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Rickenbacker or Precision - which is it?

Rickenbacker or Precision?

  • Rickenbacker

  • Precision

Results are only viewable after voting.
#62
Ögon said:
I would like to know how i would get this sound with my precision. I just tried this out with my own precision, worn in rounds with pick (multiple picks with different thicknesses) near the neck and even above the frets. It's not the same timbre as the isolated bass tracks. I am hearing more mids then the recording. Although, i probably do not have the exact same strings of course. Can tube amps add this more scooped sound?


Inlays? Haha... well.. even if it was true, it would probably get lost in a mix. For example: The difference between a maple and rosewood fretboard is actually quite small too in a mix.. almost impossible to hear.

So, what do you think after listening to it in this video? Ric or Precision?



True. It sounds like the bass amp that was used in the isolated track, was set quite loud. The subs/low mids are fuzzing/farting.
Click to expand...


Well yes but I was referring to a video someone put in above of someone comparing a Precision and a Rickenbacker.
 
#63
Matthew_84 said:
I don’t have the experience most people have with Rics here, but it doesn’t sound like a Ric in stereo to me. I really don’t know what a Ric sounds like in mono, but I voted Precision as it sounded more like a P to me.
Click to expand...


Most recorded Rickenbackers you hear are mono with a few notable exceptions, most people play them mono. They sound good stereo but you have to lug two amps. They sound good mono too.
 
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#66
bobyoung53 said:
Most recorded Rickenbackers you hear are mono with a few notable exceptions, most people play them mono. They sound good stereo but you have to lug two amps. They sound good mono too.
Click to expand...

two cabs maybe...but it's easy to split the signal and run into separate channels on a power amp...I have done this many times in the past...most recently into a geddy Tech 21 pre and then into the power amp clean into on side and dirty into the other (on the power amp) and then into an 8x10 split into two 4x10's sound was killer (blend to choice)
 
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#69
I will always and forever believe that the most recorded bass in history, and for good reason, is the Precision bass, regardless of what the same bass player played live. In the studio, it was most likely a Precision. Or a Jazz. Maybe a StingRay.
 
#70
Snakeman1066 said:
two cabs maybe...but it's easy to split the signal and run into separate channels on a power amp...I have done this many times in the past...most recently into a geddy Tech 21 pre and then into the power amp clean into on side and dirty into the other (on the power amp) and then into an 8x10 split into two 4x10's sound was killer (blend to choice)
Click to expand...

I've done that too into both channels of an SVT, I've aso run them into two SVT's before. I think they sound fine mono. I don't use a lot of gadgets, I mean you can definitely fine tune the sound more.
 
#72
BassyBill said:
Early days, but votes are pretty evenly split at present. Could it be the case that the collective experience of TalkBass can’t tell a P bass from a Rickenbacker? That would be strong evidence for my “Basically, all basses sound pretty similar” theory.
Click to expand...

I will add my sub theory that no one can really tell what strings soneone is playing outside of flats or rounds.
 
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#73
Maple neck p. Also on a side note, I’ll never worry about my tone again. I mean if he can make a living sounding terrible then so can I. Of course it could be a artifact of whatever device was used to isolate the tracks, but it was pretty terrible compared to the drums sound.
 
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#75
Rooster009 said:
Maple neck p. Also on a side note, I’ll never worry about my tone again. I mean if he can make a living sounding terrible then so can I. Of course it could be a artifact of whatever device was used to isolate the tracks, but it was pretty terrible compared to the drums sound.
Click to expand...


I posted something close to that also up above and wondered if it were a result of the way it was isolated too. I think it probably is as it sounds good on the album and sounds even more like a Rickenbacker with the full band. A P bass could also sound like that too so I give up.


 
Last edited:
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#76
Ögon said:
I would like to know how i would get this sound with my precision. I just tried this out with my own precision, worn in rounds with pick (multiple picks with different thicknesses) near the neck and even above the frets. It's not the same timbre as the isolated bass tracks. I am hearing more mids then the recording. Although, i probably do not have the exact same strings of course. Can tube amps add this more scooped sound?
Click to expand...
Yeah… maybe. Or tube amp emulation like a Tech21 preamp has some scoop or notch that should it get more in the ballpark I’d say. Or notch out some mids with eq if you have. Rotosound Swings, pick near the neck, overdrive. That’s the ingredients AFAIK.
 
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#77
bobyoung53 said:
I posted something close to that also up above and wondered if it were a result of the way it was isolated too. I think it probably is as it sounds good on the album and sounds even more like a Rickenbacker with the full band. A P bass could also sound like that too so I give up.

Click to expand...

I still think the tone on that recording sounds very like the sound I would normally expect from a Ric. But I accept that the weight of the historical evidence suggests he was using a Precision bass on those shows and therefore that’s what is on the recordings. But it still doesn’t really sound like a P bass tone to me.

I guess the only real conclusion is that it’s not always easy - or even possible - to identify a bass with any certainty just by it’s sound, as other factors (technique / round or flat strings / other items of gear being used, including in the studio) can mask or disguise any differences due to the actual make or design of bass, pickups, et cetera.

“The sound of the bass goes boom, boom, boom…” :D

Thanks for the interest shown and the contributions made to the thread.
 
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