How to record the Rickenbacker Bass Ric-O-Sound ► Home Music Studio Tips
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 15 เม.ย. 2022
- Here are my best tips on how to record and mix the Rickenbacker Bass Ric-O-Sound stereo output in the recording studio.
The bass I used is a 1975 Rickenbacker 4001, it was recorded through a DI with the ART PRO MPA-II Mic Preamp and the DI input on the Focusrite ISA One preamp.
The vocals are recorded using a Wunder CM7 FET (a clone of the Neumann U47 FET).
The Synth is a Yamaha DX7.
My audio interface is the Universal Audio Apollo Twin USB.
Hi we are David & Syndia (aka Moss and Dandy). We bring you weekly music vlogs where we write, record and perform original songs in our home studio. If you're a creative person and love music, join the fun :o)
INSTAGRAM ► / mossndandy
Music credits:
Long Dark Hallway (by David Boily)
#rickenbackerbass
#ricosound
What a beautiful bass. And Ric-O-Sound will make any Ric a completely different animal.
Thank you! It's prize jewel of my guitar collection :)
Thank you! I’ve seen too many Rick reviews explain Ric-O-Sound incorrectly. Drives me nuts. You do NOT use both jacks!!
One thing that should be mentioned here is the use of compression. Compressing the pickups at different rates (especially the bridge pickup) adds punch and definition. I just use the neck pup to fill out the bottom end. Both Geddy Lee and Chris Squire list compression as key to their sounds. Squire actually ran the bridge pup through a guitar amp, which adds natural compression. That gives you a nice growl without needing distortion.
I should have mentioned the compression, both tracks (bridge and neck) have a UAD 1176 compressor on. Indeed compression is super important to get the most out of Ric-O-Sound. And for sure a tube guitar amp with some nice overdrive will not need the 1176 since the saturation will take care of the dynamics.
Basses benefit from using an optical compressor instead of VCA. The slower attack allows time for low frequencies to bloom before being cut.
Yes, compression is a must. Especially for sansamp users. I use a paradriver these days, but used to have both the RBI and RPM that IO used together. And even using those two units, I still needed a compressor to help muffle the obnoxious overtones that sansamps are notorious for at high gain levels
As for Geddy Lee, that Palmer PDI-03 speaker simulator that he uses... that's basically his compressor
The song it the end is terrific! Thanks for the tutorial, and specifically for explaining about the stereo cable.
A very good explanation. Thanks!
this is so cool
You’re my hero ! Nice playing & di hung too ! Bravo 👏🏻
Thank you :)
Fantastic video.
Very interesting and useful, thank you.
Glad to share the passion.
Thanks for this video
You're welcome :)
This song rocks
Thank you :)
Great video. What you need to look out for, if you plug the inputs into two different amps, is ground loops (induces hum). I would use an isolator (transformer) on one of the inputs to avoid that.
What kind of isolator should I look into?
OMG, even pronounced the name right. Great video.
That was very interesting, I don’t do a lot of subscribing but this interests me.
Thank you, very appreciated.
Nice
Thank you! :)
Hello, great video, thanks!
What do you think about the RWRP mod? I am thinking on doing it, since I always use both volume knobs on 100%. I am curious to know how it behaves with Ric-O-Sound though! Do you have any info? THanks!
Thank you. I also always use tone and volume at 100%. That mod looks really interesting. I am not certain if it would interfere with the Ric-O-Sound, I guess it shouldn't since the Ric-O-Sound roots both pickups to different outputs.
Nice song!, I want to hear the full song!,
Thank you! I am trying to write 50 minisongs like this and then choose the best 5-10 to finish. This one is for sure in the running as one of my favorite. Your vote of confidence is really helping it secure a place in the final choice. :)
I use a split (trs to 2 1/4 ) cable going into an alembic f2b killer!!!!
Nice! That must sound awesome.
This IS something i realy try and was failed and dissapointed, i didnt knew it need stereo split jack for just one output so maybe you can use 3 output with this basse, i knew it need almost a drive AMP and dry clean to get that fatness but not like that .
I have a 1977 in mapleglo in the same condition
I bought mine when I was 17, didn't really know what I was buying at the time except that it was the bass Paul McCartney used. Best instrument I ever got, that thing has so much mojo.
T'es vraiment chanceux d'avoir une Rico!
J'ai été chanceux d'avoir payé quatre cents piasses à la Tosca pour cette bass la.
Only 400 biffetons mec!
@Philippe Viau oui, c'est fou, j'ai jamais vraiment compris.
Was quite surprised "growl" is claimed to be 2,709 hz.
I suppose that's where I hear it, could be subjective. I'm curious to know where you hear it.
But what happens if I connect both outputs? Will they both work? I mean will I have then a full 2 pickup traditional sound I could connect to a bass amp and another 2 mono signals available to create a monstrous sound with 3 signals in total!!!??? 👹👹👹
I think it would be possible, but you'd lose some volume, something like 25% unless you use an active splitter for the regular output and the ric-o-sound output. This also happens if you use passive splitter pedals with a regular output.
I experimented with a little hack where I take a stereo to L R splitter from a yamaha keyboard. If I put it in all the way it only sounds out of the left output, but if I pull it about a cm, the hot tongue on the output touches both L and R contacts on the adapter, making it able to use separate amps, or go amp and DI, etc. But there is a small drop in volume.
I don't know where I heard this, but supossedly the ric-o-sound has something that if one output is connected the other one is disabled. If that is true, there must be some way to get rid of this to have both enabled at the same time.
I'm actually thinking of doing this to my guitar, where I have a stereo out for middle and bridge, and a separate mono for neck, but I haven't recorded the results yet. I already did neck and bridge separate, I just need to get the stereo bridged + middle done.
Hi . What distortion pedal are you using? Thanks
It's a plugin version of an Ibanez Tube Screamer TS9, the Waves GTR one, the tone and drive knobs are at 5.5 (a little past noon). The bridge pickup then goes through a clean Waves GTR guitar amp emulation. The neck pickup is pure DI with a UAD 1176 compressor with attack at 1 and release at 7, and a UAD 1081 EQ boosting 100, 1000 and 2700.
This isn't cutting it. Not the Ric or Squire sound. He's got both depth and highs too not easily recaptured.
Ok I get it now. Thanks for saving the dog in the video for the end. Just on principal I usually turn off any video when people bring their dogs in. It’s lame. You waited and I got what I needed before the lame dog. No like and no subscribes for you! Ha ha!
That's cool. I love that dog, but you don't have to. I'm glad you got the information you needed. :)
So with that interface thing... you don't even need amplifier??? That's kind of messed up, really. It's like cheating in a way. I only say that because I think about how recording used to go where you set up microphones, and all that. This would be ideal for me due to noise factor. I have an Ampeg USA 4 by 12 SVT cabinet and one of those SVT-7 heads powering it, and I swear it's WAYYY too "boomy"
It requires too much volume before it begins sounding good. If I had a second cabinet and head, then I could use my RICK-O-SOUND and it would sound much better. But with threats of nuclear wadink mr,, worldwide famine, possible cannibalism, Chinese invaders etc, it would be foolish for me to spend money on something that I might have to leave behind. I thought my war days were over and that I could spend the rest of my days doing the things I want to do without any interference... now I have to worry about these dink son of a bitches invading/ And spend my money on weaponry and ammunition?
Sorry... I had to get that off my mind But that's been a major psychological barrier that only inhibits my musical creativity and drive
That's why I gave up recording amps a while ago, the tube amps need to be so loud to sound good, doesn't make for a fun recording environment. I remember the microphone and tape machine days. Recording bass through a DI directly into a preamp is nothing new though, I think people were doing it in the 60s, sometimes mixing the DI signal with one recorded with a mic at the same time. But nowadays I pretty much only use virtual amps. The UAD Ampeg SVT emulation is so good, and it's amazing to be able to tweak the amp trebble, bass and mid knobs while mixing! The only noise I have ton contend with is the Rickenbacker single coil hum, I just rotate 45 degrees away from the computer and it minimizes it.
You say do it right but you dont even have the stereo amp..