Building a bass with mostly Rick parts

charlyg · Post by **charlyg** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 6:39 am

Has anyone sprayed(or used the copper) shielding in the cavities?

david_schwab · Post by **david_schwab** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 7:31 am

Dale, I use finishing nails when gluing on my fingerboards. I actually pass them through small holes drilled in the fret slots. Then I can pull them out when the glue is dried.

I don't like the idea of having a metal pin in the body though, just in case it gets hit by a router!

I have also used small dowels for alignment.

Charly, I've used copper tape, and also the carbon paint for shielding. You can see the copper tape in the burgundy 4001 in my picture above. You have to wear gloves though, or it cuts your fingers!

sabbath_of_bass · Post by **sabbath_of_bass** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 9:27 am

Thanks David. My friend is kind of low on cash (poor) and is having to get a Mex-Strat. Which I hear really isnt that bad. But i guess you get the point. I wanted to help them make it stick out a little more. New pickguard, inlays (fretboard) and such. I guess just something to make it a tad bit different. I hate when i see other people with the same guitar as me!

sabbath_of_bass · Post by **sabbath_of_bass** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 9:28 am

Oh and sorry to kind of get off topic. It was something Iv been wondering about for awhile.

johnhall · Post by **johnhall** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 9:58 am

As I've said a million times before about copper or painted shielding, just make sure to connect it to ground at one and only one point, otherwise it will generally increase the noise level rather than reduce it. It is also totally useless against the most common noise encountered, the magnetically induced hum caused by the instrument's proximity to a transformer, such as found in an amp.

Yes, Charly, you could call it a round tongue and groove!

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 10:51 am

I have found that on a P-bass with unshielded wires coming from the pickups that without a little copper or aluminum foil they sometimes make a crakling noise when you pass your hand accross the wires ... I saw this with 2 p-basses ... the best way to quiet down a ric is to put a reverse wound jazz pickup in the mute cavity ... or play a 4004 ... Rics always have shielded wiring coming from the pickups ... except for some 60's models ...

green_us90 · Post by **green_us90** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 12:29 pm

One of these days I am going to build a FenderBird thunderbird body bass with a Precision neck, and Rick HB1 h-buckers and a 4004 bridge.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Thu Aug 11, 2005 3:40 pm

cool ...

los_sentidos · Post by **los_sentidos** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 12:36 am

Some of you guys are amazing! I'd love to watch some of this stuff in action - or even watch what goes on at Ric! I can plug in and play my Ric and that's about it as I don't know the first thing about the technical stuff. Woodwork was low on our curriculum!

I've had a look at Warmoth and have always thought of getting some bits and building a reverse headstock guitar!

david_schwab · Post by **david_schwab** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 3:23 am

John, thanks for pointing that out! I should have mentioned that. It's always important to have all grounds go to one point, otherwise eddy currents can be produced. And you don't want that! This is true of all grounds in an instrument.

And John's correct as far as shielding will not eliminate interference picked up by single coil pickups. Also if not done correctly you can also raise the capacitance of the system, and lose some highs.

In my case I had humbucking pickups on my bass at that point, so the shielding did make the bass a bit quieter.

I just want to say, as a new comer here, this is a great forum, and it's a real treat to have mister Hall posting here as well!

I was missing not having a Ric to play, so now I'm motivated to put my basses back together again. Call it a mid life crises! lol

rickaddict · Post by **rickaddict** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 3:28 am

How about a RickenBird? (Thunderbird wings on a 4003 neck slab?) I like the 4003 neck better than the P-bass neck.

david_schwab · Post by **david_schwab** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 4:00 am

The only problem with Thunderbirds is because they have no upper body horn, the neck takes a dive when you aren't holding it. Nice looking basses anyway. I just never liked playing them.

green_us90 · Post by **green_us90** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 6:21 am

Right,
you almost need light weight tuners to try and compensate for the neck dive.
I've always been a big fan of John Entwistle so I think a FenderBird would be a cool bass to build. Fiesta Red, of course.
Would have to be Rick pickups because to my ears the OEM Gibsons sound muddy- as far as the P necks go I like them meaty and big.....tho I also like my 70's Rick which has bout the smallest neck I have ever played and quick as all get out....

david_schwab · Post by **david_schwab** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 8:41 am

I had a Mosrite Ventures bass. That thing had a ridiculously small neck! Felt like a banjo! Any Ric neck feels small after playing my wide neck 5 string.

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 6:26 pm

I would have loved to make an A fits into B dowel setup on the bass I made, but it was a bit too precision for the equipment I was working with, so I chose the biscuits. I only used the biscuits to hold the wings to the center neck block, and there are 4 of them. I shaped the wings before I glued them also...much easier that way I think.