pickup swap out???

[ram]

I was sitting here thinking (a dangerous proposition for me sometimes) and got wondering how a HB1 might sound as the neck pickup in my 4001. Has any one ever done this before? Not even sure if it would fit or not. Would the 4001 pots and all need to be modified or would the existing pots work… Anyone have any notions, thoughts or previous experience doing this?

[weemac]

It's not a bad idea!
I've usually had toasters in the neck of my basses (And loved them) but recently returning to a bass with a Higain in the 1/2" position I found that whilst I like the slightly fluffy/rubbery tone, I really dont like that if you bend a string at all,the string moving away from the polepiece effectly turns that string off. I've found the Higain to be a really idosyncratic pickup with great character for sure but really iffy response.

Now the HBs with their hot and fairly dark sound will give you some of that farty growl of the higain but will not be near as sensitive to string bending or angle of attack (picking style)

If I had an HB floating around I'd give it a go....

Eden.

ps my favorte probably is still the toaster...

[Ric O'Sound]

A few years back I had a 4003 on which I replaced the hi-gain with an HB-1 in the neck just as you're proposing. I did it because it required no surgery, and it sounded great. Like Eden said, it's slightly darker sounding than the hi-gain, but it really gives you a ballsy, fat bottom without getting muddy.

Unfortunately, I sold the bass a few years back, otherwise I'd have made a recording of it for you to hear. Funnily enough, when the guy that bought it from me showed up to try it out, I told him I could restore it to its original state by putting the hi-gain back in before he took it home if he wanted. He said "Hell, no...don't touch anything! It sounds awesome just the way it is!...I'll take it home right now." He didn't even try to bargain with me. He just paid me what I was asking for it and then drove off.

I'd say, if you've got an HB-1 lying around...go for it. It's a reversible mod, so if for whatever reason you don't like the sound, you can easily reinstall the hi-gain.

[whojamfan]

I've got an HB-1 collecting dust I threw in my 330 for a few hours. It's doing nothing but sitting in a drawer. PM me if you have something laying around you're not using, as I hate selling musical equipment for cash, because it never seems to be spent on gear. I'm not on the web but a couple of times a week, so don't fret(or fretless) if you don't get a quick response.

Oh, and it's chrome.

[LowD]

I have a set of Seymour Duncan Bassline replacement pickups for the 4001 and they are really good. The bridge pickup can be wired to a 3 way switch so you can go single coil, humbucker and out of phase as well. Nice tone varieties. I keep the original single coil/single pole pickups for studio use if needed. The Duncan pickups are blade magnets instead of poles so you don't get any volume loss bending strings or anything else. Also much higher output. You know the poles on the Rick pickups are roofing nails driven into the magnet under the coil, right? Although if they are set up right you can get lead guitar feedback with the original pickups. Pretty neat effect when you want it, like if you are playing in an acid rock type band.

[johnhall]

You know the poles on the Rick pickups are roofing nails driven into the magnet under the coil, right?

Baloney! They would be utter useless as roofing nails! They are very low carbon steel drive pins, selected for the high iron content. I'm sure they would shatter if you tried to hit them with much of a hammer.

Blade pickups do help in the case of slides but it's a tradeoff as you lose great potential power when you're not sliding. It's the difference between a shotgun and a rifle.

[winston]

Hi John,

I am sure our new member David, meant no disrespect to your product or the corporation. Thanks very much for the information on blade style pickups. I am sure that will be of use to those who may consider swapping out pickups in the future.

[whojamfan]

You know the poles on the Rick pickups are roofing nails driven into the magnet under the coil, right?

Would that be for "nailing" that perfect Rick tone?

Not making fun of anyone here, so please feel welcome to keep posting on the forum, as we're always happy to see new faces

[ken_j]

We had drive pins at work that looked the same as the high gain polepieces except they weren't black. I have no idea if they were the same material though. These were most likely used to hold baffles in cast aluminum oil pans or aluminum and magneium cam/valve covers.

[rickenbrother]

You know the poles on the Rick pickups are roofing nails driven into the magnet under the coil, right?

Geez, sounds like another GC rumor that I had heard a few years ago. David, I have witnessed RIC pickups being manufactured at the RIC factory and I've been playing Ricks a very long time. I can assure you, the polepieces are not roofing nails!

I also disagree with SD pickups on a Rick bass. In my opinion, they kill the Rick tone.

[ryan.jones]

I have a set of Seymour Duncan Bassline replacement pickups for the 4001 and they are really good. The bridge pickup can be wired to a 3 way switch so you can go single coil, humbucker and out of phase as well. Nice tone varieties. I keep the original single coil/single pole pickups for studio use if needed. The Duncan pickups are blade magnets instead of poles so you don't get any volume loss bending strings or anything else. Also much higher output. You know the poles on the Rick pickups are roofing nails driven into the magnet under the coil, right? Although if they are set up right you can get lead guitar feedback with the original pickups. Pretty neat effect when you want it, like if you are playing in an acid rock type band.

EH?

[VRICKY63]

Do those Duncans have the same footprint as the RICs ?

[rickenbrother]

Do those Duncans have the same footprint as the RICs ?

They do not. The bass (neck) replacement pickup is a Les Paul mini humbucker size, which doesn't completely fill the hole in the pickguard since it is smaller in width. That looks horrible in my opinion.It might even be the same pickup as their Les Paul mini humbucker but with different mounting hardware.
The treble (bridge) replacement pickup is a little bigger then a standard guitar humbucking pickup. It comes with it own surround and IIRC, it comes mounted on a bar similar to the one the RIC treble pickup is mounted on.

[VRICKY63]

Thanks Joey .

[ken_j]

Do those Duncans have the same footprint as the RICs ?

They do not. The bass (neck) replacement pickup is a Les Paul mini humbucker size, which doesn't completely fill the hole in the pickguard since it is smaller in width. That looks horrible in my opinion.It might even be the same pickup as their Les Paul mini humbucker but with different mounting hardware.
The treble (bridge) replacement pickup is a little bigger then a standard guitar humbucking pickup. It comes with it own surround and IIRC, it comes mounted on a bar similar to the one the RIC treble pickup is mounted on.

The treble pickup will fit in a Rick surround if you want to keep the original look.