Maybe it is simply the Ric/Ashdown Combination that is a bit gash!!
I was stupid enough to not research it... I thought I want the best bass, which I thought was Ric, and the best amp, which Ashdown is considered top of the range. ARRGHH!!!
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Rickenbacker/Ashdown Problem
- Thread starter coop1985
- Start date
Maybe it is simply the Ric/Ashdown Combination that is a bit gash!!
I was stupid enough to not research it... I thought I want the best bass, which I thought was Ric, and the best amp, which Ashdown is considered top of the range. ARRGHH!!!
I don't know, im sure it sounds nice (I couldn't think of much better than a nice Joy Division tone, with i could dial that in on a squier and old peavey amp
) but its just not what you are looking for.The rig is probably fine, but its the bass that isn't suiting your needs.
Like others have said, a P will do you nicely, but try it with the Epi T-Bird first and see if you like that.
Probably not quite what you are looking for, doesn't have that bottom end growl from what I have heard of them.
Take a look on youtube, someone will have a demo up for just about any production bass you can think of.
Playing in a band with an Ashdown in a practise room I can vouch for how crap they are! I use a Musicman Stingray and I think it was a Mag 300 or something with a Ashdown 8x10 and I had to have the volume and input volume at around 7-8 with 2 guitarists and a drummer!! Now I request the practise rooms to put an Ampeg SVT350 in the practise rooms!! I blame Ashdown. Try taking your Ric to a music shop and try different amps to see if it is the bass or someone you knows amp.
i use an ashdown abm 500 head into an ampeg 4x10 and a rickenbacker bass. i find by boosting the low mids and mids and not using the preshape button ( i hate those) i can get a really cutting bassy sound. if anything i sometimes feel i could do with a bit more treble.. cutting through has never been a problem with a rickenbacker for me
Where exactly is ashdown considered top of the range???
In my mind they are barely in the top 10!
I think its the amp...I use a Mesa big block 750 with a Mesa scout 15 cab and have no problem crushing guitarist..It cuts like a knife and will punch a hole in ya at the same time (no lack of mids or bass in a Ric)..try running the Ric's tone and volume controls wide open and start with the e.q. on your amp flat(maybe boost the low mid a bit)and don't be afraid to push the amp,bump that master volume a little...
Im only basing it off what pro bands use... Everyone seemed to use Ampeg, but now I watch bands and a lot of them are using Ashdown.
Paul Mccartney
Peter Hook
Cliff Burton
I could come up with a lot more if I had time to thinkJohn Entwistle used them for a while too iirc.
..and Lemmy, you can take it up with him if you have a problem with that.
I run my basses through an Ashdown ABM 500 and 8x10. I owned a Rick for a while but found it difficult to get a decent tone out of it. Bear in mind though that the Rick sound I was after was a trebly, clanky growl - the classic Rick tone basically. Believe it or not I just couldn't get enough top end out of it, the overriding tone was very middly and honky.
If you're going for a darker tone you should be fine, I just don't think Ricks and Ashdowns are a particularly good partnership, for the classic Rick growl at least.
Disclaimer - I have an endorsement deal with Ashdown and love their stuff, I just could never get the sound I wanted from the Ricks I've tried with it.
If you're going for a darker tone you should be fine, I just don't think Ricks and Ashdowns are a particularly good partnership, for the classic Rick growl at least.
Disclaimer - I have an endorsement deal with Ashdown and love their stuff, I just could never get the sound I wanted from the Ricks I've tried with it.
I have a 09 American Standard Jazz bass and a 06 Ric 4003.
If you are looking to upgrade the Ric neck pickup, go to a modern Ric toaster and a .105 E string. ( I use D'Addario Half Rounds) The bottom end is thunderous. 100 to 150Hz is tight and powerful. My JB has a sweet midrange and a growly bottom end, but it can't come close to a Rick toaster and D' Addarios (IMHO).
I play through a Eden 212 setup or a Fender Bassman TV Duo Ten.
If you are looking to upgrade the Ric neck pickup, go to a modern Ric toaster and a .105 E string. ( I use D'Addario Half Rounds) The bottom end is thunderous. 100 to 150Hz is tight and powerful. My JB has a sweet midrange and a growly bottom end, but it can't come close to a Rick toaster and D' Addarios (IMHO).
I play through a Eden 212 setup or a Fender Bassman TV Duo Ten.
I believe Entwistle recorded much of "Tommy" with a Rickenbacker.
I'm on the fence with Ashdown. I love the RPM-1 preamp I have, but my combo just lacks in alot of ways. I can't get the volume I want without farting the speakers out and I really have to drive the input to get a strong signal. I'm done with their speaker cabinets but I'm really interested in their new tube amps.
I'm on the fence with Ashdown. I love the RPM-1 preamp I have, but my combo just lacks in alot of ways. I can't get the volume I want without farting the speakers out and I really have to drive the input to get a strong signal. I'm done with their speaker cabinets but I'm really interested in their new tube amps.
hiho,In my experience ashdowns don,t work for me especially with my ricky.
Over the years I,ve found to get the best out a ricky use a pre amp/di box-sansamp,behringer clone,hartke bass attack,mxr di80,bass pod,v-amp or similar combined with valve amps or hybrid,valve pre-amp solid state power amp,a good healthy dollop of presence and plenty of 10 inch speakers or speaker emulation.Di to desk or straight to amp or both and the job is a good one.
If you have a look in the search bit for the threads for Russ Ryan who is/was Geddy Lees bass tech you will find a wealth of information which works for all basses.
A good bass deserves good equipment,no good putting a ferrari engine in a dump truck
Over the years I,ve found to get the best out a ricky use a pre amp/di box-sansamp,behringer clone,hartke bass attack,mxr di80,bass pod,v-amp or similar combined with valve amps or hybrid,valve pre-amp solid state power amp,a good healthy dollop of presence and plenty of 10 inch speakers or speaker emulation.Di to desk or straight to amp or both and the job is a good one.
If you have a look in the search bit for the threads for Russ Ryan who is/was Geddy Lees bass tech you will find a wealth of information which works for all basses.
A good bass deserves good equipment,no good putting a ferrari engine in a dump truck
Unless the Ric has some sort of fault then I don't think it's the bass.
I've had my 4001 for 34 years and in that time I've had P's and J's, Kramers, Thunderbirds plus other basses with P&J pup configurations, others with humbuckers and both active and passive basses.
The Ric is very loud. Definitely one of the the hottest passive basses and, despite all of the cliched comments about the Ric tone (I suspect from people that have never played one for any length of time) is also very versatile.
Select the neck pup, roll off the treble and with a few eq tweaks on any decent amp and you can get deep and warm enough to the point of too much
I've had my 4001 for 34 years and in that time I've had P's and J's, Kramers, Thunderbirds plus other basses with P&J pup configurations, others with humbuckers and both active and passive basses.
The Ric is very loud. Definitely one of the the hottest passive basses and, despite all of the cliched comments about the Ric tone (I suspect from people that have never played one for any length of time) is also very versatile.
Select the neck pup, roll off the treble and with a few eq tweaks on any decent amp and you can get deep and warm enough to the point of too much
I have to agree with Jools on this one -very loud for a passive,the sounds are all there plenty of bottom,low mid,high mid,treble all present and correct in dollops.You do need to pull them out and they are sensitive to your technique and dynamics in your playing due to the single coil pups havin a small window to look at the string but when you hit the sweet spot nothing compares-you only get out what you put in.
Eqing is important cause of the overload of everything which can cause them to sound muddy to some people.They sit very well in the mix with a band and that is the key.
Eqing is important cause of the overload of everything which can cause them to sound muddy to some people.They sit very well in the mix with a band and that is the key.
It's not the bass, though from reading your tonal goals, it seems a humbucker equipped Ric 4004 would've been a better choice. But still, I think it's either your amp, or more probably, the way you're eq'ing your amp.
You nailed it there.
It is much easier for me as a pick style bass player to get the variety of tones out of my Ric. Not saying that finger style players can't, it's just harder to really bring it out. I've heard other folks produce clicks an clanks out of their 4003s because they dig in to hard and bounce the strings (especially the E) off the bridge pup poles. I've also heard others sound wussy and lifeless because they don't dig hard enough.
Like a Les Paul guitar, Ric's make you pay if your technique is lacking but reward you gloriously if you really feeel it.
- Aug 5, 2005
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- Endorsing Artist: J.C. Basses
Ashdown amps aren't all that efficient. Even with the added cab, pushing it fully probably equates to ~350W from a lot of other companies.
