Rickenbacker or Precision - which is it?

[Mister Magic]

I thought it sounded distinctly Ric.

I cannot imagine that's a P. Sounds nothing like a P bass, imo, and sounds everything like a Ric.

 

[PhR75]

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?
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2 Hiwatt DR201 amps and Martin cabs (or "bass bins"). 8 of them if I'm correct. This is the rig Hughes used on every gig from late '73 to the last gig in Liverpool 1976. That is the main sound shaper. Hiwatt heads have a bit of a mid scoop already.
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Paul Martinez had a very similar sound when he was a member of Paice Ashton Lord. He used a Precision and his cabs where those same kind of Martin bass bins (he used Sunn Coliseum heads).

I also believe Hughes used the same Hiwatt/Martin combination in the studio too for "Stormbringer" and "Come Taste The Band" (or Martin Birch, the producer/engineer wanted to use that) since his sound has that same vibe on those albums. And Martin Birch also produced the "Made In Europe" live album after Purple split.

On his "Play Me Out" solo album (the next recording he did after Purple) the sound is very different, sounds like a Precision plugged straight to the boards. No Martin Birch involved.

So to get that sound find a folded horn cab and start from there. An IR will do too.

 

[DJ Bebop]

That sounds growly and punchy.......but doesnt sound like a Ric to me.

OYOH, the OPs isolated tracks sound like a growly Ric

I said a little Ricky, not a lot.

 

[hypercarrots]

i hear no tort. therefore, ricken.

 

[coy garcia]

I have both I love both

 

[_Obra_]

This doesn't sound like a Precision to me.

 

[Ögon]

Yes, P basses can sound very similar to Rics although of course it depends on a lot of things but videos like that just show how the basses sound in that certain person's hands. I could do a blindfold video with a P and a Ric and I bet most people would get it wrong (if I tried to fool them). Distortion masks a bass's natural sound too.

Well yes but I was referring to a video someone put in above of someone comparing a Precision and a Rickenbacker.

I understand, it was just a general question for everybody. Would love to get a similar sound with my precision, for fun.

This is the kind of fuzz/tube overdrive i am hearing in the recordings, tube fuzz:



Despite the pictures showing a precision, i'm still not convinced it's a precision soundwise.. Maybe the amp or settings made it sound like a rickenbacker. Even with the overdriven tube amp that the guy has in the above video, you can clearly hear that it's a different sound compared to the soundrecordings of the isolated bass tracks.

Honestly, the bass sound in the isolated tracks is really bad quality.. Maybe the ric sound is caused by the crappy sound quality. Or the final stage mixing.

 

[PhR75]

I understand, it was just a general question for everybody. Would love to get a similar sound with my precision, for fun.

This is the kind of fuzz/tube overdrive i am hearing in the recordings, tube fuzz:



Despite the pictures showing a precision, i'm still not convinced it's a precision soundwise.. Maybe the amp or settings made it sound like a rickenbacker. Even with the overdriven tube amp that the guy has in the above video, you can clearly hear that it's a different sound compared to the soundrecordings of the isolated bass tracks.

Honestly, the bass sound in the isolated tracks is really bad quality.. Maybe the ric sound is caused by the crappy sound quality. Or the final stage mixing.

It's the folded horn cabinet that is a big factor how Hughes' bass sounded on "Made In Europe". Or at that time. They mic'ed those things, ar least for recording purposes. It might have not gone into the PA as it was common back then with those huge bass rigs.

I don't know how the isolations were made but they don't sound like there were separate tracks available. The bass sounds great on the album.

 

[BassyBill]

The bass sounds great on the album.

Now that is something I can most definitely agree with. It’s been one of my favourite albums and one of my favourite recorded bass sounds for 45 years or more, and those two facts are very closely connected. “Made In Europe” is one of the main reasons that I’m a bass player.

 

[PhR75]

I recall thinking how Hughes got that sound on "Stormbringer", "Come Taste The Band" and the live albums and thought it must have been some Martin Birch's secret trick since Paul Martinez had a similar tone on Birch -produced PAL -album "Malice In Wonderland".
Since I dived into the IR thing and purchased an IR of Acoustic 301 folded horn cab it explained a lot of 70's bass sounds. JPJ, Jaco, Chris Glen on SAHB's "Live" and Hughes sound too.

Here's an old clip I did with the IR of that cab. There's no EQ or any other embellishments so it's not close to the Hughes' sound but it has some of that tone that is hard to get any other way (at least that's what I think).

When I get my P-bass home I'll try to do a more closer imitation of Hughes' sound with the gear I have available.

 

[coyote1]

Sounds P to me. The other thing that stands out to me is that Hughes’ playing on that track is more, uhhh, indefinite than I had imagined all these decades. EDIT: have a listen to the isolated Paice/Glover Highway Star from Made In Japan. It is only because Glover is lower in the mix that people are unaware of just how deftly he propelled that band. His playing is both more precise and has more movement than the playing of Hughes.

and the other other thing that stands out is Ian Paice. Dazzling drummer.

 

[coyote1]

Was gonna edit one more time, but ran out of time…. been playing upright in a jazz setting for the past couple years. But this thread inspired me to plug in the amp stack again. My Peavey Grind pretty much nails the Hughes MkIV live sound, as well as most other P or Ric sounds of that era.

 

[Koshchei]

Ric. You can hear it within 5 notes.

On another note, Roger Glover's playing is ON POINT.

 

[FunkHead]

P-Bass

 

[Admiral Akbar]

Now I want a Rickenbacker! Lol

 

[stubborne]

Dunno what bass that is but I do know that dude is the epitome of "Rock Star".

 

[Ögon]

Now I want a Rickenbacker! Lol

Me too.. I already looked up where i can buy it.. But the price.. 3100 - 3700 euro's for a lefty. ( 3300 - 3900 us dollars.. )

 

[Gluvhand]

Dunno what bass that is but I do know that dude is the epitome of "Rock Star".

And he doesn't miss an opportunity to remind everyone of that.

 

[Gluvhand]

Sounds P to me. The other thing that stands out to me is that Hughes’ playing on that track is more, uhhh, indefinite than I had imagined all these decades. EDIT: have a listen to the isolated Paice/Glover Highway Star from Made In Japan. It is only because Glover is lower in the mix that people are unaware of just how deftly he propelled that band. His playing is both more precise and has more movement than the playing of Hughes.

and the other other thing that stands out is Ian Paice. Dazzling drummer.

Hughes has nothing on Glover as a bass player.

 

[Spidey2112]

Precision.