I'd be one. If I do use the bridge, it's rolled of substantially.
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Low cost basses with Ric tone
- Thread starter DavidEdenAria
- Start date
I'd be one. If I do use the bridge, it's rolled of substantially.
Good point.
That's the issue with this maple/ash P bass, I don't ever expect it to sound like an alder Fender P bass......I think I will install a Duncan SCB2 (hot Duncan P pickup) into it first, since I know how this pickup sounds in two 2 other P basses, one alder and one poplar.
Definitely Fender J bass with solid maple necks usually have their own "tone thing" over maple rosewood board necks, though maybe slight to some, I can hear a distinct difference.
Speaking of ash, aren't the T-40s usually ash bodies? That must be a heavy P.
Then again, my RD is the heaviest bass I've ever played. I like it, love the shape, even that sound, but I can't see gigging with it - I only play it sitting down.
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My Danelectro 63 reissue reminds me a lot of the Ric I used to have until some b@stard stole it.
Yes the T40 are ash mostly I think....lots of Peavey were ash in the late 70's to early 80's....most are heavy that I have encountered with some exceptions on the earlier 80's...high mineral content making them harder sounding than swamp ash is what ive read too.
Maybe that's why some think they can get closer to Ric tone...plus the T40 pickups.
Maybe that's why some think they can get closer to Ric tone...plus the T40 pickups.
Yeah, they're not swamp ash, they're northern hard ash - the same stuff they make Louisville Sluggers out of - hard as heck like maple, and stiff, too, but also "springy" in a way maple isn't. I have some huge ones in my yard. Hoping the blasted emerald beetles don't get them.
I don't think that you'll have any success getting the RIC sound unless you have a real RIC bass.
I like the idea that Maple contributes quite a bit to the sound. Actually, I'll be testing that very theory soon, I hope.
I'm not so sure about how much of the sound is from the neck through part of the bass. I remember hearing Geddy Lees' doubleneck Ric sounding very Rick-ish to me, on the song Xanadu. Ric doublenecks (4080) are bolt ons.
My money is on the pickup placement being the essential place to find 'the' sound. Pickups are placed at the 24th and 36th fret harmonics, I think.
Here's 2 other threads on the issue, hope this helps.
Getting a Ric sound...without the Ric $$ thread.
Rickenbacker 4001 4003 pickup locations? thread.
Cheers,
Neal.
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Pickups and pickup placement, as well as scale of the bass. That's it. Match those up in another bass made out of anything and with the neck attached in any manner and you'll have the sound.
The Ric 4003W has a substantial amount of walnut in its construction and a maple fingerboard (vs bubinga in almost all other 4001/4003 basses), and it sounds...like a Ric. Why? Same pickups, same placement, same scale.
Never hurts to have some fun doing a personal test of the wood theory though, especially when it means playing or acquiring basses.
The Ric 4003W has a substantial amount of walnut in its construction and a maple fingerboard (vs bubinga in almost all other 4001/4003 basses), and it sounds...like a Ric. Why? Same pickups, same placement, same scale.
Never hurts to have some fun doing a personal test of the wood theory though, especially when it means playing or acquiring basses.
Also, I couldn't get a Ric tone from my 4001CS when I first bought it. It wasn't there until I learned it. I've played Chris Squire for so many thousands of hours now, that I swear I can get his tone from my Cello, Lol. Quite a bit of the Ric tone comes from You. It's all in your hands, now. . I think it's a combination of a few thousand ingredients that really does it.
. I think it's a combination of a few thousand ingredients that really does it.
Hard wood, thin body.
That has been my continual experience. I had an Epiphone Ripper(bolt-on neck) that could get the piano tone thing down. The problem with a thick maple bass is that it won't resonate the same(I built a rock maple PJ and it sounds much deader than my Ric).
Keep also in mind, the Epi Ripper and my PJ maple have the same exact weight bodies. (The Epi is just huge though, and thinner.)
Also, like someone said about a T-40 - it all depends on which type of Ric tone you are going for. Sharp attack and punctuated high mids? Sure. But that clangy, metallic thing is a little harder to emulate with a darker-wooded(and thicker bodied) bass.
I always felt that a maple-bodied P bass with the body shaved a bit thinner(I have one sitting on my closet, but not shaved yet) could almost nail it to a T, though. And I love Rics
Here is mine
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12882063
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12767208
P.S. - find an old Aria Pro with a through-neck(lots of hard ash and maple and same neck joint). Check out Early Faith No more around the Chuck Mosely era. Very Ric-like tones. I've seen some on Ebay for 500-700:
That has been my continual experience. I had an Epiphone Ripper(bolt-on neck) that could get the piano tone thing down. The problem with a thick maple bass is that it won't resonate the same(I built a rock maple PJ and it sounds much deader than my Ric).
Keep also in mind, the Epi Ripper and my PJ maple have the same exact weight bodies. (The Epi is just huge though, and thinner.)
Also, like someone said about a T-40 - it all depends on which type of Ric tone you are going for. Sharp attack and punctuated high mids? Sure. But that clangy, metallic thing is a little harder to emulate with a darker-wooded(and thicker bodied) bass.
I always felt that a maple-bodied P bass with the body shaved a bit thinner(I have one sitting on my closet, but not shaved yet) could almost nail it to a T, though. And I love Rics
Here is mine
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12882063
http://soundclick.com/share.cfm?id=12767208
P.S. - find an old Aria Pro with a through-neck(lots of hard ash and maple and same neck joint). Check out Early Faith No more around the Chuck Mosely era. Very Ric-like tones. I've seen some on Ebay for 500-700:
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Hi,my tuppence worth-I have a Rick and a 84 Foundation,I can do the Rush Fender sound easily with the Foundation live and a bdi21 in front of amp.
Ric5
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- Jan 29, 2008
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- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
Put a 4 band Audere preamp in a bass and the boost high mids and you get the Ric tone.
http://www.3dentourage.com/425/fender-bird3.htm
http://www.3dentourage.com/425/fender-bird3.htm
Pickups and pickup placement, as well as scale of the bass. That's it. Match those up in another bass made out of anything and with the neck attached in any manner and you'll have the sound.
The Ric 4003W has a substantial amount of walnut in its construction and a maple fingerboard (vs bubinga in almost all other 4001/4003 basses), and it sounds...like a Ric. Why? Same pickups, same placement, same scale.
Never hurts to have some fun doing a personal test of the wood theory though, especially when it means playing or acquiring basses.
I hear ya, and I can believe that, too, kind of, but sound is so subjective (imho). I think the wood matters, and I think I can hear it, but with my bad ears, could well be my imagination instead. Ain't exactly hard science. If it were, CNC machines would replace custom builders, but that doesn't seem to happen. It's as much art as science. Again, opinion, don't think there's any way around that, though.
