There's other great advantage in using Rick-oSound: With two amplifiers (or a stereo one, it's to say, two input/output channel amplifier) the purity / cleaness of the treble / bridge pickup is amazing... as the higher frequencies are not mechanically modulated as they would be by sharing just one channel.
Thanks! I lucked out with this one. Definitely influenced by heavy pick players like Roger Glover, John Wetton, Chris Squire, Lemmy, dUg Pinnick - many if not most Ric players.
That 4001 is beautiful. The demo was great, the only thing I would add for people who don't know is that the Rick-o-Sound splitter had a stereo cord going to a stereo guitar jack. Otherwise this is on the money with the video and sound quality. The overdrive on the compressors make it sound great also. Wish I never sold my Rick back in the 80's while in college. :(
Good point - one could make a demo purely on the Ric-O-Sound box! That is a problem for some people, using the wrong jack and only getting one pickup - the previous owner of my bass actually jammed a bolt into the jack!
When I was a teenager back in the 70's, I had a 4001 and used a Rick-O-Sound box for mixing purposes. I used a number of two channel tube amps (older blackface Bassmans with 2x12 piggy backs and a Marshall Super Bass 100 with a 2x15 Sunn). What a beautiful crystal clear tone; your video jarred a bunch of old memories. I've been thinking about getting back into playing lately and getting a Rick. I didn't see the ROS kit on their website though and wondered if it was still available? I've seen a few on eBay for ridiculous amounts and would simply buy a stereo Y cable before I'd worry about an ROS kit, same thing but much cheaper.
I bet that sounded massive! You are correct, the official Ric-O-Sound box went out of production at least 10 years ago - I grabbed one soon after, probably paid too much but nothing like now. I hear of people using stereo split cables, some places make splitter boxes that you can plug a TRS cable into with two mono outs. Have fun, there's nothing like a Ric! The newest ones have a newly designed bridge that won't lift and is easier to adjust. Time to go down the rabbit hole...
I owned a 1980 4001 L bought new in 80 and never got to play it stereo. I knew nothing then about the splitter box. No longer own that bass. Wish I did. It's been gone since 92. I do now own a 1998 Cheyenne L. Bought new in 98 and that's the CHIEF. I don't mind no stereo option. That bass may just go to my grave WITH Me. It fits me like a glove. Way better than my other's do. Been a RIC fan since the 70s.
@@paulsimmons5726 I wanted one badly for years until someone brought one to a jam and let me try it. Instantly I hated the neck. Thought of just wiring some cheap bass stereo.
In my opinion, this is the only way to reproduce that iconic Squire-Sound. That stereo routing produces subtle differences which result in a sound like two instruments played at the same time...
@@hieronymous7 Yup, so the player's hands obviously have a lot to do with it. But in old photos of Yes on stage you can see two cords running from Chris' bass to two separate amps (heads plus big cabinets.) I doubt his roadies appreciated having to lug all of that weight around!
@@yes_head For sure he ran his bass in stereo - there's even a story where he claims that Rickenbacker started doing Ric-O-Sound because of him! (I think it's not true, that they started the stereo output earlier, but not sure exactly when)
@@hieronymous7Cool! Yeah:) I just rewatched the Chris Squire Rig Rundown video. He showed his Marshall and ampeg rig. I’m sure you’ve seen it! We all Love Chris! Nice playing! Cheers😎
The sound you used in the beginning reminded me of the sound of “give it away” from rhcp. Even though flea seems like the guy who would never use a rickenbacker! Really really cool!
Do you mean the sound of the bass or the bassline? I listened to a lot of RHCP from around 1987-1995, so Flea is definitely an influence! And actually, I never would have expected him to play a Wal or Alembic or even Jazz Bass - maybe Rickenbacker is next!
@@prith7900 I know Flea used Alembics sometimes so thought maybe he was running one in stereo like Ric-O-Sound, but apparently it was a Wal on Give it Away? Plus his Alembics were probably not stereo...
Great demo, I was always greatful I chose bass...looking at most lead guitar players and rythm players....I hated seeing the nightmare of gear and setup. I love one cable one patch and power cord... then i go out and smoke,drink,etc...while everyone else hooking up 30 mins later. So this not for me. Beautiful Rick!....great sound! thank you
I appreciate your comment - I tend towards the simpler setup myself, though it's cool to have the stereo option available, especially while recording. Live - it's a pain! 😅
To be honest, I'm not sure! But I think it was removed. I just took it in to get it worked on today, hopefully by the end of the year I can update this video!
Thanks! This was awesome. I am setting up my. bass guitar to have fun, maybe write music, and maybe do a business video. Undecided, but this is where I wanted to start.
Thank you! The past couple of years have been a lot of fun for me making YT videos. You can basically do whatever you want - I'm fortunate that people watch my videos. Good luck and have fun!
I don't know about the Hipshot - never tried one, though I do have Ric-playing friends that love them. I tried the Seymour Duncan pickups in this bass when I first got it - hated them! Put the originals back as soon as I could. But there are different Ric pickups as well - these mid-'70s ones are low output but I love the sound. I also like the more recent hi-gains. There are other replacements too, just haven't felt the need to experiment.
Yeah, I'm using it more just as 2-channel as opposed to left-right stereo field. I prefer to have a single, wide-range sound, which Ric-O-Sound is excellent at producing! I also prefer not to use subtle delay, gets too messy for me, unless using it as an obvious effect. Thanks for the comment though!
They’re not only very variable across different instruments, in my experience they’re inconsistent gig to gig in a way that Fenders aren’t - Fenders sound good out of the box and (for the most part) consistently deliver great performance. I’ve had two Rics - a 4004L and a 4003s/5. Some nights they’re fantastic but most nights they disappoint 🫤 Real life examples are Geddy Lee’s disappointment when he first got a Riccy - it sounded nothing like Chris Squire’s. And Chris Squire himself when they produced his signature model. He was fairly dismissive, saying that most of them didn’t sound anything like his 🤔
Back in the day, before DI’s and PA/house sound fellows would use an Ampeg SVT as their only amplification. Between it’s rock hard, shiny fretboard and the Rick-o-sound; a Ric in that situation will rip your head off if you were in the wrong place.
Nice work and your explanation is very clear, but looks like your not using the Rick-O-Sound at it´s all potential. If you don't open each sound in the stereo image, you're not getting the whole experience. It's very different, you'll see. Cheers.
These days there are workarounds, like just splitting the signal rather than using separate outputs. The Tech21 Geddy Lee pedals are another option - that's what I use most of the time.
@@eckie4679 Yeah, unless you've got a roadie to carry everything and a tech to manage things if something goes wrong. At home recording is one thing, but live? More than one pickup is fine, but one cable and one amp is enough for me!
I guess the term 'stereo' was inept for me. I put on headphones expecting separation. Likely possible, but that's not how you were using the 2 outs. Still, love that octave sound. I favor the POG with guitar more than most I see.
Yeah, stereo can mean the stereo field of left & right, or simply 2 channel. With bass, I think of it as 2-channel - you can process the bass & treble frequencies differently - but basically "mono". Left-right stereo can get messy - might sound cool with just the bass, but with a band it's going to take up too much space (in my opinion anyway!) I appreciate though that you acknowledge the difference and didn't just tell me "you need to do it in stereo" lol
Yeah, that's another way to do it! A little different since that way you're sending the same signal while Rick-O-Sound sends very different signals - but in the end probably good enough!
@@hieronymous7 with my Ric, I use the stero out .... bridge goes to Marshal DSL100 guitar amp, neck goes to Fender Bassman Pro ... HOWEVER ... with the Morley one can acheivea good enough setup with lots of options. Guitar rig is the same as well.
@@macinfloydvolk Actually I haven't had many opportunities to do stereo bass with amplification. I've done it mostly in recording. You've got it sorted out - I bet it sounds awesome! Not many people interested in this approach these days seems like...
@@hieronymous7 I wouldn't say I have it sorted out but I like being different. Stereo delay and what not ... Pink Floyd is my favorite band so go figure .... I never play any cover tunes though.
@@hieronymous7 What I meant was even then it was a rip-off unless you got it for like $5. It's basically just two TS sockets and one TRS socket in a box, plus wire to connect them.
@@eyeball226 So what are your easily-available, high-quality alternatives? At least the Rick-O-Sound box allows you to use any length cables you need to go to what they're getting plugged into. I don't see many Y-splitter cables in my local guitar stores.
@@hieronymous7 Generally speaking you'll find the necessary cable under the name "stereo breakout cable". They have a male TRS plug and two female TS connectors (i.e. inline sockets). You can then use whatever cables you want from that point, exactly like a ric-o-sound box. Of course, if you want a sturdy version in a box it's pretty trivial to make for very little cost. Personally I just use a Hosa breakout cable with my stereo wired Bass VI.
@@eyeball226 That's all fine and good, but think back about 17 years - I don't know about you, but there weren't nearly the online resources that there are now. I used to get my non-standard cables from Radio Shack (they had a great mini-phone to mini-phone cable that I still use), good luck finding the cable you needed at GC or Daddy's or Mars Gtrs or E. W. Wurlitzer. I'm still not recommending the R-o-S box, but I think you're being too dismissive of it.
Too much talking and where's the playing demo? A few notes? Sounds like a synth bass to me more than a Squire tone or even a Ric. Needs more separation between the high and lows for truer Squire definition.
Yup - and Mohg - not Mooooog - but I'll still call it Moog when necessary and it's hard to break the Rickenbacher - I called it that for like 30 years before I knew...
I love my new 4003. I have a Fender p-j Japanese and an ancient Gibson EB L among others. The single truss rod is easy to tweak, the bridge is awesome. No problems with it at all. The scale is perfect for me. And as shown the range of tones you can get out of this machine is amazing.
Видеоклипы
two amps, even small ones, sound huge
Stunning looking bass!
Thank you - it really is and I'm really lucky!
There's other great advantage in using Rick-oSound: With two amplifiers (or a stereo one, it's to say, two input/output channel amplifier) the purity / cleaness of the treble / bridge pickup is amazing... as the higher frequencies are not mechanically modulated as they would be by sharing just one channel.
Great point!
Good, good heavens! Gorgeous instrument, gorgeous tones!
Brilliant demo! Not many ROS tutorials out there. This one is top notch!
Very nice demo! Thank you.
That Rick is gorgeous!!! Sounds great too!
Beautiful Rick!
Great video! Love the finish on your Rickenbacker, love your picking style, love the sound...and I Love King's X!!
Thanks! I lucked out with this one. Definitely influenced by heavy pick players like Roger Glover, John Wetton, Chris Squire, Lemmy, dUg Pinnick - many if not most Ric players.
That 4001 is beautiful. The demo was great, the only thing I would add for people who don't know is that the Rick-o-Sound splitter had a stereo cord going to a stereo guitar jack. Otherwise this is on the money with the video and sound quality. The overdrive on the compressors make it sound great also. Wish I never sold my Rick back in the 80's while in college. :(
Good point - one could make a demo purely on the Ric-O-Sound box! That is a problem for some people, using the wrong jack and only getting one pickup - the previous owner of my bass actually jammed a bolt into the jack!
Same here. Traded in my black 1980 4001 that I bought new for $500 when I was in high school. Traded for an Alvarez Yari in 1990.
Me too! I had a black with the white pickguard and binding 4001 with the Rick-O-Sound, and I sold it!! Talk about young and stupid! I miss it so much!
This was a very thought-provoking video . Two thumbs up ........
Man that sure has a ton of :"pop". Very distinctive tone. Thanks for the demo.
Nice demo. I just got a new rick bass so this sounds like fun to experiment with.
Congrats on the new bass! Have fun with it!
Great playing
When I was a teenager back in the 70's, I had a 4001 and used a Rick-O-Sound box for mixing purposes. I used a number of two channel tube amps (older blackface Bassmans with 2x12 piggy backs and a Marshall Super Bass 100 with a 2x15 Sunn). What a beautiful crystal clear tone; your video jarred a bunch of old memories.
I've been thinking about getting back into playing lately and getting a Rick. I didn't see the ROS kit on their website though and wondered if it was still available? I've seen a few on eBay for ridiculous amounts and would simply buy a stereo Y cable before I'd worry about an ROS kit, same thing but much cheaper.
I bet that sounded massive! You are correct, the official Ric-O-Sound box went out of production at least 10 years ago - I grabbed one soon after, probably paid too much but nothing like now. I hear of people using stereo split cables, some places make splitter boxes that you can plug a TRS cable into with two mono outs. Have fun, there's nothing like a Ric! The newest ones have a newly designed bridge that won't lift and is easier to adjust. Time to go down the rabbit hole...
@@hieronymous7 Thanks for your response. Great post. Take care!
I owned a 1980 4001 L bought new in 80 and never got to play it stereo. I knew nothing then about the splitter box. No longer own that bass. Wish I did. It's been gone since 92. I do now own a 1998 Cheyenne L. Bought new in 98 and that's the CHIEF. I don't mind no stereo option. That bass may just go to my grave WITH Me. It fits me like a glove. Way better than my other's do. Been a RIC fan since the 70s.
@@Bitterstone3849 Yeah, Rickenbackers aren't for everyone but if you like 'em, you love 'em.
@@paulsimmons5726 I wanted one badly for years until someone brought one to a jam and let me try it. Instantly I hated the neck.
Thought of just wiring some cheap bass stereo.
In my opinion, this is the only way to reproduce that iconic Squire-Sound.
That stereo routing produces subtle differences which result in a sound like two instruments played at the same time...
Good call! I seem to remember him also saying that he would hit the string with the meat of his thumb a split-second after hitting it with the pick...
@@hieronymous7 Yup, so the player's hands obviously have a lot to do with it. But in old photos of Yes on stage you can see two cords running from Chris' bass to two separate amps (heads plus big cabinets.) I doubt his roadies appreciated having to lug all of that weight around!
@@yes_head For sure he ran his bass in stereo - there's even a story where he claims that Rickenbacker started doing Ric-O-Sound because of him! (I think it's not true, that they started the stereo output earlier, but not sure exactly when)
I wanted to hear the differently processed pickups played together…. Still enjoyed it.
I think I need to make a new video! This was one of my early attempts
@@hieronymous7Cool! Yeah:) I just rewatched the Chris Squire Rig Rundown video. He showed his Marshall and ampeg rig. I’m sure you’ve seen it! We all Love Chris! Nice playing! Cheers😎
Great video
That. Sounds. Awesome.
Love your Ric. I play a blonde 96 4003. Freaking love it!!
Rics are cool - not for everybody, but for those that know...
Awesome. thanks.
The sound you used in the beginning reminded me of the sound of “give it away” from rhcp. Even though flea seems like the guy who would never use a rickenbacker! Really really cool!
Do you mean the sound of the bass or the bassline? I listened to a lot of RHCP from around 1987-1995, so Flea is definitely an influence! And actually, I never would have expected him to play a Wal or Alembic or even Jazz Bass - maybe Rickenbacker is next!
@@hieronymous7 yea the sound. It’s really tight and gives a really cool sound like the Rick O effects
@@prith7900 I know Flea used Alembics sometimes so thought maybe he was running one in stereo like Ric-O-Sound, but apparently it was a Wal on Give it Away? Plus his Alembics were probably not stereo...
Pretty clear!
Cool video mate.
I had that same bass 25 years ago!
I haven't viewed this yet, but can tell by your use of "clanky" that I will enjoy. Here goes . . . .
Bravo!
Thanks!
Great demo, I was always greatful I chose bass...looking at most lead guitar players and rythm players....I hated seeing the nightmare of gear and setup. I love one cable one patch and power cord... then i go out and smoke,drink,etc...while everyone else hooking up 30 mins later. So this not for me. Beautiful Rick!....great sound! thank you
I appreciate your comment - I tend towards the simpler setup myself, though it's cool to have the stereo option available, especially while recording. Live - it's a pain! 😅
Thanks man.
Does that 76 have the capacitor still wired on the bridge pickup ?
To be honest, I'm not sure! But I think it was removed. I just took it in to get it worked on today, hopefully by the end of the year I can update this video!
Thanks! This was awesome. I am setting up my. bass guitar to have fun, maybe write music, and maybe do a business video. Undecided, but this is where I wanted to start.
Thank you! The past couple of years have been a lot of fun for me making YT videos. You can basically do whatever you want - I'm fortunate that people watch my videos. Good luck and have fun!
Do you think these Rickenbacker basses are better with the Hipshot replacement bridge and Semour Duncan pickups?
I don't know about the Hipshot - never tried one, though I do have Ric-playing friends that love them. I tried the Seymour Duncan pickups in this bass when I first got it - hated them! Put the originals back as soon as I could. But there are different Ric pickups as well - these mid-'70s ones are low output but I love the sound. I also like the more recent hi-gains. There are other replacements too, just haven't felt the need to experiment.
The Hipshot bridge is a big improvement.Ric bridges are garbage.
Holy Smokes !
Love the octave..
One of my favorite effects! I like octave with overdrive afterwards too
I think you really need to have just a touch of delay on one side to make the stereo more obvious. I have to get a 4001, such great tone from you!
Yeah, I'm using it more just as 2-channel as opposed to left-right stereo field. I prefer to have a single, wide-range sound, which Ric-O-Sound is excellent at producing! I also prefer not to use subtle delay, gets too messy for me, unless using it as an obvious effect. Thanks for the comment though!
Do all Rickenbacker basses sound like this?! If so I need one
They’re not only very variable across different instruments, in my experience they’re inconsistent gig to gig in a way that Fenders aren’t - Fenders sound good out of the box and (for the most part) consistently deliver great performance.
I’ve had two Rics - a 4004L and a 4003s/5. Some nights they’re fantastic but most nights they disappoint 🫤
Real life examples are Geddy Lee’s disappointment when he first got a Riccy - it sounded nothing like Chris Squire’s. And Chris Squire himself when they produced his signature model. He was fairly dismissive, saying that most of them didn’t sound anything like his 🤔
Back in the day, before DI’s and PA/house sound fellows would use an Ampeg SVT as their only amplification. Between it’s rock hard, shiny fretboard and the Rick-o-sound; a Ric in that situation will rip your head off if you were in the wrong place.
That's awesome! Those were the days, eh? I never had good amplification when I was playing actively in the '90s.
How do you deal with the single coil hum? Thx
I am lucky in that my bass has copper shielding, so I haven't experienced much hum. Sorry I can't help!
Nice work and your explanation is very clear, but looks like your not using the Rick-O-Sound at it´s all potential. If you don't open each sound in the stereo image, you're not getting the whole experience. It's very different, you'll see. Cheers.
Show it in stereo, please.
If it is easy as wiring 2 pickups to 2 outputs, why aren't lots of people rewiring their basses to sound this good?
These days there are workarounds, like just splitting the signal rather than using separate outputs. The Tech21 Geddy Lee pedals are another option - that's what I use most of the time.
Too much hassle maybe. Something to be said for the simplicity of a single pup bass like a Precision
@@eckie4679 Yeah, unless you've got a roadie to carry everything and a tech to manage things if something goes wrong. At home recording is one thing, but live? More than one pickup is fine, but one cable and one amp is enough for me!
I guess the term 'stereo' was inept for me. I put on headphones expecting separation. Likely possible, but that's not how you were using the 2 outs. Still, love that octave sound. I favor the POG with guitar more than most I see.
Yeah, stereo can mean the stereo field of left & right, or simply 2 channel. With bass, I think of it as 2-channel - you can process the bass & treble frequencies differently - but basically "mono". Left-right stereo can get messy - might sound cool with just the bass, but with a band it's going to take up too much space (in my opinion anyway!) I appreciate though that you acknowledge the difference and didn't just tell me "you need to do it in stereo" lol
I use a Morley ABY switch I can play any bass like my Rick
Yeah, that's another way to do it! A little different since that way you're sending the same signal while Rick-O-Sound sends very different signals - but in the end probably good enough!
@@hieronymous7 with my Ric, I use the stero out .... bridge goes to Marshal DSL100 guitar amp, neck goes to Fender Bassman Pro ... HOWEVER ... with the Morley one can acheivea good enough setup with lots of options. Guitar rig is the same as well.
@@macinfloydvolk Actually I haven't had many opportunities to do stereo bass with amplification. I've done it mostly in recording. You've got it sorted out - I bet it sounds awesome! Not many people interested in this approach these days
seems like...
@@hieronymous7 I wouldn't say I have it sorted out but I like being different. Stereo delay and what not ... Pink Floyd is my favorite band so go figure .... I never play any cover tunes though.
sounds like dinosaur jr
What everybody said.. and you didn't play them both with the effects together?!
Very nice sound.
That octave...
I own a Ric with the Ric-O-Sound feature........Not worth the trouble. The bass sounds fantastic using the standard jack.
That Ric-o-sound box is a colossal waste of money unless you want it as a collector. You can just use an insert cable to do the same thing.
😅 Yeah, I wouldn't encourage anyone to try and buy one now - I bought mine back in 2006 when they were discontinued.
@@hieronymous7 What I meant was even then it was a rip-off unless you got it for like $5. It's basically just two TS sockets and one TRS socket in a box, plus wire to connect them.
@@eyeball226 So what are your easily-available, high-quality alternatives? At least the Rick-O-Sound box allows you to use any length cables you need to go to what they're getting plugged into. I don't see many Y-splitter cables in my local guitar stores.
@@hieronymous7 Generally speaking you'll find the necessary cable under the name "stereo breakout cable". They have a male TRS plug and two female TS connectors (i.e. inline sockets). You can then use whatever cables you want from that point, exactly like a ric-o-sound box. Of course, if you want a sturdy version in a box it's pretty trivial to make for very little cost.
Personally I just use a Hosa breakout cable with my stereo wired Bass VI.
@@eyeball226 That's all fine and good, but think back about 17 years - I don't know about you, but there weren't nearly the online resources that there are now. I used to get my non-standard cables from Radio Shack (they had a great mini-phone to mini-phone cable that I still use), good luck finding the cable you needed at GC or Daddy's or Mars Gtrs or E. W. Wurlitzer. I'm still not recommending the R-o-S box, but I think you're being too dismissive of it.
Too much talking and where's the playing demo? A few notes? Sounds like a synth bass to me more than a Squire tone or even a Ric. Needs more separation between the high and lows for truer Squire definition.
Hey, this was one of my early videos - cut me some slack! 😅 You're not wrong though, I think it's time for me to make a follow-up...
@@hieronymous7 Sure, slack cut and extended no worries - do your thing and sure make that new video. Best of luck with it.
RickenBACKer. Not RickenBACHer.
Yup - and Mohg - not Mooooog - but I'll still call it Moog when necessary and it's hard to break the Rickenbacher - I called it that for like 30 years before I knew...
Stereo?? You uploaded it in mono. No stereo separation, no point.
I have nothing but respect for musicians who have to deal with "Ricky" issues. Great sound, awful piece of gear.
😆 Yeah, they are definitely idiosyncratic - I wouldn't want it to be my only bass but I am glad I have some in my collection and I do love them.
I love my new 4003. I have a Fender p-j Japanese and an ancient Gibson EB L among others. The single truss rod is easy to tweak, the bridge is awesome. No problems with it at all. The scale is perfect for me. And as shown the range of tones you can get out of this machine is amazing.