two jetglo cousins

[hieronymous]

I recently had the opportunity to head back east to Massachusetts to my buddy's studio. I have a few basses that I leave out there for when I go back, including two Jetglo Rickenbackers. This time around I was able to take some pictures and do some recordings, so I thought I'd share them here.

On the left is a 1993 4003S/8 - the one on the left is a 2004 4003:





I've had the 8-string modded to a certain extent: there's a Pickguardian pickup surround for the neck pickup, and Krishna from Cambridge, MA flipped the strings, so now the octave string is on "top" (in other words, a downstroke with a pick hits the octave string first, then the root).

The 4-string is stock as far as I know. One of the interesting things about it is that it appears to have been made for the Japanese market - there is a Japanese version of the catalog in the case. It is very unusual in that it has the 7-screw tailpiece, which hasn't been available since the '90s as far as I know (notice the 8-string has one as well). Of course, it could have been added later, but it seems like they sometimes sent interesting variations to Japan...

I have some sound clips in the works, but I just wanted to get this thread started while I have a minute.

[OldManC]

Great looking basses! I love that 8 string...

[hieronymous]

Great looking basses! I love that 8 string...

Thanks! It's a killer bass. Here's a shot from recording:

[Dave W]

Nice looking combination. A stock 4003 with black trim from 2004? Japanese market only special?

[hieronymous]

Nice looking combination. A stock 4003 with black trim from 2004? Japanese market only special?

Good catch Dave! It seems that the black trim option ended around 2002, so it definitely seems like another special feature for Japan.

Finally made a rough mix of one of the tracks we recorded. Working title:

My friend Greg DeGuglielmo is on drums. I'm playing the 8-string through a Budda Phat Bass distortion, the new MXR bass octave pedal, and Alembic F2-B preamp, direct into the board. Here's another shot with the pedals - both this and the pic above were taken while recording this song:

[Barklessdog]

Track sounds very cool but to me lacks the power you get from your Kalamazoo Mudbucker bass.


Cool basses though.


Basses are like the Bluebird of Happiness, you go out searching & searching for it, but has been at your home the whole time.

I am beginning to realize this.

[Daniel_J]

Nice track! I like it. It definitely has that Ric sound to it, but I wonder how another bass (not a Ric) would sound like on the same rig setup.

I think you actually have quite a rare bird there. If memory serves me well I think that's a 4003BT. I remember I had a japanese magazine from 2003 that featured a special about the Yokohama Music Fair of that year showing the limited edition Rics exclusive for the japanese market.

[hieronymous]

Nice track! I like it. It definitely has that Ric sound to it, but I wonder how another bass (not a Ric) would sound like on the same rig setup.

I think you actually have quite a rare bird there. If memory serves me well I think that's a 4003BT. I remember I had a japanese magazine from 2003 that featured a special about the Yokohama Music Fair of that year showing the limited edition Rics exclusive for the japanese market.

Thanks for that bit of info! The guy I bought it from thought it was something like that, but your information is much more tantalizing! Any chance you still have the magazine? Now that I think about it, I was living in Japan from 2002-2006, and often bought the Japanese Bass Magazine - but I think I trashed them when I moved back to the US... 

[Daniel_J]

Sorry! That magazine is long gone...

I tried to google some info on that, but couldn't find anything specific about it. You could try to ask folks at some Rickenbacker forum I guess.

[chromium]

Nice twins and track!  That 8str sure casts a wall of sound with the distortion and octaver   

[hieronymous]

Nice twins and track!  That 8str sure casts a wall of sound with the distortion and octaver  

Thanks Joe! Yeah, at first I thought it would be overkill using the octave with the 8-string, but then I remembered, I like overkill! The new MXR tracks really well, really low, down to at least the low A.

I've got a track or two of the octave (& distortion) and the 4-string that I can post once I clean them up. In the meantime, here are some pics of the 4003:





At first, I was kind of surprised at the upper horn - it is much skinnier than the 8-string - but I quickly grew to love it. The previous owner said he couldn't get used to the neck, maybe it is a bit chunky, but it didn't give me any problems. I like having a variety of basses with different neck profiles - makes each one that much more unique. And of course the 7-bolt tailpiece and black trim and hardware (BT or BTBH, depending on how specific you want to be). Oh, and can't forget the silver lettering on the truss-rod cover! This bass has definitely seen some action - it's only a 2004, but has a pretty big ding on the headstock and some weird scratches on the back.

During this recent recording session, I mainly played it with a heavy pick. At one point we really got into it, and I found myself hitting the strings really hard, but it took it, and if anything sounded even better! I'll try and get that soundclip up...

[hieronymous]

I'm procrastinating at work, so here's another shot of the cousins:

[chromium]

Do you play 'em on the neck pickup only, like they're set in the pic?  That's how I usually play my 4001 too.

What are your impressions on how the toaster and the later single coil compare?  There was a time when I was wanting to try the vintage-spec pickup on my bass, but at the time they were out of stock.  I notice they're back now...

[hieronymous]

Do you play 'em on the neck pickup only, like they're set in the pic?  That's how I usually play my 4001 too.

What are your impressions on how the toaster and the later single coil compare?  There was a time when I was wanting to try the vintage-spec pickup on my bass, but at the time they were out of stock.  I notice they're back now...

I do like the sound of both pickups on, but when I use distortion I prefer just to use the neck pickup. The midrange gets kind of scooped when using both at the same time, which is a great sound on its own, but I prefer for those mids to be there when distorted. I almost never EVER use just the bridge pickup.

To be honest, I really haven't noticed any difference between the toaster and the high gain. The toaster certainly looks cool though! But I also like the look of two high gains - they almost match better. It didn't matter on the 8-string until I took the bridge pickup cover off. But sound-wise, I really can't complain about either. I haven't really set out to compare them, which might be a project for a later date. Although they will already sound different since one's an 8 and once a 4... (Sorry, thinking out loud!)

[hieronymous]

FINALLY put together a soundclip of the 4001! Protools has been giving me problems - something about the MBox2Pro and the new Firewire 800 on the new MacBook Pros. Anyway, here's the track:



We were improvising in the studio both days we got to record - me and my erstwhile drummer Greg DeGug - on this one we just suddenly fell into the groove that this clip starts on and it just organically developed from there. I played it with a pick, probably on the neck pickup (the setting I prefer with distortion), and I remember just feeling like I was flying and that this Ric was just made for music like this. Listening back I can hear little mistakes and imperfections, but I will always hang on to the feeling that I had while recording it. What I really want to do is have a guitar player friend drop in a solo on top!