i have my '75 4001 apart for repairs/restoration. it is routed in such a way that it could accomadate a toaster in the 1/2".
qualitatively speaking, what would the tonal difference be between this set-up and stock?
thanks
A 1/2" makes all the difference
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
The 1/2" position picks up a slightly a different (somewhat broader) set of harmonics. If you use harmonics you will notice that a 1" spaced neck pickup eats up some of them while a 1/2" space lets them ring. The 3rd fret is a good example. Bear in mind that the relocation of the pickup in '75 was done to counter less prominent notes (aka dead spots) on the neck. Rickenbacker did a few things to that end but moving the pickup was one of the most visible.
I should add that the harmonic loss at 1" is more apparent when both pickups are being used and at the the same level. Using either or will usuallly produce clear hamonics but together some will be cancelled.
I should add that the harmonic loss at 1" is more apparent when both pickups are being used and at the the same level. Using either or will usuallly produce clear hamonics but together some will be cancelled.
I spotted your post Bryce and thought I should add I found a REALLY minimal tonal difference, in an A/B test of two 76 azureglo 4001's, both with brand new rotosounds, near as possible identical with this pickup placing difference (purely because I too found the routing enabled this mod, and I had the two scratchplate styles in the sparesbox!!) This difference proved marginal in my test!!..(possibly proved also I should get out more!!!!)
A swinging string in a given tune has a fixed character of bows and dents (hills an valleys)at fixed positions in its amplitude. Hence the position of the PU is crucial. E.g. in the middle of the string the amplitudes are maximum, which results in a more "bassier" sound. I experienced that playing a bass with the 1/2" neck PU position together with the bridge PU (using same high gain PUs and strings) is bassier and much warmer. However the comparison was only possible, when I changed the electronics of my 1997 4003 to those of a 1978 4001. Before the 4003 had a total different character (more modern HiFi kind of a sound).
"The youth of today should start thinking about the state in which they want to leave this planet to Keith Richards..."! Quote by an unknown musician
"Bear in mind that the relocation of the pickup in '75 was done to counter less prominent notes (aka dead spots) on the neck."
That's the official story, but I still have a strong feeling that this was done primarily to strengthen the weak area where the neck joins the body. FWIW, I have no dead spots on my '73 with a toaster at ½". My 70's Fenders have them, but the Rics don't.
IIRC, when John Hall wrote about this here he referred to "hot" and "cold" notes, not dead spots. What exactly are "hot" and "cold" notes and how they differ from dead spots, I really don't know.
That's the official story, but I still have a strong feeling that this was done primarily to strengthen the weak area where the neck joins the body. FWIW, I have no dead spots on my '73 with a toaster at ½". My 70's Fenders have them, but the Rics don't.
IIRC, when John Hall wrote about this here he referred to "hot" and "cold" notes, not dead spots. What exactly are "hot" and "cold" notes and how they differ from dead spots, I really don't know.
"A Noble Instrument Must Be Nobly Regarded"
Ilan you are perfectly right, I also did not experience any different sensitivity of any note playing on my 1974 4001, rather more than on my 1997 4003. I guess this is because of the aged, dryed wood of the body and neck, which gives more resonance than of a newly built instrument.
"The youth of today should start thinking about the state in which they want to leave this planet to Keith Richards..."! Quote by an unknown musician
I suspected the structural reasons as well, Ilan but JH says that little bit of wood did not make much of a difference. Moving the pickup may not have helped structurally but certainly did not hurt either. Cold notes are notes with little or no sustain. Hot notes are when the notes resonate strongly - more so than the notes around them. Hot and cold spots play hell with your dynamics. I don't find it difficult to believe that the pickup was moved for that reason because so many other changes preceded or followed it. One approach to dead spots is to change or interrupt the mass of the neck. That is, give the neck some kind of inconsistency to break up the sound waves a little. The lead weights in the neck were a good way to do that. The shedua stripe was probably also intended to do that. A year later, they changed the angle of the truss rods but that could have been for mechanical reasons.