Another orphan abused

[Happyface]

Curse me as you will, but this baby was bought stripped of pickups and electronics. Now it has a new life and offers companionship to the Red Tuxedo.

[paologregorio]

Curse you? I'm no expert on 4001/3S basses, but I couldn't tell it was modded until I zoomed in on the photos. Congrats on your purchase and in bringing an "orphan" back to life.

Was the original input jack hole filled? Just curious, as I noticed when I zoomed in on the photo that the jack is now located on the PG.

[incubus2432]

Nice....I'm sure it sounds great. I've really grown to appreciate a quality active setup so no curses will come from me.

[cjj]

OK, so you didn't restore it to original. But, you restored it to be a playable instrument! Not curseworthy in my book, quite the opposite in fact!

[rickenbrother]

Wouldn't be my first choice for replacement pickups and electronics, but Frank, as long as it makes YOU happy and YOU love it, that's what's most important. You can always put RIC parts in it one day if you desire. As is, it does look like it rocks!

[berth]

Curse me as you will, but this baby was bought stripped of pickups and electronics.

For me you brought an abused Rick to live again. Interesting way how you did it and actually I would like to hear samples of what it is capable of. Is this your home practice amp in the back?

[espidog]

Interesting stuff, Frank. I don't suppose you've got any sound clips for us? The Alembic pups are a new one on me - I didn't know they made any that would fit a Rick scratchplate - or is that hole a slightly different shape?

I'm also interested in your control and switching setup. I take it we're talking active here, yes? I'm guessing that the separate bottom section of the scratchplate is where the battery lives. Tell all...

[s4001]

Curse? I say nay.

A review of the sound would be appreciated, though.

[Happyface]

Thanks. Glad i was not tied to a stake and set on fire.

Alembic makes a pickup set that is supposed to fit right into a Rick, but theory met reality. Routing and grinding ended up being required. (I did not do it myself so I cannot give details.)

The little section of the pickguard is to get to the battery without disturbing the pots etc, which i was warned are fragile. Being a "Johnny 5 Thumbs", I asked it be done that way. Now I am not sure why, but the luthier insisted that the jack had to be moved up to the pickguard to make everything fit.

It gets a great "klangy" sound, especially with the Q switch on. Sounds pretty close to what i get out of the Tux. Maybe even more "powerful." When you dial over to a bassier mix, you get more variety. But so far i have not been able to get the mid-range punchy sound I got when I owned an Alembic Essence. (I liked the sound of that bass but much prefer the feel of a Rick, so that motivated the whole project.)

I use it at practice quite often since it has such a wide range of tones. But so far when playing out, I've used the Tux and a Guild instead.

[Happyface]

Is this your home practice amp in the back?

Yes... it is so bulky & heavy, it has been retired into that role. For the moment, anyway. A waste of a beast.

[berth]

A waste of a beast.

Now you can look at it whenever you want and play it some also. You could have had a boring painting on the wall instead. Which do you prefer? I know I prefer looking at musical gear whenever I am not playing them instead of looking at your average whatever people hang on walls. I love the way these Marshall stacks look. And I dont even like EL34 tubes.

[basmansam]

Beautiful job Frank, I bet it sounds killer.

[1965]

What you did is great because you modded the bass to your liking but stayed true to the original design. So many miss that last bit when they're tearing their basses apart.

[cassius987]

But so far i have not been able to get the mid-range punchy sound I got when I owned an Alembic Essence. (I liked the sound of that bass but much prefer the feel of a Rick, so that motivated the whole project.)

Hm, my Ricky has lots of mid-range punch stock... but your comment made me wonder about a couple of things. One: what wood is used for the Essence? If your Ric is all maple + bubinga fingerboard, a function of its tonal timbre should show a dip in the mids and more lows and highs, kind've like a "scooped" slap tone EQ. Perhaps if you EQ to correct for this your mids will show up. Also, what pickups were used on the Essence--are they similar to Alembic's 4000-series pups? I have no idea about Alembic to be honest, but that could be a factor getting in your way. You might want to try some standard RIC pups and see what you get if you haven't already (since you said it was stripped of its electronics).

In any case it's a sexy beast! Congrats!

[dog]

An S bass with Alembic pups and a hipshot is a keeper. Just too bad it takes batteries. Do you mind if I ask what the stripped bass sold for? I would love to find one myself.

best, dog