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Rickenbacker's "secret"?

#61
Ric5 said:
All Rickenbacker pickups are guitar pickups ... the horseshoe, the high gain, the toaster, and the humbuckers.

Don't be fooled by the number of pole pieces ... inside they are all guitar pickups.
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Hey Ric5

Not a 5er guy, but I really love and respect your work!

Thanks for the info on the pickups, I for one certainly did not know that.

BasHappy
 
#62
The toaster pickup which is very desired by many Ric purists as a neck pickup for their 4001/4003 basses has 6 alnico slugs. Rickenbacker uses this same pickup for 6 string guitars, 12 string guitars, 4 string basses, 5 string basses, and 8 string basses. It works well for all of the above.
 
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#63
kcole4001 said:
Yeah, they're not a Stingray, so growl is entirely a subjective term.
J and even P basses growl differently as well.

To me, a Rick's growl is a combination of the pickup's tone and the way the string vibration resonates and decays on sustained notes, most prevalent on open strings.
Maybe more of a snarl... :)
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Back in summer of 73 when I first tried out a Rickenbacker, it had flat wounds, and using just the neck pickup, & with the treble turned down I definitely remember getting a remarkably gentle purring type of growl. Amazing with flats!
 
#65
We all know necks are made of hard maple, & maple bodies are soft. With the neck through body design, I assume the hard maple in the center is laminated to both other sides by soft maple, right?
 
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#66
Most butcher blocks are made of maple, can't be too soft for that application. ;)

But, to answer you question, some maples are softer than others, just the same variability that comes into play with all woods.
 
#67
Pudge Fish said:
I just got an NS-2 (WITH shaved neck / more like my 97 Ric) and the Spector is head-and-shoulders above the Ric for me, but that's why I bought the NS-2! I wanted a bass that "sounds like Rickenbacker and MusicMan had a lovechild"... and brotha, I think I found just what I've been looking for!!!! :D
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Maybe I should look into an NS-2. Did Rwx Brown play one?

As stated before, I recently got a Marcus Miller bass, it's absolutely spectacular.
 
#68
lovethegrowl said:
Maybe I should look into an NS-2. Did Rwx Brown play one?

As stated before, I recently got a Marcus Miller bass, it's absolutely spectacular.
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Nah, but Rex sure did! Sorry man, it's early ;)
Just from your handle alone I would hope you take the time to try out an NS-2. I played the Spector with my drummer last night and I couldn't believe the growl that this thing can put out. My NS-2 is a J/J and it's MEAN. I almost tried the MM before I swore off Fender Jazz necks but I've heard nothing but great things. Isn't it nice having a bass you REALLY dig? :D
 
#69
You bet. I am not an advocate of any radius on a six string (maybe 47" like a Warwick) & I was hesitant to get a bass with a 7.5" radius, even for a 4 stringer. But because the neck is so narrow the 7.5" radius works fine. As matter of fact, it might be the best neck I ever had. Very easy to play fast.

Keep in mind I have never been a big Fender guy: everyone has one. I'm sick of looking at the head stocks, & the bodies are too big ass! I much prefer a sleek body leaving room for 4 extra frets like an Ibanez. That said, I will never part with the MM Jazz bass I have.

I will check out an NS-2 when I can.
 
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#70
lovethegrowl said:
You bet. I am not an advocate of any radius on a six string (maybe 47" like a Warwick) & I was hesitant to get a bass with a 7.5" radius, even for a 4 stringer. But because the neck is so narrow the 7.5" radius works fine. As matter of fact, it might be the best neck I ever had. Very easy to play fast.

Keep in mind I have never been a big Fender guy: everyone has one. I'm sick of looking at the head stocks, & the bodies are too big ass! I much prefer a sleek body leaving room for 4 extra frets like an Ibanez. That said, I will never part with the MM Jazz bass I have.

I will check out an NS-2 when I can.
Click to expand...

Just fair warning, it might change your life. :)
"Big Body" is the FIRST thing I notice when I sling the P-bass 5er. The Spector NS-2 is the exact opposite. I was a fan of neck-thrus (Rickenbacker lover, obviously) but the contour of the NS has to be worn to be believed. They also make Spectors with a 'Doug Wimbish' neck, which may be more to your liking if the Jazz does it for you (1.5" width @ nut). Oh, and 24 frets :)

Does your MM Jazz feel really bulky to you? I haven't tried a 3-bolt jazz in years, can't remember. My Jaguar is (but I love it) and the Squier P-V is damn near TOO bulky.
 
#72
Having finally bought a Fender myself, I'll chime in on this, too. I picked up a four string Jazz deluxe 24 fret, made in Korea. 2008 or 2009, not confirmed yet. The body is a little smaller (and lighter) than the standard P or J bases. It fits me very well and has a very good feel on the neck. My '85 Rick felt good like that, too.
For those who don't care for the size and heft of the usual Fender Jazz bases, this Korean model may fit the bill.
And it's gorgeous, too! (tobacco sunburst) Kind of a shame it has a faux finish.
 
#74
callofcthulhu said:
I wash hoping someone else would chime in on this, but since Jeff Scott hasn't quite driven the point home, I may as well:

The ONLY difference between Rick guitar Hi-Gains and bass Hi-Gains is the number of poles - same materials, number of windings, impedance, etc. They're voiced identically, so calling them guitar pickups is actually not far off the mark.
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Well, sort of.

The bridge position high gain has a bigger magnet in the bass version.
 
#75
lovethegrowl said:
The comparison I was making between classic rock and walking bass lines in big band music as follows: think of Smoke in the Water, with the bass playing in octave/unison with the guitars. Also, think of those block chords in Pinball Wizard, etc. Generally speaking (yes, always exceptions) in this type of rock, phrases are usually neatly grouped (2 or 4) & downbeats are almost invariably hard & completely unsuppressed. With the bass supporting the chords in such a matter, he can still fill in, or "roll" from one chord to another, but structurally & texturally there's a certain level of homogeneity involved. The point is that a strong punchy sound in the bass helps drive things & provide a solid foundation.

Now, think of Four Brothers by Woody Herman. The walking bass lines are a little more separate from the highly rapid unfolding melody played in block harmonies by the sax section, with syncopations strongly accented by the brass & drums. It's more fluid & stratified. I referred to this earlier as "almost contrapuntal". Think of the High Baroque! Think of all those movements from cantatas, suites (orchestral or keyboard) by Bach that have lilting or bright walking bass lines. Think of arias or movements from Handel's operas, oratorios or concerti that are supported by walking bass. (Arias technically fit a definition of homophony--melody over chordal accompaniment--but the presence of a walking bass certainly puts it a step closer to polyphony.)

When a musicologist refers to Mahler's Eighth Symphony as "polyphonic" again, he is making a comparison to other works, say, Brahms' Tragic Overture, or Mahler's earlier Symphonies 1-4, which do have counterpoint and are texturally stratified, but far less so.

My undergraduate studies were largely in musicology, but my degrees were in orchestral conducting.
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But the bass in "Smoke on the Water" doesn't play in unison with the guitar...
 
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#76
Ric5 said:
All Rickenbacker pickups are guitar pickups ... the horseshoe, the high gain, the toaster, and the humbuckers.

Don't be fooled by the number of pole pieces ... inside they are all guitar pickups.
Click to expand...
Yeah, but inside a pickup is a pickup. There are some things common in bass pickup construction that don't appear often in guitar pickups, such as split coils, or using two pole pieces per string instead of one, but there aren't really any massive differences between the basics of putting together a pickup for either bass or guitar.
 
#77
Ric5 said:
The toaster pickup which is very desired by many Ric purists as a neck pickup for their 4001/4003 basses has 6 alnico slugs. Rickenbacker uses this same pickup for 6 string guitars, 12 string guitars, 4 string basses, 5 string basses, and 8 string basses. It works well for all of the above.
Click to expand...
Yes, this fact is why I always chuckle to myself a bit when people on talkbass get all worked up if the pole pieces on their basses aren't aligned just so precisely with their strings.
 
#78
Korladis said:
But the bass in "Smoke on the Water" doesn't play in unison with the guitar...
Click to expand...
My recollection is that it was close, in eighth notes, with the guitar doing quarters. The bass line certainly wasn't too linear or independent of the guitar line. Certainly the texture was homogeneous. Though I admit that my audio system 42 years ago wasn't too good--I really should listen to it again. Also, the bassist played a Rick for that, & I was saying a Rick doesn't really work as well as a P bass. Ironic.
 
#79
lovethegrowl said:
My recollection is that it was close, in eighth notes, with the guitar doing quarters. The bass line certainly wasn't too linear or independent of the guitar line. Certainly the texture was homogeneous. Though I admit that my audio system 42 years ago wasn't too good--I really should listen to it again. Also, the bassist played a Rick for that, & I was saying a Rick doesn't really work as well as a P bass. Ironic.
Click to expand...
For classic rock, it really isn't that much like the guitar line... the bass doesn't even play the main riff everyone recognizes.
 

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