nobody can touch him as a progressive "up front" player. But it's nice to dream..
I got a little close on my new band's record - AshenMoon- but using my own custom GGB basses and my patented "Quad p/up- with some grit amp-wise. Again, Squire basically played lead bass and I have always held down the low end. Here's some samples of my basses getting somewhat of a Ricky sound, mixed bass up front as an example. GGB

 

[garrybeers]

Sorry about the misspelling of your name Gary. I am posting voice to text, which is obviously a superior technology

All good- serve me right for starting the Garry Gary thing back in the 70's..
"Tales" is prob my fav Yes record- side one being especially amazing- Wakeman's moog solo is the best ever.

 

[garrybeers]

Rickenbacker did release a limited edition Chris Squire signature bass, back in about 1992-ish, if I recall.

It was basically a replica of his bass, and I believe it even had a thinner body, to replicate the layers of wood his luthier / roadie (I forget who actually did his refinish) shaved off, when they painted it Creamglo.

I saw one going for about $4K a couple of years ago, and I'm seeing them in the region of $8K now, but you can get an identical modern Creamglo 4003S for $2.5K brand new (the only difference is it's not the thinner body - and you might want to swap out the pickups).

I don't think I've ever seen a 4001S wired in stereo (they've never come stock with Ric-O-Sound), so unless you're specifically copying Chris' modification of having each pickup wired to it's own output, I'm not sure I'd bother.

That said, I've got a 1976 Ibanez copy of a Rickenbacker 4001 (same era, and factory as yours - though mine is less accurate, being a bolt-on neck), and it does have a stereo jack, but it's wired for mono - so it might be worth you taking a quick peek under the hood.

I keep meaning to figure out a way of setting up a switching system, so I can select stereo, or summed mono output - the best solution so far, seems to be keeping it permanently wired in stereo, and building a Ric-O-Sound break out box, with bass pickup, treble pickup, and summed mono outputs.

But seeing as the neck pickup is currently buggered, I haven't bothered with any of that malarkey.



BTW, has anyone round here dared check out those cheap Chris Squire copy basses? It sort of looks the part (as much as most of those terrible Chinese knock-offs do, and has dual outputs. But even at £450 seems risky).

The Chris Squire signatures are definitely pretty pricey, and it seems the general concensus is that they are not exact replicas, they look nice - the Rick Horseshoes are not as per the originals apparently as the Horseshoe surround is not magnetised. Plus both pickups are way hotter than what was in 64 Rics. I've ordered a lower impedance Horseshoe from a guy in Argentina so I'll see how it goes- he makes Toasters too so I might try those as well. As for the stereo setup with a system dedicated for each pickup- not sure yet. You could simplify that and have the bridge pickup going thru FX- fuzz chorus etc and have the neck pickup clean and mixing the 2 into the rig. Prob easier to use live if the stereo wiring was the way to go. I will try that a some point as I'm a bit of a geek that way.

 

[Wood and Wire]

The Chris Squire signatures are definitely pretty pricey, and it seems the general concensus is that they are not exact replicas, they look nice - the Rick Horseshoes are not as per the originals apparently as the Horseshoe surround is not magnetised. Plus both pickups are way hotter than what was in 64 Rics. I've ordered a lower impedance Horseshoe from a guy in Argentina so I'll see how it goes- he makes Toasters too so I might try those as well. As for the stereo setup with a system dedicated for each pickup- not sure yet. You could simplify that and have the bridge pickup going thru FX- fuzz chorus etc and have the neck pickup clean and mixing the 2 into the rig. Prob easier to use live if the stereo wiring was the way to go. I will try that a some point as I'm a bit of a geek that way.

I really love the whole Ric-O-Sound thing, but I very rarely bother to deal with two amps live - I normally just end up faking it with parallel chains from a single pick-up.

I own an old Marshal Club and Country bass amp (their sort of version of a Fender Bassman - which being open back, and intended for a clean tone, isn't top of anyone's list for thick bass tones, but it sounds great for that clanky tone, especially when you push the tubes into saturation), and that has separate inputs for the normal channel, the bright channel, and a dedicated stereo input (which is basically like when you jump the channels on an SVT, or Plexi).

Anyway, I sometimes use that in combination with a Sansamp VT Bass, with the clean link going to the normal channel, and the gritty processed VT output going to the bright channel.

I only mention that because, as far as I'm aware Chris Squire wasn't really interested in setting up the traditional Ric-O-Sound stereo chain (Bass/Neck pickup to clean bass amp, and Treble/Bridge pickup to guitar effects, and a guitar amp).

As I understand it, he had the Bass/Neck pickup going through his effects, because if he felt distortion sounded terrible on the Treble/Neck pickup, which he kept clean, and then he summed the two signals back together in mono.

I'm certain you know more about his set-up than I do, but thought it might be worth mentioning that he apparently did (everything) the opposite of the conventional way.

Please keep us updated with pictures of your finished tribute basses - and good luck learning to play the Macca left handed

 

[Wood and Wire]

$130 with free shipping.

Wow!

Well, I too hope it arrives at your door. That sounds like an absolute bargain - all of the 70's Japanese Rick's I've seen in recent years, are asking ~U.S.$800.

 

[Wood and Wire]

Wakeman's moog solo is the best ever.

I never met him, but he was (now divorced) my friends uncle.

At the time, I was much more interested in my friends aunt :

 

[woodyng2]

I won’t go into a lot of detail, (an internet search will take care of that), BUT…..
Chris always used separate amps/cabs for his sound.
His RM bass wasn’t originally wired for stereo sound, he had that done early on.
He also had that done to his Fender Telecaster bass when he had a 2nd pickup added.
He had a few different amp/cab setups over the years for the neck pickup. (Sunn,Ampeg),
but always used a Marshall Super Bass for the bridge horseshoe pup.