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Rickenbacker Slap Tone... what?

#23
bassybill said:
Cheers, people. I suppose EQ is the thing to get to sit up in the mix? I recorded it flat, but Rick's aren't exactly famous for not cutting through, are they? My fault for not tweaking, I suppose. I was just trying to capture the intrinsic sound of the bass. I don't think any Rick would become lost in the mix with a different engineer!
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I also play a RIC...and you slap the heck out of yours!! Love the tone and your playing. Yes, RICS are "a bit" harder to "slap"....but you proved, and quite well I might add, that it can be done.
 
#29
Rics defiitely have a unique slap tone but a neck thru fretless with super low action would have a unique slap tone too. I used to slap with my Ric but just found it incredibly difficult to do and the quality of the tone just didn't crank my engine, especially for the level of effort involved.

In a seperate but related topic, I just saw some of the Rush 30th anniversary DVD and there is a live in the studio set of the band doing stuff from Hemisphere's. ...man Geddys tone (non-slap) on His 4001 is just unbelievable!!! ....makes me wish I hadn't sold mine.
 
#31
Hey, who hijacked my thread??? :bawl: :D

Just for comparison purposes, Link Removed. Have to say it's pretty non-standard though... Status Graphite neck, Nordstrand pickups (NJ4SE), J-Retro (turned on but with EQ flat for this clip).

Sounds a bit more cutting to me, but maybe without the rich harmonic overtones of the Rick.
 
#32
bassybill said:
Hey, who hijacked my thread??? :bawl: :D

Just for comparison purposes, Link Removed. Have to say it's pretty non-standard though... Status Graphite neck, Nordstrand pickups (NJ4SE), J-Retro (turned on but with EQ flat for this clip).

Sounds a bit more cutting to me, but maybe without the rich harmonic overtones of the Rick.
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Mind if I download your riffs? I like them alot....I am a bit of a slapper, but enjoy hearing someone who is good at it...my style is more Squire, Lee...play with a pic, and fingers.....very quickly however :cool:
 
#34
I thought it sounded pretty good, too. My first "real" bass was a Ric - wish I still had it.

I think you can play many styles on many basses. Some my "lend" themselves to a particular style, but I don't think there are any "one-trick-ponies" out there. Some maybe only 2 or 3, but not 1 only.
 
#35
bassybill said:
Cheers, people. I suppose EQ is the thing to get to sit up in the mix? I recorded it flat, but Rick's aren't exactly famous for not cutting through, are they? My fault for not tweaking, I suppose. I was just trying to capture the intrinsic sound of the bass. I don't think any Rick would become lost in the mix with a different engineer!
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Hehe, if anything, I've noticed that my Rick tends to overpower (in a good way! ;) ) the mix compared to other basses I've played. And as a fellow Rick-slapper, I'm glad to see more proof presented to the masses that it can be done!
 
#36
Kurt Berglund said:
Hehe, if anything, I've noticed that my Rick tends to overpower (in a good way! ;) ) the mix compared to other basses I've played. And as a fellow Rick-slapper, I'm glad to see more proof presented to the masses that it can be done!
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Yes, I have to say I found the "lost in the mix" comments slightly odd. I mean, love them or hate them, that's about the last thing you'd expect anyone who's recorded with them to say about a Rick. ;)

Last time I used it in the studio I got a comment to that effect from the engineer. This is a guy who's been around a bit and recorded anyone and everyone over the last thirty years - he says he loves it when someone gets a Rick out in the studio as he knows he's going to get a tone that he can work with easily.

Like Marcus said earlier in the thread, some people... :(
 
#39
Nice. Nothing at all wrong with the tone (or your chops), and I wouldn't have guessed it was a Ric.

For my taste, I like a little more bridge PU sound, or maybe just a few more high mids. I feel like you would want to make sure your song had some space in it to be able to use that tone effectively in a mix. Nice, though.
 

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