Rickenbacker vs Alembic series 1

[hieronymous]

I heard the Rickenbacker has similar tone to the Series 1. I swear when I heard the Getty Lee's bass line on a song once, I thought he was playing an Alembic series 1. I then learned he played a Rickenbacker. Also, Paul McCartney's bassline on "Silly love songs" sounded exactly like a Series 1, but it turns out it was a Rickenbacker as well. What it you opinion on this?

Do you remember which Rush song it was? He also played a Steinberger on one album (probably not going to mistake for Alembic), Wal basses on several albums (much more likely to be mistaken for Alembic!), and Fender Jazz basses for a long time.

Whether they sound alike or not, they are certainly two of my favorite bass companies!





I can't really compare them sound-wise - the way I play my Stanley Clarke and the way I have it set up don't really give a "classic" Alembic sound.

[gearhed289]

Hey Harry, yeah, I was going to mention the Wal basses. They use low pass filters and push-pull Q "switches" similar to Alembic. I remember the first time I heard the Big Money on the radio, and I had a strange feeling he was playing a Wal. I was familiar with them via Percy Jones (Brand X) and Dan K. Brown (the FIXX).