*PLEASE READ* - It's come to our attention that there are some commenters on our videos who are trying to scam our subscribers with offers of free gifts and message requests. None of these comments are official or from us. We will never reach out via the comments of a social media channel. We're doing our best to remove the comments and flag the accounts in question!
Lemmy was more interested in playing pub fruit machines than talking about music. McCartney is a musicianly bass player with a melodic approach and a dubby sound, Lemmy was more of a rhythm guitarist an octave lower and with extra balls! RIP Mr Kilminster you absolute Rock n Roll legend!
A big part of the Geddy and Chris Squire sounds that you guys didn't touch on is using the Ric-O-Sound output to run each pickup through a different signal chain. It lets you really emphasize the driven clank from the bridge pickup while maintaining the clean thunderous low end from the neck pickup. Really contributes a lot to that piano string sound.
@@normt6226 are you serious? I never tried that, I always assumed it was the bridge pickup cuz that seems intuitive. I personally verdrive the bridge but I might try overdrive the neck now
Yes, second Ric vid in a row with no discussion of what I consider the best part of a Ric's sound. Why don't more people mod their basses w stereo outputs? Easily drop 500 on a pair of pickups and a preamp and so many people have enough heads to make an alien jealous, but the price of a jack and instrument cable escapes people who would then drool over a $2,000 bass?
@@normt6226 He used Fuzz on his neck pickup pretty often, I dunno if you've ever played a vintage Ric, but the bridge pickup is all twang with 0 bottom end, partly because they're very weak and also because there's a .0047uf capacitor wired in line with the bridge pickup to wipe out any remaining lows. The capacitor on my 4001 is missing and it's still clangy as hell, a lot of people saw that as a downside and replaced the pickups but thankfully Geddy and Chris were smarter than that.
Lemmy himself once said the Beatles were "hard men" from the Liverpool docks who would absolutely destroy the Stones, whom Lemmy considered effete college boys, in any kind of confrontration, so I agree that he'd probably rather sink a few pints with Paul rather than fighting him 😂
Casting another vote for Al Cisneros. Though I'm not surprised to not see him being mentioned since Sleep is not as well known as Yes or Metallica. Dude's groove is impeccable and Rickenbacker even gave him his own signature model and a custom double neck bass.
@@GVike Roger modded his after Machinehead. Machinehead is all stock. You can see the stock bass on the Scandinavian footage from ‘72. It actually became less aggressive after the mod. He was actually trying to get a less clanky, distorted sound.
el mejor bajista de todos los tiempos, su sonido grave, sucio, exquisito y llamativo, en cada cancion de yes el bajo domina la base musical, unico en su tipo, el bajo siempre al frente, nunca una nota de mas o jamas quiso sobrepasarse con el resto de sus compañeros. simplemente un genio infinito.. geddy lee mi otro favorito, como fanatico de rush y de yes solo admiracion. mike rutherford y paul mc cartney, lemmy y cliff.. el rick siempre estara ahi, jamas sera olvidado.
Chris Squire was one of my main inspirations to play bass. Geddy Lee is up there, too; but he often plays a Jazz bass. I also think the Roundabout recording does well with Bruford's heavy bass drum. They take difference "slices" out of the bass spectrum, so they don't conflict with each other.
Let's not forget that for many years, Mike Rutherford of Genesis played Rickenbackers, and of course, Geddy Lee honed his original style and tone on a Rickenbacker.
@@harrypalmer5452 He used to play a Rick 4001 for "Knights of Cydonia" and "Map of the Problematique" on the Black Holes and Revelations tour. I think he used some Rick on the Drones album, but don't quote me on that.
The criminally underrated Jon Camp of Renaissance had a fabulous Ric tone. Check out their chart-bothering 'Northern Lights', or album tracks like 'Ashes Are Burning' and 'Ocean Gypsy' - all while playing bass pedals and singing harmony as well. They didn't have an electric lead guitarist so he had a lot of sonic space to fill, and fill it he did - tastefully, melodically and dramatically. Right up there with Chris Squire I reckon. If anybody knows what he's up to these days I'd love to know! 👍
Jon is one my favourite bass players of all time! He´s still very active. Check out his latest project: th-cam.com/video/3WqeCS6vnGo/w-d-xo.html ... He´s on FB, too ...
@@floydrockcafe He's brilliant - no doubt about it! Thanks for the link - it rocks! I shall be checking out more of that. Glad to hear he's still at it. I'm not on facebook, but the page I found seemed to fizzle out in 2020. Thanks - greatly appreciated. 👍
Loved this take on the different Ric players in music history. You two are just bonkers when you get into conversations lol. I'd LOVE to see more videos like this with different bass models.
Pete Trewavas: Marillion I first saw this band in Würzburg, Germany in 1983; they blew me away. I submitted "He Knows You Know" from "Script for a Jester's Tear" as my audition to the Musicians' Institute. I love his tone and style across "Script."
I'd first heard about Marillion also in '83 and via an interview with them in the German 'Fachblatt Musiker-Magazin', held during the Roskilde festival in Denmark that year 😀 'Garden Party' was the first song of theirs I heard on the radio soon after 😊 But I actually bought their debut album only long after 'Kayleigh' and 'Lavender' had been hits 😄
I love this kind of format. So much fun to watch! Super cool to see all those different Ricky players and hear the similarities and differences in their sounds, as well.
@@dwebus5958 It sounds like a rick to me, Rick basses back then shipped with flatwounds, and his tone is what most Ricks sounded like until the 1970's when those disgusting, vile, roundwound strings became available.
a lot of the Rick James bass tracks were actually a Stingray. He mostly held/posed with the Ric because of the name synergy. even in the stage show sometimes he'd be playing, but mostly it was Oscar Alston from the Stone City Band. the sound was more often than not musicman and alembic basses. by now we know Rick played multiple instruments, but he held the bass more than he played it while onstage
@@mightyV444 Guess it's a possibility he eventually found a different bass he liked enough to play instead just for a change...and a new bass can be quite inspiring and encourage you to play in a slightly different way that expresses that new bass's unique character. Eg: a Rickenbacker bass feels so different to my Jazz bass, it inspires a slightly, or very, different direction in my articulation, sense of rhythm, and melodic flow. I don't know what it is exactly, maybe the pickups or maybe it's the glossy fingerboard, or maybe the scale length and tension of the strings...but I always play the Ricky bass with a plectrum. And unless I'm going for an aggressive overdriven JJ Burnell (The Stranglers) or David Stoermer (The Killers) vibe, I'll play the Jazz with my fingers. And it's not a case of clean sound equals fingerstyle, distortion equals pleccy. John Wetton in King Crimson was an intimidating, really aggressive fiery, loud and outspoken fingerstyle player of his Precision going through distortion and even wah sometimes. Like Geddy Lee, Wetton would seriously thwack the strings with his fingertips, but with much more assertive force than Geddy Lee, it sounded like he was using not just finger force, but also transmitting a lot of energy through the wrist and elbow. Not clumsy in any way either, in using so much aggression. Just enough to make an overdriven P bass holler and sing in the higher register, and bark, snarl and growl in the lower. McCartney stopped using his Ricky after pretty much a decade of constant use. I don't think I ever learned why. Or why he retired it for the most boring heavy pedestrian looking Yamaha bass, and the Ricky's never been seen since?! Nowadays seems to favour the violin bass all over again full circle.
Roger Glover - Pictures From Home!!! Roger’s sound on Machine Head blew me away as a young teenager learning how to play the bass. Into my sixties now with money to burn so thanks to Roger Glover inspiration, I am a proud owner of a cool Ric! Oh and BTW, I agree with you on Chris Squire’s tone…
@@RCAvhstape - I watched that only recently! Their very 1st TV appearance, apparently 🙂 ...and wasn't it actually *you* who'd recommended that clip to me?! Your username definitely seems familiar! 😄
Macca's image is with a Höfner, but the best Beatles music features him with the Rick. Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mistery Tour, White Album, Abbey Road... Lots of amazing and cool bass lines!
It was about the end of the year in 1971 when I heard "Roundabout" by YES playing over my transistor radio for the first time 📻 ... I never knew that a bass guitar could have so much presence in a song, until I heard Chris Squier and his Rickenbacker 4001 on that recording.
Same! I was just clueing into AM pop radio at the time and Roundabout just blew my mind. I had no idea what I was hearing but it was unlike anything else coming out of those tiny tinny speakers. The bass caught my attention immediately. I didn’t connect it all until I got my first bass in 1975 and started playing rock n roll 😁
@@pumpichank We share history there Barry! I was only twelve when Roundabout came over the radio. I did not understand much of what I was hearing at the time, but it was as if I had truly heard a bass guitar clearly for the first time!
My faavorite bass album of all time. He holds down the bottom, throws in all sorts of incredibly melodic fills, and demonstrates the beginning of the “bass as rhythm guitar” style he later elaborated on in Motorhead.
Although Rick James did play bass, it was most likely Oscar Alston on that track. He is credited as the only bassist for the album that had "Superfreak."
@@Jack-pp2ng me too, happy to see those guys appreciate amazing musicians. Brands like Orange and Rickenbacker always help awesome musicians like that even when they don’t get the mainstream love.
Yeah, and he proved you don't need a Rick to get it. His Fender Jazz signature bass sounds incredible and tonally similar to a Rick if you use the right strings and have Geddy's attack, which is hard to achieve.
@@tomproctor.archive Yeah, IIRC "Going for the One" was recorded with a Jazz Bass throughout and it's 100% unmistakably Chris Squire. Still, there is probably no better match for Chris' style than a Rick.
You guys are seriously making my year with these Rickenbacker videos! I’ve been following since these videos were done with easel and giant pad with marker and you’ve finally done not one but two Rick videos!!!
I bought my Rickenbacker because of Geddy Lee. I never got to put a Badass bridge in, but I read where Geddy’s attack is all in his fingers and so that’s how I approached my playing on my Rickenbacker. Especially when we were playing Rush songs. I used the same Rotosound round wound strings and tried to get as close to his sound as I could.
Both Lemmy and Sir Paul are GOATs in their own rite. Lemmy is widely considered to play his bass more like a guitar player. Did you know Doctors recommended AGAIST a blood transfusion due to his alcoholism and that clean blood might've put his body into shock and killed him (earlier). Nice to get a follow-up with Lemmy included. One of Cliff's biggest influences too
I was about to tell you you were full of shit about Lemmy being one of Cliffs influences but of course, you're right. Reason I thought it was bullshit was that Moorhead didn't even get radio airplay till 1977 and Cliff was recording Anesthesia in 1982, just didn't seem like much time for him to have influenced Cliff in a big way .... That and Cliff is a much better bass player. But when you're right you're right, and you are right.
@@buckemptierXD I thought it was common knowledge that all the boys in Metallica were big Motorhead fans. Happy to pass on the story \m/ Cliff for sure was a better bass player, shame he died soo young
@@buckemptier - Maybe Terry means Yes' 'Roundabout' performance at their Rock 'n Roll Hall Of Fame induction with Geddy filling in on bass for Chris Squire?! 😊
Honestly, I would say my answer is divided by decade 1960s: Paul McCartney (The Beatles), Roger Waters (Pink Floyd) 1970s: Paul McCartney (Wings), Geddy Lee (Rush), Chris Squire (Yes), Bruce Foxton (The Jam) 1980s: Cliff Burton (Metallica), Lemmy (Motörhead) 1990s: Scott Reeder (Kyuss), Al Cisneros (Sleep) 2000s: Chris Wolstenholme (Muse), Haruko Haruhara (FLCL - yes this is an anime (which is really good, recommend checking it out if you've not heard of it) but she still uses a Rickenbacker) 2010s: Jesse F. Keeler (Death From Above 1979), Charles Michael Parks Jr. (All Them Witches), Josh Smith (Halestorm)
@@tanktuba Yeah, I first learned about them after watching a Premier Guitar Rig Rundown with then and they're definitely a really cool band and that beat-up Rick that Parks uses looks so cool with those modifications
I can’t believe you mentioned that Rick James song that he probably didn’t even play on instead of featuring Leon Sylvers of Dynasty and The Sylvers. His Ric bass was all over a lot of 70’s - 80’s R& B hits.
I can picture Lemmy sitting on his throne in the clouds, jamming on his Rickenbacker with all of the musical greats who have left earth to join him up there.
Chris Squire. :) Make fun of the Ric all you want, but like Geddy Lee and others, this is one sound that people have a very hard time to duplicate. It is not doubled with guitar. It is doubled with bass amp and marshal guitar amp for the drive and high end. Which is one reason the Sansamp was built. A modeler that handles two channels to build the drive in one and the bottom in the other. Rush was one reason I heard the sound. Geddy does play very hard and yes the attack is a big part of what is going on. Two sounds of the Ric. Warm to Cello sound and then a dirty sound. Got to love it, but if you don't want this sound, then don't expect to change it. It's the nature of the beast.
Have an older Ric thanks to my brother. Badges Bridge and Seymore Duncan Bridge pickup. Sounds pretty good to my ears. Geddy lee was my inspiration for a long time. Love your channel
John Camp of the 2nd 70s 'Renaissance' line-up, well into the 80s. Later he played a Jazz Bass and some others on the early 80s recordings. Last, of the top of my head, was 'Song all of All Seasons', possibly some tracks on 'Camera Camera'. Fantastic player (plectrum) and great Rickenbacker tone.
Paul was playing fifths like that since the very, very early Beatle days. he'll still play fifths to this day from time to time, too. but, there is another pretty famous Ricky bass player - Pete Quaife of The Kinks (he also famously played a Hofner, too). Rick James didn't play the bass part on Super Freak. he might have written the riff, though. when I was young and bought the single, I had assumed it was him playing that part, too.
Cliff Burton had a hidden single coil pick-up built under the bridge of his Ric where the foam is. He switched to it when playing lead bass. The fella who installed the pick-up talks about it in the book To Live is to Die.
I think you had a point when you said that both Lemmy and McCartney were guitar players as well, because the Rickenbacker has a slightly shorter scale length and lots of Ric players use distortion, almost like a rythm guitarist. If I had to add another player to the hall of fame, it would be Al Cisneros.
Paul D'Amour of Tool played a Chris Squire signature Rickenbacker on the album Undertow. An Iconic Bass tone of the 90's! To answer the question I'd say Squire is the king of the Rick
Jon Camp from Renaissance (super underrated--just listen to "The Vultures Fly High" or "Ashes are Burning") Mike Rutherford from Genesis (I believe he made the first Ric doubleneck 4080 12 for himself by gluing a bass and guitar together). Dave Meros from Spock's Beard (has done a lot of experiments to find that most of the Ric tone comes from hot single-coil pickups in specific positions, which I believe are under the 36th harmonic and just in front of the 24th harmonic.)
I was 19 in 1971 and a P bass player with flats on it and remember the first time I heard Roundabout on AM radio and I noticed the sound, I wasn't real familiar with Rickenbackers but have bought many since, I own three now, one 1979 4001, one 1985 4003FL and a almost new 4003S, all really nice basses. Tha Fireglo 4003S Scott has is beautiful.
*PLEASE READ* - It's come to our attention that there are some commenters on our videos who are trying to scam our subscribers with offers of free gifts and message requests. None of these comments are official or from us. We will never reach out via the comments of a social media channel. We're doing our best to remove the comments and flag the accounts in question!
A fight McCartney vs. Lemmy would probably end with Lemmy refusing to fight and inviting Paul for a few drinks
Lemmy could probably convince Paul to stop being a vegetarian. Because he's LEMMY.
Lemmy was more interested in playing pub fruit machines than talking about music. McCartney is a musicianly bass player with a melodic approach and a dubby sound, Lemmy was more of a rhythm guitarist an octave lower and with extra balls! RIP Mr Kilminster you absolute Rock n Roll legend!
😂😂 probably!!
Paul was in Hamburg in the early 60's in Hamburg playing in clubs. He definitely got into a few fistfights.
If you mounted an expedition to find a bass player in Chuck Norris's beard, you find Lemmy.
Cliff Burton. Absolute beast. A rare time when a whole band moved to the city where the bassist lived, just so they could have him in the band.
Imagine what could have been. So happy to have what we do have however!
@@captainchunk4078 you don't have to imagine what could have been, Metallica cut their 3 best albums with Burton.
Cliff stopped playing his because it broke down. Google it.
He only did 3 albums, so he doesn't count
Cliff Burton, what string did this beast use ?. Excalibur strings.
A big part of the Geddy and Chris Squire sounds that you guys didn't touch on is using the Ric-O-Sound output to run each pickup through a different signal chain. It lets you really emphasize the driven clank from the bridge pickup while maintaining the clean thunderous low end from the neck pickup. Really contributes a lot to that piano string sound.
Well actually...i saw a video of Squire saying that he did the opposite...Overdriven Neck pickup and Clean Bridge Pickup...but who really knows...
@@normt6226 Ah I think you're right actually. I definitely come more from the Geddy side of things, so that's my bias
@@normt6226 are you serious? I never tried that, I always assumed it was the bridge pickup cuz that seems intuitive. I personally verdrive the bridge but I might try overdrive the neck now
Yes, second Ric vid in a row with no discussion of what I consider the best part of a Ric's sound.
Why don't more people mod their basses w stereo outputs?
Easily drop 500 on a pair of pickups and a preamp and so many people have enough heads to make an alien jealous, but the price of a jack and instrument cable escapes people who would then drool over a $2,000 bass?
@@normt6226 He used Fuzz on his neck pickup pretty often, I dunno if you've ever played a vintage Ric, but the bridge pickup is all twang with 0 bottom end, partly because they're very weak and also because there's a .0047uf capacitor wired in line with the bridge pickup to wipe out any remaining lows. The capacitor on my 4001 is missing and it's still clangy as hell, a lot of people saw that as a downside and replaced the pickups but thankfully Geddy and Chris were smarter than that.
Lemmy himself once said the Beatles were "hard men" from the Liverpool docks who would absolutely destroy the Stones, whom Lemmy considered effete college boys, in any kind of confrontration, so I agree that he'd probably rather sink a few pints with Paul rather than fighting him 😂
I just posted the same story. 😂
What did he said about the Stones?
Casting another vote for Al Cisneros. Though I'm not surprised to not see him being mentioned since Sleep is not as well known as Yes or Metallica. Dude's groove is impeccable and Rickenbacker even gave him his own signature model and a custom double neck bass.
came here to say this, not dissapointed to see it in the comments
I agree that he’s not as well known, but he does have a signature bass from Rick
@@BongwaterJones but he does! They released it a few years ago. It’s got the green fret inlays and some crazy pick ups.
OM. All Bass and Drums. A necessary listen.
came here to say this too!!
Roger Glover of Deep Purple recorded 'Machine Head' with a Ric - That's the one with 'Smoke' on it, and bass solo on 'pictures of home'
I believe Roger modded his, but yeah, very aggressive tone.
@@GVike Roger modded his after Machinehead. Machinehead is all stock. You can see the stock bass on the Scandinavian footage from ‘72. It actually became less aggressive after the mod. He was actually trying to get a less clanky, distorted sound.
and Glenn Hughes on the BURN tour.... 🔥
Oh yes! And in later Rainbow years
Geddy Lee has THE Ricky tone.
Another notable Rick player is Mike Rutherford of Genesis, especially when Peter Gabriel was still the singer.
He played the Rickenbacker guitar/bass model. Awesome musician !
He used his Jazz in the studio
Good shout for Mike Rutherford...his pleccy work is brilliant
Yes! Wasn't his Rickenbacker double neck stolen in New York, though? So he switched to the Shergold ... 🤔
Geddy Lee credited Chris Squire as his inspiration.
That Chris Squire sound is a signature sound rather than a generic slap bass/funk bass tone that many none rock bassists use.
Absolutely this! Cheapo funky bass tones are so generic and boring... but now it's called "VINTAGE".
Love that SBL is finally featuring Rics! They aren't for everyone but iconic and unique nonetheless.
The intro to Cygnus X-1 Book I was the best promo for Rick. That track sold Ricks to me and all my high school bass playin buds. Killer tone!
Yes. Hooked on this song at the moment, the bass sounds amazing
Chris Squire's bass tone is freaking amazing ... Lemmy should have played an 8 string
Lemmy on an 8 string Ric would’ve been amazing.
Chris was iconic and the Rick was part of his identity.
@@IanMartinAllison ya ... like a heavy metal cheap trick
He actually did on some performances.
he did
Chris Squire...The ruler of the Rickenbacker bass...
Totally
el mejor bajista de todos los tiempos, su sonido grave, sucio, exquisito y llamativo, en cada cancion de yes el bajo domina la base musical, unico en su tipo, el bajo siempre al frente, nunca una nota de mas o jamas quiso sobrepasarse con el resto de sus compañeros. simplemente un genio infinito.. geddy lee mi otro favorito, como fanatico de rush y de yes solo admiracion. mike rutherford y paul mc cartney, lemmy y cliff.. el rick siempre estara ahi, jamas sera olvidado.
The GREATEST spokesperson for the bass without whom Geddy may not have even picked up that darn thing too! So many of us bought one cuz if Chris!!!
Nah it’s Geddy but nice try.
@@HANNIBALBARCA247 You'd be wrong, seeing how he defected to Fender, but go off!
Paul D'amour on first TOOL album. Rickenbacker and an awesome tone. The simplicity of Sober and the power...
Well said sir. D'Amour's tone on Undertow is absolutely, THE best tone I have ever heard with a Ric, period. It's phenomenal!
WHY can't we just be sober and love someone...?! - good stuff.... Maynard and I were friends in High School......
Intolerance is one of the most aggressive Ric tone songs I've ever heard. Paul D'Amour was so important to that early Tool sound.
Paul used the limited edition Chris Squire Ric on that album.
Chris Squire was one of my main inspirations to play bass. Geddy Lee is up there, too; but he often plays a Jazz bass. I also think the Roundabout recording does well with Bruford's heavy bass drum. They take difference "slices" out of the bass spectrum, so they don't conflict with each other.
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Let's not forget that for many years, Mike Rutherford of Genesis played Rickenbackers, and of course, Geddy Lee honed his original style and tone on a Rickenbacker.
Was just going to mention this. "Watcher of the skies" and so many more great tracks with that Rick tone!
MR only used Rick basses for 3 years. Nursery Cryme, Foxtrot and SEBTP. He used a Gibson bass before and a plethora of different basses after.
Fun fact for Muse fans: Christopher Wolstenholme played a Rickenbacker on Black Holes and Revelations.
REALLY?!
@@IanMartinAllison I’m now questioning everything I know but I defo certain he definitely used one on the BHaR tour
@@harrypalmer5452 He used to play a Rick 4001 for "Knights of Cydonia" and "Map of the Problematique" on the Black Holes and Revelations tour. I think he used some Rick on the Drones album, but don't quote me on that.
Clicked the thumbnail, pressed pause, ran to the comments to say: LEMMY.
Cliff is a close second. Now to enjoy the rest of the video haha
The criminally underrated Jon Camp of Renaissance had a fabulous Ric tone.
Check out their chart-bothering 'Northern Lights', or album tracks like 'Ashes Are Burning' and 'Ocean Gypsy' - all while playing bass pedals and singing harmony as well.
They didn't have an electric lead guitarist so he had a lot of sonic space to fill, and fill it he did - tastefully, melodically and dramatically. Right up there with Chris Squire I reckon. If anybody knows what he's up to these days I'd love to know! 👍
Indeed! 👊🏼
yeah,very underrated,
Jon is one my favourite bass players of all time! He´s still very active. Check out his latest project: th-cam.com/video/3WqeCS6vnGo/w-d-xo.html ... He´s on FB, too ...
@@floydrockcafe He's brilliant - no doubt about it! Thanks for the link - it rocks! I shall be checking out more of that. Glad to hear he's still at it. I'm not on facebook, but the page I found seemed to fizzle out in 2020.
Thanks - greatly appreciated. 👍
Yes. Worth checking him out. th-cam.com/video/v4VDwWVrHn4/w-d-xo.html
Loved this take on the different Ric players in music history. You two are just bonkers when you get into conversations lol. I'd LOVE to see more videos like this with different bass models.
Pete Trewavas: Marillion
I first saw this band in Würzburg, Germany in 1983; they blew me away. I submitted "He Knows You Know" from "Script for a Jester's Tear" as my audition to the Musicians' Institute. I love his tone and style across "Script."
I'd first heard about Marillion also in '83 and via an interview with them in the German 'Fachblatt Musiker-Magazin', held during the Roskilde festival in Denmark that year 😀 'Garden Party' was the first song of theirs I heard on the radio soon after 😊 But I actually bought their debut album only long after 'Kayleigh' and 'Lavender' had been hits 😄
I love this kind of format. So much fun to watch! Super cool to see all those different Ricky players and hear the similarities and differences in their sounds, as well.
McCartney. No question. He extracted more variety out of the Rick than anyone. But Geddy Lee was the ultimate representative for the Rick.
McCartney had a very boring bass tone imo, it barely sounds like a ricky to me
@@dwebus5958 It sounds like a rick to me, Rick basses back then shipped with flatwounds, and his tone is what most Ricks sounded like until the 1970's when those disgusting, vile, roundwound strings became available.
a lot of the Rick James bass tracks were actually a Stingray. He mostly held/posed with the Ric because of the name synergy. even in the stage show sometimes he'd be playing, but mostly it was Oscar Alston from the Stone City Band. the sound was more often than not musicman and alembic basses. by now we know Rick played multiple instruments, but he held the bass more than he played it while onstage
It was a Ric James fashion excesory lol.
Matched the boots.lol
Oscar played the part on a Precision. Played a Music Man live.
Respect to them all I think, all got great sound from the Rickenbacker. You missed Bruce Foxton, the Jam had some great Rick powered bass lines.
Yep I was waiting for Foxton.
@@chriscuthbertson Mind you, he started with an Ibanez lawsuit Ricky
@@GVike Like Slash is famous for playing a 'fake' Gibson Les Paul ;)
Yep, Bruce Foxton. Outstanding and hugely influential bass player. Underpinned and drove The Jam along with Buckler's drums ✊🏾
@@chriscuthbertson and Prince playing a HOHNER Tele... yeah...
Another vote for Bruce Foxton of The Jam. The bassist of the Modfather. Seen live once Nottingham on early 80s. Awesome tone and power.
Yep! 😊👍 He'd switched to P-basses at some point, though; I wonder why?!
@@mightyV444 Guess it's a possibility he eventually found a different bass he liked enough to play instead just for a change...and a new bass can be quite inspiring and encourage you to play in a slightly different way that expresses that new bass's unique character. Eg: a Rickenbacker bass feels so different to my Jazz bass, it inspires a slightly, or very, different direction in my articulation, sense of rhythm, and melodic flow. I don't know what it is exactly, maybe the pickups or maybe it's the glossy fingerboard, or maybe the scale length and tension of the strings...but I always play the Ricky bass with a plectrum. And unless I'm going for an aggressive overdriven JJ Burnell (The Stranglers) or David Stoermer (The Killers) vibe, I'll play the Jazz with my fingers. And it's not a case of clean sound equals fingerstyle, distortion equals pleccy. John Wetton in King Crimson was an intimidating, really aggressive fiery, loud and outspoken fingerstyle player of his Precision going through distortion and even wah sometimes. Like Geddy Lee, Wetton would seriously thwack the strings with his fingertips, but with much more assertive force than Geddy Lee, it sounded like he was using not just finger force, but also transmitting a lot of energy through the wrist and elbow. Not clumsy in any way either, in using so much aggression. Just enough to make an overdriven P bass holler and sing in the higher register, and bark, snarl and growl in the lower.
McCartney stopped using his Ricky after pretty much a decade of constant use. I don't think I ever learned why. Or why he retired it for the most boring heavy pedestrian looking Yamaha bass, and the Ricky's never been seen since?! Nowadays seems to favour the violin bass all over again full circle.
Roger Glover - Pictures From Home!!! Roger’s sound on Machine Head blew me away as a young teenager learning how to play the bass. Into my sixties now with money to burn so thanks to Roger Glover inspiration, I am a proud owner of a cool Ric!
Oh and BTW, I agree with you on Chris Squire’s tone…
Dear Henry, Which Rickenbacker model do you think is the coolest for hard rock - 4003, 4003W, 4003S, 4003SW?
Thank you,
Regards,
Ivan Ohar
This has to be one of the best of you two, so much laughter, and please bring back the last minute comedy skits
Mike Mills on the early albums of REM has that pretty classic 80's Ric bass tone. Check out tracks like South Central Rain or Driver 8; Pure Ric!
The video of them playing on David Letterman's show in 1983 is amazing Ric tone, both bass and guitar.
@@RCAvhstape - I watched that only recently! Their very 1st TV appearance, apparently 🙂 ...and wasn't it actually *you* who'd recommended that clip to me?! Your username definitely seems familiar! 😄
@@mightyV444 Possibly
@@RCAvhstape - Must've been on a different channel, though! I'd subscribed to this one only yesterday! 😄
Guys, I love the dynamic between you two. The channel is going from strength to strength. Keep it up.
You guys are best in the TH-cam. I learns lots of things from you guys.lots of love 💕❤️
Macca's image is with a Höfner, but the best Beatles music features him with the Rick. Rubber Soul, Revolver, Sergeant Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, Magical Mistery Tour, White Album, Abbey Road... Lots of amazing and cool bass lines!
It was about the end of the year in 1971 when I heard "Roundabout" by YES playing over my transistor radio for the first time 📻 ... I never knew that a bass guitar could have so much presence in a song, until I heard Chris Squier and his Rickenbacker 4001 on that recording.
Same! I was just clueing into AM pop radio at the time and Roundabout just blew my mind. I had no idea what I was hearing but it was unlike anything else coming out of those tiny tinny speakers. The bass caught my attention immediately. I didn’t connect it all until I got my first bass in 1975 and started playing rock n roll 😁
@@pumpichank We share history there Barry! I was only twelve when Roundabout came over the radio. I did not understand much of what I was hearing at the time, but it was as if I had truly heard a bass guitar clearly for the first time!
Bruce Foxton of The Jam. THE most intense show I ever saw was on their first US tour at the Starwood in Los Angeles. Amazing tone.
Lemmys performance on Hawkwind Space Ritual is one of the best !
Couldn't agree more. The bass playing on "Orgone Accumulator" is amazingly funky.
My faavorite bass album of all time. He holds down the bottom, throws in all sorts of incredibly melodic fills, and demonstrates the beginning of the “bass as rhythm guitar” style he later elaborated on in Motorhead.
I have a 2010 Jetglo 4003. You made me reignite my passion for my Ricky
Ian should have dropped some Cliff for us. He kills on that tone!
Next time Kev!
Wa
Was thinking that. His tone on the vid was thick and meaty....
Oh my days loving the new format
Chris Squire had the greatest tone. Totally cut through and worked so well with the music. Lemmy was a rhythm guitarist.
It's not supposed to cut through: Bass and drums drive the music.
@@mwmeier7677 Bass is allowed to stand out if it is melodic, you know. You don't have to hide your bass away.
@@mwmeier7677 okay normie geez
@@mwmeier7677 bad take
I love the little clip of you guys just chilling at the end. There should be one of those at the end of every video like this lmao
We actually are adding one of these at the end of every video they do together, at least for the foreseeable future!
Was Ian cleaning up all the chip dust from the Pringles?
Although Rick James did play bass, it was most likely Oscar Alston on that track. He is credited as the only bassist for the album that had "Superfreak."
Awesome recognition 9f lemmy and cliff! Thnx! They both ruled so bad....❤
Al Cisneros one of the best rick players but gets so little credit from the people not in the doom scene
Facts at least rickenbacker gives him credit with a signature model
Yeah he is great. Sleep and om are really good. I got one of the 4003AC models. It's very good
Doom is boring that’s probably why he’s not mentioned
@thomas harding nah you just have no attention span
@@Jack-pp2ng me too, happy to see those guys appreciate amazing musicians. Brands like Orange and Rickenbacker always help awesome musicians like that even when they don’t get the mainstream love.
"Roundabout"... BEST bass tone EVER!!!
Geddy's sound simply the best.
Yeah, and he proved you don't need a Rick to get it. His Fender Jazz signature bass sounds incredible and tonally similar to a Rick if you use the right strings and have Geddy's attack, which is hard to achieve.
@@tomproctor.archive Yeah, IIRC "Going for the One" was recorded with a Jazz Bass throughout and it's 100% unmistakably Chris Squire. Still, there is probably no better match for Chris' style than a Rick.
@@friedensgabel I agree, Chris and the Rick were cast at the same time in the eyes of the Creator.
You guys are seriously making my year with these Rickenbacker videos! I’ve been following since these videos were done with easel and giant pad with marker and you’ve finally done not one but two Rick videos!!!
I bought my Rickenbacker because of Geddy Lee. I never got to put a Badass bridge in, but I read where Geddy’s attack is all in his fingers and so that’s how I approached my playing on my Rickenbacker. Especially when we were playing Rush songs. I used the same Rotosound round wound strings and tried to get as close to his sound as I could.
That Yes bass tone is so dope.
Both Lemmy and Sir Paul are GOATs in their own rite. Lemmy is widely considered to play his bass more like a guitar player. Did you know Doctors recommended AGAIST a blood transfusion due to his alcoholism and that clean blood might've put his body into shock and killed him (earlier).
Nice to get a follow-up with Lemmy included. One of Cliff's biggest influences too
I was about to tell you you were full of shit about Lemmy being one of Cliffs influences but of course, you're right. Reason I thought it was bullshit was that Moorhead didn't even get radio airplay till 1977 and Cliff was recording Anesthesia in 1982, just didn't seem like much time for him to have influenced Cliff in a big way .... That and Cliff is a much better bass player. But when you're right you're right, and you are right.
@@buckemptierXD I thought it was common knowledge that all the boys in Metallica were big Motorhead fans. Happy to pass on the story \m/
Cliff for sure was a better bass player, shame he died soo young
The one that ruled had to be Geddy hands down I love the sound and tone on roundabout but to each his own Keep it up guys love this stuff
Wait are you saying you like Geddys tone on roundabout? Say what?
@@buckemptier - Maybe Terry means Yes' 'Roundabout' performance at their Rock 'n Roll Hall Of Fame induction with Geddy filling in on bass for Chris Squire?! 😊
I’m in love with the ending…best one yet. Once again…it is ok to be human and embrace your imperfections as long as you’re grooving.
Macca all the way. All of these players were great on the Ric. But Paul McCartney really did amazing things on that bass, made it sing.
Hey, let's not forget Lou Barlow's work with Dinosaur Jr.
Honestly, I would say my answer is divided by decade
1960s: Paul McCartney (The Beatles), Roger Waters (Pink Floyd)
1970s: Paul McCartney (Wings), Geddy Lee (Rush), Chris Squire (Yes), Bruce Foxton (The Jam)
1980s: Cliff Burton (Metallica), Lemmy (Motörhead)
1990s: Scott Reeder (Kyuss), Al Cisneros (Sleep)
2000s: Chris Wolstenholme (Muse), Haruko Haruhara (FLCL - yes this is an anime (which is really good, recommend checking it out if you've not heard of it) but she still uses a Rickenbacker)
2010s: Jesse F. Keeler (Death From Above 1979), Charles Michael Parks Jr. (All Them Witches), Josh Smith (Halestorm)
@@tanktuba Yeah, I first learned about them after watching a Premier Guitar Rig Rundown with then and they're definitely a really cool band and that beat-up Rick that Parks uses looks so cool with those modifications
Props for mentioning Haruko! Ha! 👍🏻
@@RunDub Wanted to have a bit of fun with that one and plus I loved FLCL
John, Paul and George used to get into quite a few bar brawls back during their Hamburg days-it’s always the nice, quiet guys you need to be wary of
Wow...I love CS's tone on Roundabout!
I can’t believe you mentioned that Rick James song that he probably didn’t even play on instead of featuring Leon Sylvers of Dynasty and The Sylvers. His Ric bass was all over a lot of 70’s - 80’s R& B hits.
you can't believe that he mentioned one of the most iconic bass lines of all time?? hmmm
@@buckemptier unfortunately, this episode of SBL is about Rickenbacker Basses. and not Warwick Star Basses
Enjoyed watching every thing about the ric I still have my 4001 1980.
Mike Rutherford of Genesis had some memorable tones out of his ric on the early stuff
I love that bass line on that Yes song
Lemmy played guitar for The Rockin' Vickers, before he joined Hawkwind.
Rockin vickers, Sam gopal, Jimmy hendrix, hawkwind , motorhead ....
Lemmy... cuz he's God
I can picture Lemmy sitting on his throne in the clouds, jamming on his Rickenbacker with all of the musical greats who have left earth to join him up there.
Now we need who did Wal the best
Thanks for featuring 3 of the reasons I picked up the bass. Geddy, Lemme and Cliff 🤘
Love this kind of videos from you guys!!
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
Chris Squire. :) Make fun of the Ric all you want, but like Geddy Lee and others, this is one sound that people have a very hard time to duplicate. It is not doubled with guitar. It is doubled with bass amp and marshal guitar amp for the drive and high end. Which is one reason the Sansamp was built. A modeler that handles two channels to build the drive in one and the bottom in the other. Rush was one reason I heard the sound. Geddy does play very hard and yes the attack is a big part of what is going on. Two sounds of the Ric. Warm to Cello sound and then a dirty sound. Got to love it, but if you don't want this sound, then don't expect to change it. It's the nature of the beast.
There’s an interview where he talked about that it was doubled with either an acoustic or semi hollow electric guitar as well!
Pete Quaife from The Kinks did a fantastic job with the Rickenbacker as well
Lemmy loved the Beatles. He'd be gobsmacked meeting Paul. He mentioned seeing them in Liverpool in the very early days
If I think of ricks, it's all about The Jam and Yes
bruce made some great sounds with a rick for sure ....
All phenomenal players. They all gave us so much greatness. 🙏🏼
Have an older Ric thanks to my brother. Badges Bridge and Seymore Duncan Bridge pickup. Sounds pretty good to my ears. Geddy lee was my inspiration for a long time. Love your channel
Remember Geddy ran a badass bridge and Roto sound round wounds.
add his aggressive fingers and you have a gnarly tone.
Al Cisneros is a great Rick player. I’ve seen him live quite a few times and his tone is massive
If the topic of Paul McCartney's bass playing comes up, I always tell people to listen to Revolver. Paul is a freaking great bass player!
Two videos about Rickenbacker! What's next? A third..? I owe you guys.
Bruce Foxton, The Jam. Down in the tubestation at midnight especially.
Can't wait for the next time Ian and Mr. Scott Bass Lesson talk about balls.
Gotta say, you guys are damn cool. That shot of you guys chillin on the couch at the end was awesome lol
There will now be a band called Gasfrog!
John Camp of the 2nd 70s 'Renaissance' line-up, well into the 80s. Later he played a Jazz Bass and some others on the early 80s recordings. Last, of the top of my head, was 'Song all of All Seasons', possibly some tracks on 'Camera Camera'. Fantastic player (plectrum) and great Rickenbacker tone.
Martin Turner of Wishbone Ash is a great Rickenbacker player. "The King Will Come" is one track where that ric tone really cuts through
Love this format keep it up, bass players are rarely the profile when people remember bands… except for other bass players 😊
Paul was playing fifths like that since the very, very early Beatle days. he'll still play fifths to this day from time to time, too.
but, there is another pretty famous Ricky bass player - Pete Quaife of The Kinks (he also famously played a Hofner, too).
Rick James didn't play the bass part on Super Freak. he might have written the riff, though. when I was young and bought the single, I had assumed it was him playing that part, too.
I always loved the bass player from rush back in the seventies, that played the Rickenbacker.
Yeah, I too remember him! He was quite good! Also was their lead singer and played keyboards with his feet! 😊
Geddys sound is the attack, one finger as much as you can! I remember an interview he said he's not good with a puck on bass.
Im with Geddy, I can't play with a Pic for shit, but I get an awesome better than picked sound on my ric like Geddy
I hardly think *anyone* would be good with a hockey puck on a bass, though! 😄😉
Cliff Burton had a hidden single coil pick-up built under the bridge of his Ric where the foam is. He switched to it when playing lead bass. The fella who installed the pick-up talks about it in the book To Live is to Die.
I think you had a point when you said that both Lemmy and McCartney were guitar players as well, because the Rickenbacker has a slightly shorter scale length and lots of Ric players use distortion, almost like a rythm guitarist. If I had to add another player to the hall of fame, it would be Al Cisneros.
You dude's make me laugh 😂😂. Keep hammering those bass machines 🎸🎸🎸🎸
Some of the best content around.
Roger Glover was a big influence just listen to Fireball nice solo. Never gets street cred.
Al Cineros of Om and Sleep. Awesome player.
Paul D'Amour of Tool played a Chris Squire signature Rickenbacker on the album Undertow. An Iconic Bass tone of the 90's! To answer the question I'd say Squire is the king of the Rick
Honestly Paul doesn't get enough love
Jon Camp from Renaissance (super underrated--just listen to "The Vultures Fly High" or "Ashes are Burning")
Mike Rutherford from Genesis (I believe he made the first Ric doubleneck 4080 12 for himself by gluing a bass and guitar together).
Dave Meros from Spock's Beard (has done a lot of experiments to find that most of the Ric tone comes from hot single-coil pickups in specific positions, which I believe are under the 36th harmonic and just in front of the 24th harmonic.)
🙌🏻🙌🏻🙌🏻
I love Ian’s deflection on the fist-fight issue. Classic pacifist conversational judo. Mad props!
I’m a lover
Scott throwing a "deez nuts" joke in the middle of his hot take made me laugh a lot hahaha
Helmut Hattler from the german band "Kraan" during the 70ies also played crazy stuff on his Rick, worth checking out =)
Interesting! I did not know that! I remember him as an Ibanez guy, at least throughout the 80's 🙂
geddy :)
i love the little "scketch" of the video!
Paul M, played some incredible bass lines, and brilliant singing makes him a tough act to follow.
For sure! 🐐🐐🐐
I was 19 in 1971 and a P bass player with flats on it and remember the first time I heard Roundabout on AM radio and I noticed the sound, I wasn't real familiar with Rickenbackers but have bought many since, I own three now, one 1979 4001, one 1985 4003FL and a almost new 4003S, all really nice basses. Tha Fireglo 4003S Scott has is beautiful.
That is awesome dude!
@@devinebass Yeah, the sound stuck out even on an AM car radio. I still didn't buy one for several more years though.