How'd he get the bass tone on Long Distance Runaround?

The obvious element is the Rickenbacker 4001. He used Rotosound strings, but the main factor is that they were stainless steel. His attack is unique; the pick just barely protrudes past the thumb, so you're first hearing the pick on the string, followed closely by the flesh of the thumb. He chooses open strings wherever possible to get the bright, ringing tone. Producer Eddie Offord has said that for the Fragile sessions, the bass tone was a combination of a heavily overdriven Sunn amp with 10' & 12" guitar speakers, plus a DI signal. I don't know if this was the case on "Long Distance Runaround", but on "Roundabout", Squire also doubled many of the bass lines on guitar.

Wow, thanks.