I mentioned the possibility to cop a Ric sound with it too. Well, here's some sloppy squireisms with a pick.
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Richard Sinclair Jazz Bass mod
- Thread starter PhR75
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- hatfield richard sinclair
Wow! This is a gripping thread for me, an avowed fan of Canterbury scene prog and Richard Sinclair in particular. I cannot confirm or deny any details about pickup choice or position in the 'Hatfield' era, so this has been interesting!
I can however put in a little thought an the matter of his tone / sound - I was a student in the 90s at the University of Kent (Canterbury) and a passionate prog fan. Richard was playing a lot, locally, in his 'Caravan of Dreams' guise, so I went to see nearly every gig he played in '91 and '92. He began to recognise us, and I piped up the courage to announce I was learning bass and a HUGE fan of his work. Little did I know, he was living in the same street as me in Canterbury, and invited me round!! So for at least 3 visits, I sat in his front room (drinking cups of tea, naturally) as he showed me some leftover basses he still had (Camel Era primarily) and I could watch the master up close.
I saw and played the jazz with pbass pickups, and have memories of another jazz, stripped, with Dimarzio jazz pickups and a fretless neck (seemingly self-defretted, there were just the holes left after the frets were removed... nothing to fill them... you could feel all the gaps up the neck!!).
And what I found was, when I played his basses (a pale imitation of his skills) they sounded mostly like the pickups in the instrument, but when Richard played them... completely that tight, trebly tone we love! Completely different from my fumblings and really didn't vary much with each instrument.
For his tone - well, in my view, having been in the presence and watched him closely more times than I can remember - his tone really DID come from his fingers / playing style, FAR more than any other factor!! I dispute the 'light touch' mentioned here: his action was pretty high and he often used some forceful, tight playing...
But the BIGGEST FACTOR on his tone (from what I witnessed and one I can replicate on my '70 jazz bass) seemed to be WHERE he played - always right back by the BRIDGE pickup (of a Jazz) or thereabouts on other basses... sometimes REALLY close to the bridge! His taut playing style and position are crucial to his sound IMHO - I also try to (on my jazz bass) have what I noticed he set his pickups to - full volume on Bridge, about half volume on neck pickup (at times, less). It seemed to me to give his most quintessential sound - one I witnessed him use.
Sorry for the waffle... just thought to share! Keep the Sinclair info coming! I'm loving these details!!
I can however put in a little thought an the matter of his tone / sound - I was a student in the 90s at the University of Kent (Canterbury) and a passionate prog fan. Richard was playing a lot, locally, in his 'Caravan of Dreams' guise, so I went to see nearly every gig he played in '91 and '92. He began to recognise us, and I piped up the courage to announce I was learning bass and a HUGE fan of his work. Little did I know, he was living in the same street as me in Canterbury, and invited me round!! So for at least 3 visits, I sat in his front room (drinking cups of tea, naturally) as he showed me some leftover basses he still had (Camel Era primarily) and I could watch the master up close.
I saw and played the jazz with pbass pickups, and have memories of another jazz, stripped, with Dimarzio jazz pickups and a fretless neck (seemingly self-defretted, there were just the holes left after the frets were removed... nothing to fill them... you could feel all the gaps up the neck!!).
And what I found was, when I played his basses (a pale imitation of his skills) they sounded mostly like the pickups in the instrument, but when Richard played them... completely that tight, trebly tone we love! Completely different from my fumblings and really didn't vary much with each instrument.
For his tone - well, in my view, having been in the presence and watched him closely more times than I can remember - his tone really DID come from his fingers / playing style, FAR more than any other factor!! I dispute the 'light touch' mentioned here: his action was pretty high and he often used some forceful, tight playing...
But the BIGGEST FACTOR on his tone (from what I witnessed and one I can replicate on my '70 jazz bass) seemed to be WHERE he played - always right back by the BRIDGE pickup (of a Jazz) or thereabouts on other basses... sometimes REALLY close to the bridge! His taut playing style and position are crucial to his sound IMHO - I also try to (on my jazz bass) have what I noticed he set his pickups to - full volume on Bridge, about half volume on neck pickup (at times, less). It seemed to me to give his most quintessential sound - one I witnessed him use.
Sorry for the waffle... just thought to share! Keep the Sinclair info coming! I'm loving these details!!
Fascinating stuff! You would never get half of this just studying the Hatfield and Caravan records. You were lucky to spend that time with Richard.
Richard's bass modding is pretty much undocumented. From the scraps I have picked up, this bass is sort of his Trigger's Broom main bass:
The body was carved by Richard and his father, I think! The body was to replace the original body on his Jazz Bass. The dot neck here is unusual as this body usually has a block inlay neck:
Same body, but I think the neck with the blocks came from his original Jazz Bass. He defretted it and lacquered it with a heavy orange finish of some sort, which is why the inlays are darker than you would expect.
You can just about see the EB-3 pickup here:
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Never heard of the band before. I'm loving the sound of the bass and the song in general. Your playing is very nice and the bass sounds great in my opinion.
Brilliant! That middle pic is the exact bass I had a quick go at... remember that weird wear at the base of the neck. I was a youngster then, with barely any bass knowledge, just starting out! Would love to know how that wear got there today! These pickup mods sound fascinating - a brave person to try them! Hope it works to an advantage!
Just to add: I think this lesser-known album is the pinnacle of RS's tone and skill - a playful solo for most of one track! And the rest is just superb... Alan Gowen's (of Gilgamesh and National Health) 'Before a Word is Said'... Phil Miller also on this masterpiece too!
Just to add: I think this lesser-known album is the pinnacle of RS's tone and skill - a playful solo for most of one track! And the rest is just superb... Alan Gowen's (of Gilgamesh and National Health) 'Before a Word is Said'... Phil Miller also on this masterpiece too!
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Richard played my local record store in 1992 and I had the chance to spend some time with him. I didn’t ask him about this album as I was more interested in the bass tone on Caravan’s Land of Grey and Pink album; stock Fender Jazz of the time, he said.
What an unexpected delight this thread is. Somehow had never heard of Sinclair or the Rotters, but will be getting to know them from now on. Thanks everyone for spreading the good word!
Cool thread, I just picked up Camel's A Live Record a few weeks back, great stuff.
Wonderful player!
Wonderful player!
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What an unexpected treat to find others here who appreciate the talents of Richard Sinclair, especially with the lesser-known (in the USA) Hatfield & The North. They are still probably my favorite of the "Canterbury scene" bands due to the combination of the individual players' talents and personalities. Jazz-rock, whimsy, poignant lyrics, dynamics, and the lovely vocals of The Northettes! Plus I dig how Pip Pyle's drumming made all the time signature changes seem so smooth rather than jarring.
Their medley of "Your Majesty Is Like A Cream Donut/Oh What A Lonely Lifetime/Big John Wayne Socks Psychology On The Jaw," recorded around the same time as the sessions for The Rotters Club, remains 6:09 of pure bliss for me after all these years. Turn it up to be sure you don't miss the quiet stuff.
Pip Pyle and Phil Miller, R.I.P.
Their medley of "Your Majesty Is Like A Cream Donut/Oh What A Lonely Lifetime/Big John Wayne Socks Psychology On The Jaw," recorded around the same time as the sessions for The Rotters Club, remains 6:09 of pure bliss for me after all these years. Turn it up to be sure you don't miss the quiet stuff.
Pip Pyle and Phil Miller, R.I.P.
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Go down a Rabbit hole. Both are great bands. I was big into Camel back in the day.
I recently rectified some holes in my music library and bought some CDs from Camel and Caravan, so a very timely thread for me. Guitarist Andy Larimer from Camel was also a badass
Great story. And as it often is with these types of posts, yours confirms bassists are the coolest, most easygoing band members.
I went down the "Canterbury Scene" rabbit hole on youtube a few years ago and found a great live performance of Caravan playing Winter Wine on some TV show back in 71 or so. Unfortunately it seems to have been pulled down. It had the thickest Jazz bass tone, sounded great, and that was the first I'd heard of the band and Mr. Sinclair. Here's another song from that same TV show.
Brilliant story! Didn't realise RS actually had multiple jazz basses. Always thought there was just one, a kind of "Ship of Theseus" bass, which sometimes had ALL of its parts changed. And you have actually touched this mythical beast of an instrument! Anyway, here's another fine medley, this one from the first album. Only one band I know of would have a song titled "Lobster in Cleavage Probe":
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Circa the album's release, "Hatfield and the North" was a mainstay of my high school years. I love it still.
Among Sinclair's later works, let us not forget 1994's "R.S.V.P."
Stream at 1080p:
Great story! Did he still have the Kramer SB350 or the fretless Hagström Jazz (as seen in the cover of "A Live Record")?
About the light touch: that's also what Neil Murray told me but most likely he meant that Richard did have a lighter touch than him and didn't "dug in" as aggressively as he did back then. There's definitely some stuff where he plays forcefully. I just found I got the same kind of sound he got on "The Rotter's Club" by playing rather lightly.
That is an excellent album. I think I bought it jusr after getting the Hatfield stuff and National Health's "Complete" which is recommended for Dave Stewart's liner notes too. The man should write a book.
The first time I heard Sinclair was on Camel's "Rain Dances" which I loaned from library. His tone on "First Light" and "Metrognome" is just sublime. Funny thing is that Andy Latimer plays the fretless on the album as they had already recorded some tracks before Richard joined. Latimer plays the tricky bassline on "Skylines" too.
Then I bought Caravan stuff and the bass sound was instantly recognisable. Not to mention the voice.
Luckily that medley is included as a bonus track on the Esoteric Records reissue of "The Rotters' Club". That has also the bass sound of this topic which got me thinking of Robert Wyatt's "Rock Bottom". I have to check when it was recorded as I recall it also didn't have that typical J bridge pickup tone on tracks Richard played. Superb album btw.
Just refreshed my memory with "Rock
Bottom" and it has that typical Jazz bridge pickup sound by Sinclair. On "Little Red Riding Hood Hits The Road" he hits pretty hard actually.
It was the single "I'm A Believer" that had the rather strange sounding bass played by Sinclair.
Bottom" and it has that typical Jazz bridge pickup sound by Sinclair. On "Little Red Riding Hood Hits The Road" he hits pretty hard actually.
It was the single "I'm A Believer" that had the rather strange sounding bass played by Sinclair.
