Tagged As: Rickenbacker Bass Guitar
Question:
would love to hear from other bass players on how they are getting that Squire sound out of there Rickenbacker bass. Please list everything including mono or stereo setup,type of amp and speakers, (including speaker sizes),effects if used,EQ settings,type of strings,what kind of pick,etc.etc.
Answer:
I use a Rickenbacker 4001CS Limited Edition bass guitar loaded with ROTOSound swing bass strings in medium gage. The 4001CS is an accurate reproduction of the actual Squire bass so it does not have the stereo jack! I do not know what Squire uses for amplification. I use a 100 watt 2-10,1-15 setup with a 5 band EQ Yamaha amp (kinda old). I like to boost the mid and high range EQ for a Squiresque feel. I have an ArtProverb and an Ibanez Harmonizer coupled to a RAT fuzzbox for effects. Squire attributes much of his sound to his pick application where he drags the thumb across the string almost simultaneously after the pick hits the string for a self described staccato effect (try it you'll like it). Squire uses a heavy gage nylon pick. So do I. I also play a Hamer B12S 12-string bass/w shortscale neck and an Hofner 500/1 in the BeatleBass configuration. All great axes.
how they are getting that Squire sound out of there Rickenbacker bass?
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Comment #1 (Posted by David
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I too am a real Chris Squire sound fan. I have a 1970s 4001 and a 2000 4003. The raw output from these basses just sounds punky. I have tried all sorts of combinations to get that elusive tenor with growl sound. The best I have come up with is as follows. I use the mono out with only the neck pickup selected (you cannot get that hollow tenor sound from the bridge pickup or from a combination). The 4001 has less volume but much more treble, so backing off the tone gives the same sound as the 4003 with tone full up. The output then needs some processing. I use a Sansamp Bass DI starting with all the knobs at about the 12 oclock position for the 4001 and with an additional bit of treble and drive (about 1 oclock) and the Chris Squire sound starts to emerge. The low end is weak, though. I have ended up with the processed output from the Sansamp into one Ampeg BA500 (set fairly flat, but with the horn fully on) and the parallel (unprocessed) output from the Sansamp into a second BA500 (with the horn fully off). On this second amp, I increase the bass to about the 2 oclock position, drop the mid to 10 oclock and engage the EQ in a U shape. Then its just a question of getting the balance right between the amps. The "treble" amp gives the twang you are looking for and the "bass" amp gives that rounded low end. Incidentally, the XLR out from the Sansamp, on its own allows perfect recordings to be made! Of course, there are many Chris Squire sounds - these settings are no good for Runaround, but it gives a good start. Hit the strings hard with a hard pick. Use new roundwound strings (I have moved to DR hi-beams which last an embarrassingly long time). Hold the pick nearer the playing end that you would normally and have someone who knows what they are doing lower the action of your bass to just where fret buzz is threatening to start (it will then come in when you hit the strings hard) and all this adds to the CS sound. I'm not saying that this is perfect, but it seems to work for me. Even people who have never heard Chris Squire say that the Ric, amplified in this way, cuts through like nothing else they have ever heard.