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

[garrybeers]

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.

The PMB800 pictured above was $750, an absolute bargain for such a great player. - the 2 I found online in Japan were $350 and $130 with free shipping !! Hopefully they will arrive and look like the pics..

 

[garrybeers]

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

I had to play a lefty at a mates party a years ago, he would not give up insisting... I wouldn't recommend it in but do so I got to jam with my current singer and co songwriter Toby Rand. Who knew??

 

[garrybeers]

I had to play a lefty at a mates party a years ago, he would not give up insisting... I wouldn't recommend it in but do so I got to jam with my current singer and co songwriter Toby Rand. Who knew??

And your rig setup sounds great- It's funny, I sold all me old SVT' rigs some years back- prob because of complaints about the lack of space in the garage- and recently I thought I'd treat myself to an SVT head to go with my old Black Widow cabs- I could even lift the thing.. Back to the store it went.. Sounded great tho. So now I've got old SVT 3 non pro's- a decent compromise. I doubt I'll paly the Ricky live as I really just play my own customs live and in the studio so I will prb try the split chain one with pickup setup the you mention also. I guess I just needed a hobby while I'm getting more parts to assemble my customs..

 

[garrybeers]

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.

That's what I read also, plus in interviews re his gear either he wasn't too sure about what exactly was going on in his rig (he had a great long term tech ) or he was being coy about his sound. Either way, it's all a little dream / hobby thing for me as Chris's sound came from Chris, 99%- On Parallels on Going for the one he is on his Jazz- I always thought it was his Ricky.. Plus he was so good he basically got the take with the drum track, as evidenced on any bonus track or video you find.

 

[garrybeers]

Then you have this guy.. Ricky with flats and/or maybe the string mute.. I really have no idea how you get as amazing at everything as Macca was / is without any lessons. I never had a lesson other than gigs and a love for playing but Macca really was amazing at everything he touched.

 

[Wood and Wire]

I had to play a lefty at a mates party a years ago, he would not give up insisting... I wouldn't recommend it in but do so I got to jam with my current singer and co songwriter Toby Rand. Who knew??

Ha!

Hats off to you. I am left handed, and can't play lefty for toffee - I switched to righty after a few months, and everything clicked.

 

[Indiedog]

As a huge fan of Squire’s playing (and singing), I find any thread about him interesting, but this thread has been really special. Your passion and “geek” approach makes me feel good about being the same way, Garry. It is great to see your love of all this.

A special thanks to Woody! You are such a dedicated student of all things Chris Squire and Rickenbacker!

 

[garrybeers]

As a huge fan of Squire’s playing (and singing), I find any thread about him interesting, but this thread has been really special. Your passion and “geek” approach makes me feel good about being the same way, Garry. It is great to see your love of all this.

A special thanks to Woody! You are such a dedicated student of all things Chris Squire and Rickenbacker!

I am the ultimate gear and music history geek- I wear it well !
I never actually met Chris sadly- I saw the Classic Yes in Sydney around 96 or so. Chris may have had a few too many but still played his arse off. I sat right over Wakeman's keys setup and had the best view in the house of the hair and the cape. I drive my kids crazy when I'm playing old Bowie or Cat Stevens in the car and constantly telling everyone (again) that that's Rick Wakeman from Yes on the synth / piano..
Zep, AC/DC and the Beatles will always be the bands that changed my life forever but Yes has always been a guilty Pleasure.. It was never on the cards I would go for Chris's sound in a rock band with 2 and sometimes 3 guitars to sit under but boy did he impress this Aussie..
And you're correct- a great singer and very important in Yes's overall sound with his vocal arrangements- you can really hear them with headphones on tracks like Wonderous Stories etc.
I still crank Fish out of Water - love the simplicity of the groove- not a shabby bass sound either.

 

[5StringBlues]

"Tales" is prob my fav Yes record- side one being especially amazing- Wakeman's moog solo is the best ever.

Gotta share this...


My brother brought home Fragile in 1972 when he was twelve and I was eight. It made perfect sense to us, as Mom was a classical pianist and teacher. I ended up seeing many Yes tours but my brother never did, so in 2002 I took him to a show for his 42nd birthday.


They play side 1, and as Wakeman's solo ends and the band all stops and holds the note out, my brother lets out a very audible "NO WAY". The laughter from everyone around us was very audible too!


I'm a fairly straight ahead blues and R and B player, but since 1972, YES always has been my favorite band.

 

[garrybeers]

Gotta share this...


My brother brought home Fragile in 1972 when he was twelve and I was eight. It made perfect sense to us, as Mom was a classical pianist and teacher. I ended up seeing many Yes tours but my brother never did, so in 2002 I took him to a show for his 42nd birthday.


They play side 1, and as Wakeman's solo ends and the band all stops and holds the note out, my brother lets out a very audible "NO WAY". The laughter from everyone around us was very audible too!


I'm a fairly straight ahead blues and R and B player, but since 1972, YES always has been my favorite band.

Great story..and understandable- there have been so few Moog virtuosos in history- Really just Wakeman, Emerson, Moraz (did an excellent job on Relayer).. Stevie wonder I guess and then mostly daylight.. I mean Wakeman had some BIG records on his own.
His playing on Awaken is exceptional. All their playing is exceptional of course but his takes us on such a journey- his cathedral organ at 12:12 and then the HUGE organ at 12:48 - I defy any band to produce so much power as they do right there- and Howe is playing high pedal steel. !! - not a chord in sight- it's all Wakeman.
There was a complete package with Yes, the music with Roger's Dean's artwork was so perfect - I was fascinated with his art- I must have drawn the amazing YES logo a hundred times when I was daydreaming at school .. I ended up buying a few of his art pieces when I was in San Fran years ago. A Yes Logo lithograph and some of his dragonflies.
God I'm rambling on here..
GGB

 

[5StringBlues]

Great story..and understandable- there have been so few Moog virtuosos in history- Really just Wakeman, Emerson, Moraz (did an excellent job on Relayer).. Stevie wonder I guess and then mostly daylight.. I mean Wakeman had some BIG records on his own.
His playing on Awaken is exceptional. All their playing is exceptional of course but his takes us on such a journey- his cathedral organ at 12:12 and then the HUGE organ at 12:48 - I defy any band to produce so much power as they do right there- and Howe is playing high pedal steel. !! - not a chord in sight- it's all Wakeman.
There was a complete package with Yes, the music with Roger's Dean's artwork was so perfect - I was fascinated with his art- I must have drawn the amazing YES logo a hundred times when I was daydreaming at school .. I ended up buying a few of his art pieces when I was in San Fran years ago. A Yes Logo lithograph and some of his dragonflies.
God I'm rambling on here..
GGB

LOL Don't worry about rambling, I could prattle on about YES all night.



Good to have you here and looking forward to your eventual "Squire" bass.

 

[garrybeers]

LOL Don't worry about rambling, I could prattle on about YES all night.



Good to have you here and looking forward to your eventual "Squire" bass.

I will definitely share it's "birth" -

 

[Michael4bass]

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.

I don't why all this mis-info continues to stay around. Squire has repeatedly stated in multiple interviews that the only reason he wired his basses in stereo was to have option to run either one or both pickups thru an effect, his switching unit was summed to mono and sent to his amp/s. The first pedal was the Brassmaster, neck pickup only, followed by the tremolo pedal with both pickups, from there was a Wha pedal, later the MuTron III, then over the years different phaser, flanger, delays, and reverbs. There's a few songs on The Yes Album where he may have experimented with two amps, but he always said he used his Marshall Super Bass in the studio. I read an interview with Eddy Offord where he said he mic'ed Squire's amp with a AKG C28 three or four feet in front of his Marshall cabinet.

Bassically, Michael

 

[Rich Fiscus]

Great story..and understandable- there have been so few Moog virtuosos in history- Really just Wakeman, Emerson, Moraz (did an excellent job on Relayer).. Stevie wonder I guess and then mostly daylight..

I think you’re exaggerating a little. You didn’t even get to Bernie Worrell or Jan Hammer.

 

[woodyng2]

I think you’re exaggerating a little. You didn’t even get to Bernie Worrell or Jan Hammer.

Let’s not forget one of the true early Moog pioneers, Walter (later, Wendy) Carlos.
In the rock scene, Tony Banks is still among my favorite keyboardists/composers.

 

[woodyng2]

There was a complete package with Yes, the music with Roger's Dean's artwork was so perfect - I was fascinated with his art- I must have drawn the amazing YES logo a hundred times when I was daydreaming at school .. I ended up buying a few of his art pieces when I was in San Fran years ago. A Yes Logo lithograph and some of his dragonflies.
God I'm rambling on here..
GGB

Ramble On! (Oh wait, that’s Zeppelin).
I have to be in SFO for a few days in September, and by marvelous coincidence, there’s a Roger Dean exhibition happening then. (It’s actually now through sometime in October.)
Really looking forward to that…I had several of his posters on my bedroom wall in the early 70s,
and of course have enjoyed his album covers for Yes and others for decades.

 

[woodyng2]

As a huge fan of Squire’s playing (and singing), I find any thread about him interesting, but this thread has been really special. Your passion and “geek” approach makes me feel good about being the same way, Garry. It is great to see your love of all this.

A special thanks to Woody! You are such a dedicated student of all things Chris Squire and Rickenbacker!

Thank you!
Yes and Chris have been my favorites since I first heard their cover of the Beatle’s
Every Little Thing back in 1968/9. I’m unabashedly geeky and a major fan.
Chris’s sound and melodic playing was what made me want to play bass, and also led me to investigate the instrument he was making his unique sound with. I got a used modded Rick 4000 bass (pictured along with my budding Squire haircut), pretty early on (around 1975), and have been playing them ever since.
The first 2 albums are still ones I’m blown away by, and Yes always seem to up their game
with every new release. I’ve attended any Memphis tour stops since 1972, including ABWH. I last saw Yes,Official, in 2008 with Benoit David and Adam Wakeman. A fantastic show, Chris and all in great form.
That was the last show I got to see of Chris/Yes.O, as I like to call them, but I did see ARW and lastly Jon’s 1000 Hands shows. (Which were both superb).

Nowadays I’m a huge fan of Rickenbacker 4004 models, especially the walnut Cheyenne.
I have one of those and a Fireglo Cheyenne ii.

 

[garrybeers]

I don't why all this mis-info continues to stay around. Squire has repeatedly stated in multiple interviews that the only reason he wired his basses in stereo was to have option to run either one or both pickups thru an effect, his switching unit was summed to mono and sent to his amp/s. The first pedal was the Brassmaster, neck pickup only, followed by the tremolo pedal with both pickups, from there was a Wha pedal, later the MuTron III, then over the years different phaser, flanger, delays, and reverbs. There's a few songs on The Yes Album where he may have experimented with two amps, but he always said he used his Marshall Super Bass in the studio. I read an interview with Eddy Offord where he said he mic'ed Squire's amp with a AKG C28 three or four feet in front of his Marshall cabinet.

Bassically, Michael

Great, thanks for that info..

 

[garrybeers]

Thank you!
Yes and Chris have been my favorites since I first heard their cover of the Beatle’s
Every Little Thing back in 1968/9. I’m unabashedly geeky and a major fan.
Chris’s sound and melodic playing was what made me want to play bass, and also led me to investigate the instrument he was making his unique sound with. I got a used modded Rick 4000 bass (pictured along with my budding Squire haircut), pretty early on (around 1975), and have been playing them ever since.
The first 2 albums are still ones I’m blown away by, and Yes always seem to up their game
with every new release. I’ve attended any Memphis tour stops since 1972, including ABWH. I last saw Yes,Official, in 2008 with Benoit David and Adam Wakeman. A fantastic show, Chris and all in great form.
That was the last show I got to see of Chris/Yes.O, as I like to call them, but I did see ARW and lastly Jon’s 1000 Hands shows. (Which were both superb).

Nowadays I’m a huge fan of Rickenbacker 4004 models, especially the walnut Cheyenne.
I have one of those and a Fireglo Cheyenne ii.
View attachment 4788339 View attachment 4788342

Yep that was the 70's hair cut...
That's great you got to see the various band lineups over the years- Being so far away in OZ we didn't get that opportunity much. But AC/DC did play at me school dance!!

 

[garrybeers]

Ramble On! (Oh wait, that’s Zeppelin).
I have to be in SFO for a few days in September, and by marvelous coincidence, there’s a Roger Dean exhibition happening then. (It’s actually now through sometime in October.)
Really looking forward to that…I had several of his posters on my bedroom wall in the early 70s,
and of course have enjoyed his album covers for Yes and others for decades.

Being bit of a drawing fiend as a kid - I was accepted as an apprentice draftsman at the Garden Island Naval Dockyard- but music grabbed me in time. - I had to have a go at doing a "Dean" with my new band AshenMoon's logo- I set in my studio doing these during the mixing, trying to "borrow" Yes's letters running thru letters design.