Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
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.
RickenBACKer or RickenBACHer?
- Thread starter MultiScaleMale
- Start date
The company used to have a statement on their website to clarify the correct “back” syllable pronunciation, not sure if it’s still there or not. It’s surprisingly easy to unlearn the mispronunciation, provided you actually care about respecting someone’s name.
Tom Petty said it was RickenBacker, and that’s all I need to know.
Native North American English speaker here -- bizarre hybrid of New Hampshire and Minnesotan, specifically, but I majored in German in college. Consequence is, I always have trouble with German and other continental Germanic names -- torn between the German/Swedish/Norwegian/whatever way and what I know is the common Americanized form. I see "Hanson" and know I should say "Haaaan-sun" but my heart wants to say Hahn-shon."
Worst part is we have a pretty great local musician named Jeremy Messersmith -- yep, the front half of "Messerschmidt" and the last half English "Smith." It is sooo hard for me to say his name without tripping up. My Ami crowd in Germany did a lot of mixed language sentences -- "Meet you at the Bahnhof later, I have to go einkaufen first" -- but one of the organic rules is "never switch languages mid-word."
Anyway, point being, Rickenbacker trips me up in a similar way.
Worst part is we have a pretty great local musician named Jeremy Messersmith -- yep, the front half of "Messerschmidt" and the last half English "Smith." It is sooo hard for me to say his name without tripping up. My Ami crowd in Germany did a lot of mixed language sentences -- "Meet you at the Bahnhof later, I have to go einkaufen first" -- but one of the organic rules is "never switch languages mid-word."
Anyway, point being, Rickenbacker trips me up in a similar way.
When I was first in Germany and riding a bus down the autobahn I'm seeing exit signs for this city I've never heard of called "Ausfahrt". It must be huge too because we passed at least 40 exits for it over a half an hour. And then I realized that it meant "Exit". Heh. My attempts at speaking German were met with a universal, "Please speak English. I can understand your English but not your German."
So Anyway, the proper pronunciation makes it sound like you're clearing your throat.
But say it, don't spray it.
But say it, don't spray it.
I would certainly pronounce my last name the way my father, and grandfather preferred as well.
If RIC were signing a check to me, I'd say it however they wanted me to,
but they're not, turns out I'm signing checks to them
Folks butcher my USified name constantly, but it doesn't bother me
Tomato, tomatoe
Last edited:
“I’m paying them, therefore I can be disrespectful to them” is a miss around here but you do you.I would certainly pronounce my last name the way my father, and grandfather preferred as well.
If RIC were signing a check to me, I'd say it however they wanted me to,
but they're not, turns out I'm signing checks to them
Folks butcher my USified name constantly, but it doesn't bother me
Tomato, tomatoe
I call it "RickenBACKer" because it feels natural to me. I usually have the habit of calling someone's name in the original language (such as "Novoshelitch" for Novoselic and "Marooshchick" for Maruszczyk, sometimes also "Kubitski" and "Sadovsky"), but I won't argue with the conscious change from the name owner himself.
Tidbit: In Japan it's likely called "Rikkenbakkah" and abbreviated to "Rikken". In China I can see both abbreviations: Ric or Rick from English, and Ricken from Japanese. Perhaps more Ric players in China know about Ric from the J-rock scene than from the British Invasion.
Tidbit: In Japan it's likely called "Rikkenbakkah" and abbreviated to "Rikken". In China I can see both abbreviations: Ric or Rick from English, and Ricken from Japanese. Perhaps more Ric players in China know about Ric from the J-rock scene than from the British Invasion.
devnulljp
Supporting Member
I'm Scottish, All of those are the same vowel sound
My great great grandfather changed the spelling of our last name also but it’s pronounced the same.
