• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Phil Lesh's New Ritter Bass

#41
Andrew Jones said:
That said I think he's playing way better now than he did during that era. I was very impressed with the clarity of his ideas when I last saw him.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. If anything, I think Phil does less noodling then he used to because to me it seems like he always knows exactly what he wants to do at this point. I saw him in Boston a couple weeks ago (must have been just before he got the Ritter), and it was hands down the best show I've seen from a Grateful Dead offshoot, an incredible setlist and remarkable playing.
 
#49
SoComSurfing said:
From Kenny's Summer NAMM pics:

Ritterlights.jpg


I knew this one was claimed at the NAMM show, but didn't know who the buyer was. Must be one hell of a bass to pull him off the Modulus.
Click to expand...

jens' basses -are- frickin awesome. i can't wait until i can order a 2nd one from him.
 
#50
cosmicevan said:
I believe Ritter basses all have Hausel(sp?) pickups and Noll pre-amps. That's how it used to be about 5 years ago, not sure if he's building his own now. Back then his pre's and pickups were all custom made for him by these manufacturers, but he didn't make them.
Click to expand...

i've known jens for a long time, and i've never heard of him using anyone elses pickups.
 
#51
john turner said:
i've known jens for a long time, and i've never heard of him using anyone elses pickups.
Click to expand...

i had heard this back in 2001/2002 when i was more involved in bass happenings. i could always be mistaken, but from what i remember, at the time...his pickups were custom made for him by haussel (sp?) and his pre-amps were also custom made by Noll (who make a sick preamp - i use one with Lane Poors in my Acacia).

Don't get me wrong, the electronics are top notch and custom made and hence not available to the general public, but not ritter-made (or at least from what i had heard and seen at that time). i've met jens on a few occasions and have played a bunch of ritters and his basses are certainly way beyond just a wild artistic concept, and jens is a very on the level kind of guy...but i'm not certain he even claims that he winds his own pickups and builds his own preamps. i just checked his site and nowhere does it say anything about being made by ritter or his crew...and if he made them, i'd imagine he would sell them (like his strings and other ritter stuff). even his strings he says aren't made by him, but he sells them as ritter strings since he worked with the manufacturer to develop it.

does anyone know for certain what he's using now and if he used to use something else? anyone got a picture of a control cavity?
 
#53
cosmicevan said:
i had heard this back in 2001/2002 when i was more involved in bass happenings. i could always be mistaken, but from what i remember, at the time...his pickups were custom made for him by haussel (sp?) and his pre-amps were also custom made by Noll (who make a sick preamp - i use one with Lane Poors in my Acacia).

Don't get me wrong, the electronics are top notch and custom made and hence not available to the general public, but not ritter-made (or at least from what i had heard and seen at that time). i've met jens on a few occasions and have played a bunch of ritters and his basses are certainly way beyond just a wild artistic concept, and jens is a very on the level kind of guy...but i'm not certain he even claims that he winds his own pickups and builds his own preamps. i just checked his site and nowhere does it say anything about being made by ritter or his crew...and if he made them, i'd imagine he would sell them (like his strings and other ritter stuff). even his strings he says aren't made by him, but he sells them as ritter strings since he worked with the manufacturer to develop it.

does anyone know for certain what he's using now and if he used to use something else? anyone got a picture of a control cavity?
Click to expand...

i'll see if i can get him to chime in here. :) he's a pretty busy guy but sometimes he's contributed to talkbass discussions.
 
#54
john turner said:
i'll see if i can get him to chime in here. :) he's a pretty busy guy but sometimes he's contributed to talkbass discussions.
Click to expand...

john turner: Hey Phil, ya got time to post in this talkbass thread? Your name came up again!

phil lesh: Sure thing John, what's the subject? the way I improvised melodic counterpoint so sophisticated you could describe it as a polar counter-melody that intersected with Garcia's lines both perpendicularly and tangentially via antimatter-driven wormholes leading through seventeen different dimensions?

john turner: Actually, no, it's abou-

phil lesh: I hope nobody's complaining about how they can't download our old shows for free anymore even though it's pretty darn easy to figure out how to get around, all you have to do is-

john turner: Phil? Sorry to cut you off, but actually the thread is about how ugly your new Ritter bass is, what with the garish eye of horus inlay, the horrendous blue LEDs, not to mention the downright ridiculous sha-

phil lesh: <click>
 
#55
RCCollins said:
john turner: Hey Phil, ya got time to post in this talkbass thread? Your name came up again!

phil lesh: Sure thing John, what's the subject? the way I improvised melodic counterpoint so sophisticated you could describe it as a polar counter-melody that intersected with Garcia's lines both perpendicularly and tangentially via antimatter-driven wormholes leading through seventeen different dimensions?

john turner: Actually, no, it's abou-

phil lesh: I hope nobody's complaining about how they can't download our old shows for free anymore even though it's pretty darn easy to figure out how to get around, all you have to do is-

john turner: Phil? Sorry to cut you off, but actually the thread is about how ugly your new Ritter bass is, what with the garish eye of horus inlay, the horrendous blue LEDs, not to mention the downright ridiculous sha-

phil lesh: <click>
Click to expand...

While this is hilarious, I think he was talking about Jens.;)
 
#57
RCCollins said:
john turner: Hey Phil, ya got time to post in this talkbass thread? Your name came up again!

phil lesh: Sure thing John, what's the subject? the way I improvised melodic counterpoint so sophisticated you could describe it as a polar counter-melody that intersected with Garcia's lines both perpendicularly and tangentially via antimatter-driven wormholes leading through seventeen different dimensions?

john turner: Actually, no, it's abou-

phil lesh: I hope nobody's complaining about how they can't download our old shows for free anymore even though it's pretty darn easy to figure out how to get around, all you have to do is-

john turner: Phil? Sorry to cut you off, but actually the thread is about how ugly your new Ritter bass is, what with the garish eye of horus inlay, the horrendous blue LEDs, not to mention the downright ridiculous sha-

phil lesh: <click>
Click to expand...

Thats pretty funny.
 
#58
As an eBay Associate, TalkBass may earn a commission from qualifying purchases.
#60
john turner said:
i've known jens for a long time, and i've never heard of him using anyone elses pickups.
Click to expand...

I have been told by his local dealer that his preamp is a Noll pre, but custom specked for him.

his tuners are also from a known fabricant(can't recall the name), but they are custom, since they have Ritter branded on them.

I'm gonna see if I can open my control cavity tonight and take some pics.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back