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Geddy/Ric overdrive?

E

e p

Sep 7, 2004
36
0
Chicago
#1
Hey I really would like a pedal that can give me the slight overdrive sound of Geddy Lee/Chris Squire.

Preferably I would like it to do full on distortion as well but I really love that slight overdrive/crunch. So is there a pedal/pre of some kind that will give me this sound, short of buying a Ric?
 
#3
Even back then, as in YYZ. Also Im gonna cite Yes's Roundabout.

That kind of overdrive. Unless the Sansamp can do that in which case thanks. I always knew it had that feature, just never knew how good it was.
 
#4
Don't know if he was playing the Ric on Moving Pictures.....maybe a Wal? His tone on Vapor Trails, (the mastering on that album sucks) is very "old school Rush", but if you like both Chris Squire and Geddy....I'm guessing you like the Ric sound........I don't *gasp!*


On another note, much of Geddy's tone comes from his unorthodox playing style. Watch him, especially on "Rush in Rio". Lots of index finger only, very percussive......It's amazing how fast he can play that way...whatever works right? He also uses Rotosound Swingbass 66 Stainless Steel strings.
 
#5
e p said:
Even back then, as in YYZ. Also Im gonna cite Yes's Roundabout.

That kind of overdrive. Unless the Sansamp can do that in which case thanks. I always knew it had that feature, just never knew how good it was.
Click to expand...

I think Chris Squire used guitar heads and cabs as part of a bi-amp rig back in the day.
 
#9
In an interview he said he used the jazz bass for most parts where everyone assumed it was the rickie!!

and yes he uses and RBI rackmount pre and a quatravalve tube head from TE
 
#10
Geddy used the now infamous Jazz Bass on Moving Pictures - you can see it in the photo inside the album cover. I have also read in interviews where he claimed this to be the case. I believe he broke that bass out again and has used it since Counterparts.

He does currently use the rackmount Sansamp RBI, although I don't know when that started.

As others have stated, some part of his tone comes from playing style - he aggressively plucks the string in a more downward fashion, towards the fretboard, instead of the more "classically correct" manner parallel to the fretboard.

Of course this is just based on what I've seen in video or read somewhere - I've never seen him up close in person!

Chris Squire' sound - at least on Roundabout - was aided by use of a quarter as a pick, according to some interview I read long ago.
 
#13
whamonkey said:
Geddy uses a rackmount Sansamp, check Rush's website under "gear" to see his rig.
Click to expand...

sansamp didn't exist when geddy was recording with rickenbackers.

I don't think there is an awful lot of distortion per se in his rickenbacker tone, for example, hemispheres. It's the rickenbacker growl, playing technique, and speaker grunge.

Chris squire's tone is quite a bit different. That's tube amp distortion.
 
#17
Getting back to the original question --

I don't think there is a pedal or some other magic setting that's going to get you the rickenbacker tone. If you want that characteristic sound, you need to get a rickenbacker or some other instrument that has that character built in. No amount of adding EQ or pedals or whatever is going to add that.

You might be able to get close with a little light overdrive and some EQ, but it's still going to be an imitation.
 
#18
You might be able to gleam some information out of here:

http://www.rusharchives.com/gear/geddy.shtml



The Rickenbacker 4001 bass became Ged's trademark. The amps he was using were the seemingly de rigueur Ampeg SVT model that most rock bassists of the 1970's were using, although Geddy decided on using their V4 cabinets, which contained two 15-inch speakers, rather than their more common 8x10" speaker cabinet.

...Geddy also added the beastly 4008 doubleneck bass/guitar, and changed his amp setup as well. He ran his Rickenbacker in stereo to two Ashley pre-amps, which then went to two BGW 750 power amps and a pair of custom-made speaker cabinets, along with the older Ampeg cabinets. Geddy would continue to use this bass setup until 1991!

His Fender Jazz Bass began making live appearances around this time, as well.
​

Good luck!
 
#19
Per a Chris Squire interview I read many moons ago, he got his "signature" Ric sound from a Ric that had been sanded down and re-painted umpteen times. It was lighter than the typical Ric because layers had effectively been sanded off and the tone had been altered a bit due to said alterations.

In short, he stated that you won't be able to cop his tone unless you do what he did to a Ric.

By the way, i believe this is the same tone that many have asked about with respect to Claypool.
 
#20
bbocaner said:
sansamp didn't exist when geddy was recording with rickenbackers.

I don't think there is an awful lot of distortion per se in his rickenbacker tone, for example, hemispheres. It's the rickenbacker growl, playing technique, and speaker grunge.

Chris squire's tone is quite a bit different. That's tube amp distortion.
Click to expand...
I know that, but I feel his tone now is more like earlier Rush recordings, hence the Sansamp reference. He has pretty much shelved the Ric for now and goes to Fenders . The Sansamp actually emulates an overdriven SVT so again, it's close to what he started with. I still feel like most of his tone is due to technique and stainless strings....
 

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