4003 Owners, Please Share Your Favorite Bass Settings

[Rickenhands]

Good stuff, folks. I've been trying out your various sounds. It's so much fun to explore on this Ric, which is still so new to me.

Peace

[rickboy88]

This will be "vintage tone."

Plugged into into mono jack. All controls full on (both pickups selected), then bass/neck pickup volume slightly dialed down till I get that "Ric" tone sweet spot with a felt pick. Stays in the same place for fingers.

We are very close in our settings, John.

[Rickenhands]

This will be "vintage tone."

Plugged into into mono jack. All controls full on (both pickups selected), then bass/neck pickup volume slightly dialed down till I get that "Ric" tone sweet spot with a felt pick. Stays in the same place for fingers.

We are very close in our settings, John.

Darn right, we're close. I know EXACTLY what you mean by that sweet spot. Until I got my Ric, I had no desire to use a pick. In fact, I was once hard-core against bassists using a pick. But, when in the hands of a skilled player, I'm humbled by how some bassists use a pick.

Having read so much on this forum about players using picks (not because they can't use their fingers, but because they're going for a certain sound), I borrowed one from my daughter (she plays guitar), and I've been fiddling about. I'm keen to what I've been hearing (though, I can't play worth a damn using a pick yet but I'll get better quickly). You're the third or fourth Ric owner I've run into that mentions using a felt pick. That settles it--I'm going to buy a felt pick tomorrow--I can't wait to hear what it sounds like!

Thanks for sharing, David!

[rickboy88]

I've been sold on the felt picks for long time now. I think they give a good mix of attack and strong bottom end, or best of both worlds. What you'll want to do is bend it back and forth a bit to break it in. Do it maybe 2 or 3 times back and forth, use it, and it not enough do it again, etc. As you use it more, the sound will change a bit. I have a bunch of types in various "break-ins."

I've always liked McCartney's pick sound and the sound of other players using one. Nothing like that front edge on the note!

You'll eventually get better with a pick. I still am more fluid with my fingers (how I started many years ago), but much more fluid with a pick now. It's maybe 60/40 instead of 90/10 when I first started (fingers to pick). At first it was very awkward for me as I could zoom along with the index and middle fingers of my right hand and everything sort of went to the right place.

[Rickenhands]

Great tips, David. Thanks much. I'll keep you posted on my progress in that regard.

[dean712]

I almost always use just the bridge pickup, with volume and tone maxxed out. I play fingerstyle (95% +) in a rock/pop band with just drums, guitar (Fender Tele), my bass, and 3 vocal harmonies, so it's not a crowded mix. Seems to work best for me.

[Rickenhands]

Very nice, Dean. Thanks for sharing. I'm still having so much fun exploring the different sounds. To date, I favor the bridge pup, with tone maxed. The neck pup is about 75% with tone maxed. I like it for the Rock stuff I'm doing. However, I'm also sitting in with another singer/songwriter, and I've found favoring the neck pup with the vintage switch pulled quite conducive to her sound.

Put simply - the 4003 is an amazing instrument.

Thanks again and peace!

[rickenbrother]

Welcome back, Dean! We haven't heard from you in too long!

[RutleDirk]

I use whatever settings sound best to my ear, for the task at hand. I've finally learned that using only one pickup or adjusting a volume or tone control is not a sign of weakness! That said, I usually use both pickups, sometimes backing off one or the other a bit, or rolling off a bit of high end from one or the other. '00 4003 w/ a new toaster and a 'shoe borrowed from a 4001C64S (which now has the HG from the 4003. That's another story.)

[FretlessOnly]

I just found that sweet spot - backing off the neck pickup volume about 5-10%. You can hear the tone make a "hollow" sound; then just tweak in that "zone." And all on my fretted 4003, no less.

Thanks for the tip. No longer am I a "full-bore on both pickups" kinda guy.

[gareth]

Everything flat out. Both volumes all the way up, and both tones all the way up to their brightest point. I also use stock RIC roundwounds on all the basses. There's really not much in the way of sound modeling available in your standard passive bass, though I know some would disagree. I find it far better to get as much signal out of the bass as possible and then model it on the amp. If you're running stereo, there's no real excuse not to do this as you have way more control over each pickup that way than what's available on the bass.

[Rickenhands]

Thanks, Gareth! Great perspective. Thanks for sharing. I haven't tried stereo yet, but will soon.

Peace.

[Rickenhands]

I just found that sweet spot - backing off the neck pickup volume about 5-10%. You can hear the tone make a "hollow" sound; then just tweak in that "zone." And all on my fretted 4003, no less.

Thanks for the tip. No longer am I a "full-bore on both pickups" kinda guy.

Awesome! My hope in posting this is that we would all find something new. This forum ROCKS!

[weemac]

On my RM I'll run both pickups full up but usually end up just using the toaster. The only time I use the horse is to see if it still has gauss!
On my 74 (with toaster and reissue horseshoe) I'll back the treble pickup of a bit and use all three positions and tones all over the place.. (the same goes for my waterstone basses)

In all cases I EQ with the volume knob on the amp....

Eden.

[dean712]

Welcome back, Dean! We haven't heard from you in too long!

Thanks, Joey. It's fun to be back on the Forum, reading and learning from everybody. My absence (for probably over a year) was due to nothing more than time commitments and an admitted affair with a two-pickup MM Stingray. I'm back with the Ricks again (currently favoring my '94 Jetglo 4003) and enjoying the Forum again. I also must thank you again for helping me learn how to intonate my basses correctly several years ago, it still comes in handy.

I should have mentioned with my previous post on using the bridge pickup only, I also use roundwound strings and like to change them before they start to sound a little dull. I like definition and treble detail when I play fingerstyle, since I don't have the attack of a pick in the sound, and that works best for most of our songs. I will also play with a pick for a few songs in our setlist and will flip the switch to middle position to bring the neck pickup into the mix (if I remember to do so before the song starts). My ideal Rick sound has just a little bite and growl on the top end, but still with the sweet bass and ring as well. One thing that never changes is my '96 Ampeg V4B reissue. With a good amp and a comfortable bass, I think the majority of the sound comes from your hands and personality anyways.