blasphemy-o-sound

[Granny Gremlin]

Cliff Burton.  Playing a Ric.  Mudbucker in neck; J in bridge.  Fuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuck.

[FrankieTbird]

I remember my first time hearing the Kill 'em All record, in my friend's car around 1984.  I was shocked and amazed.

[OldManC]

I knew a guy in high school (around '81) who had the same setup. Is that a burgundy 4001? Could almost be the same bass.

[gearHed289]

I used to dream of putting a mudbucker on my Ric when I was in high school. Why? I have no idea. Guess I thought it would "improve" it somehow. I now love toaster reissues.

George, yes, burgundy.

[slinkp]

That was a lot more listenable than most bass solos. I thought the tone was kinda cool too.

Wonder how he balanced the pickups.  Does anybody know, did he run those mono out or was it a stereo cable to separate amps or what?

[exiledarchangel]

IMHO a mudbucker is a very good fit for this kind of pickguard aesthetically. The sound is not so bass heavy as you'd expect, because the jazz pickup loads the hotter mudbucker so youalmost dont hear it. You just hear a beefier jazz pickup. I think this bass had also a strat pickup "hidden" inside the bridge.

[TBird1958]

 At one point I had a DiMarzio J bass pup in my old Ric.......... It got changed back eventually.





I still miss that bass a lot. 

[ilan]

Still sounds like a Ric.

[Granny Gremlin]

LOL, part of that may be the low end rolloff of the typical OD/Dist pedals of the time.

[patman]

Because of the body shape of the RIC, I have found that whatever pickup is in there, it still sounds like a RIC.

Play it unamplified, and it sounds like a RIC.

[gearHed289]

Because of the body shape of the RIC, I have found that whatever pickup is in there, it still sounds like a RIC.

I agree. There's something about that neck position. Might have something to do with the huge route in the wood up there too.

[exiledarchangel]

Obviously pickup postition influences the sound, but I wouldn't expect to replace a toaster with a mudbucker and get similar results.

[Dave W]

No, it won't sound the same, but there's still some truth to it. It's a combination of things, the construction, the bridge, the height of the fretboard above the body and probably a few more I haven't thought about. Look at it another way, put toasters in a P-Bass, it won't sound like a Ric.

[amptech]

That would be a nice thread on it's own; pictures of muddified basses. Mudbucker equipped Gibson basses may not have a broad appeal, but the mud spice seem to have pleased more than just a few musical taste buds over the years. Maybe Gibson would be better off not making bass guitars, they could offer a mudbucker/router template kit and make thousands

[Granny Gremlin]

Does Gibson even make it's own pickups anymore?