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What Rickenbacker is this?

Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

Alvaro Martín Gómez A.

TalkBass' resident Bongo + cowbell player
Nov 10, 2000
6,935
155
59
Bucaramanga, Colombia, South A
#1
ModRic01.gif
ModRic04.gif


ModRic02.gif


ModRic03.gif


:confused:

Is it a modified Ric? Assuming it is, I don't see the point of putting a P bass pickup on a Rickenbacker. Thank you in advance for your input!
 
#2
I have seen a few of those floating around, I think they might be copies. There is a good video of one, I forget the name of the band, but it has that guitarist that everyone raves on about in it. You know, the one who plays the Ibanez with the F-holes painted on? I forget his name. Anyway, I'm pretty sure the bassist is using one of those. :)

EDIT: I found the clip I was talking about, man I dislike Paul Gilbert, but the song is nice.

 
#5
Don't think its modified, heres another,

And if it is modified, its probably for a Pbass tone, with Rickenbackers non-tapering neck, or mabye just Ric's appearance.

EDIT:Dammit! everyone beat me!
 
#10
PasdaBeer said:
original bass player from racer x is so much better ( and plays a P bass!! )
Click to expand...

His names John Alderete, and he was playing a Jazz bass in your video.

The guy playing the Ricken-Ps name is Linus Of Hollywood. I googled him, and couldent find anything on the bass. Maybe youll have better luck then me.

+1 that its a modified Ric. That or, he had a bass custom built to look like a Ric.
 
#13
ROON said:
I find all neo-classical shredding type stuff sterile and boring, no matter who is playing it.
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Its funny cause I was thinking it was a bit Neo Classical when I watched it...but I don't feel I know enough about...like eras of music or whatever to make statements as such :hiding:

But yeah...snore :ninja:



Mars volta are awesome though sometimes can drag on a little bit. But not enough to outweigh the awesomeness :D
 
#14
PasdaBeer said:
btw thats not the original video......crappy redo : (

original bass player from racer x is so much better ( and plays a P bass!! )




i cant spell his last name for the life of me
jean auddrette or sumptin like that........cant pull out any old albums atm
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Juan rarely plays a P bass.lol never seen him play one for Racer X(correct me if im wrong) for the Mars Volta he used to play mostly Jasses with the odd P bass but now he plays mostly Laklands with the odd Fender here and there.
 
#16
Emperor Elite said:
To me, it looks like it might be a modified Rick 4000. I have a 72 Rick 400 and it also has a non-tapered neck. It would be very easy to change the pickguard and route the bass for a P-pickup.

Ben
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Yep, modified 4000. The lower horn on my '73 4000 is slightly stunted compared to my 4001CS.

For anyone who likes Rics but hasn't tried a 4000 (single pickup, no binding), you should try one. Sounds more aggressive than any 4001 I've ever played (and I've played.....oh, I dunno, hundreds).

As for why change the pickup, why does anyone ever change pickups on anything? Because they want a different sound. The 4000 is very snotty-sounding. Maybe he was trying to get something fuller.

Lemmy has different neck pickups on his old Rics (originally Gibson Thunderbird on his 1st bass, then TBird copies on a couple of others, then Bartolini - with one stop somewhere along the way at a DiMarzio Model 1 which lived in his white bass for a while), Bruce Foxton changed the pickups on at least one of his, Joey DeMaio changed the pickups on his, as did Roger Glover. Thousands of people change the pickups on their guitars/basses, it's hardly uncommon.
 
#17
melt said:
Thousands of people change the pickups on their guitars/basses, it's hardly uncommon.
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Yes, I know. I understand that someone wants to replace a stock set of J pickups for another one made by a respected manufacturer because those ones are less noisy or have more output, for instance. But my point is: The Rickenbacker has such a distinctive tone. The P bass also has such a distinctive tone. If I don't like the Ric's distinctive tone and prefer that from the P, why don't get a good P bass instead? I guess the answer is "because I like the Ric's appearance". Different strokes for different folks, of course, but that's pointless to me. Of course, the appearance is an important factor to consider when buying an instrument, but to me, the point of having any particular instrument is not only because the way it looks, but because it has a certain type of sound. And again, Rics and P basses are totally different instruments in that area.

Thank you for your replies, guys! :)
 
#19
Alvaro Martín Gómez A.;5888014 said:
Yes, I know. I understand that someone wants to replace a stock set of J pickups for another one made by a respected manufacturer because those ones are less noisy or have more output, for instance. But my point is: The Rickenbacker has such a distinctive tone. The P bass also has such a distinctive tone. If I don't like the Ric's distinctive tone and prefer that from the P, why don't get a good P bass instead? I guess the answer is "because I like the Ric's appearance". Different strokes for different folks, of course, but that's pointless to me. Of course, the appearance is an important factor to consider when buying an instrument, but to me, the point of having any particular instrument is not only because the way it looks, but because it has a certain type of sound. And again, Rics and P basses are totally different instruments in that area.

Thank you for your replies, guys! :)
Click to expand...

Ah, but a P Bass plays totally, totally differently to a Ric. I struggle with any Fenders because of the neck size, taper and string spacing, so even if I liked the sound I'd find them difficult to use. Also the upper fret access on a Ric is much better, which I imagine for someone playing in Paul Gilbert's band would be quite useful. :D

It may be more that he preferred the way the bass played rather than how it looked. I can execute stuff on my Rics that I could never execute on a Fender; he may have the same problem.
 

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