4003 with Vintage Tone Switch

[08 Ric 4003]

I have an 08 JG 4003 with what I was told Sergio Silva pups. The axe sound great to me and I have wanted one for the longest time and about 9 months ago I purchased one on ebay. I usually play with both pups tone at about 7 or 8 on a 1 - 10 scale. Lately I have messing around and playing on the treble pup with the tone knob pulled up to the vintage position. My question is how close is it to real vintage tone? Of course I have heard numerous Rush songs with Geddy playing a his 4001, but on any song there is other stuff going on, and not just the bass playing like when I am in my room being a bedroom rock star. I don't have a 4001 and I only have one other bass, a F Jazz, so it doesn't do my any good to compare sounds.

Chime in and let me know.

[antipodean]

To be pedantic, it depends on how hot Sergio wound the pickups. If he wound them to a DC resistance of around 7-8 kohms, your 4003 will sound very much like a '75 4001. If they're wound to modern spec (~13kohms) you'll be somewhat "muddier" all round. In addition, the 1" spacing of the neck pickup on your 4003 will prevent it from exactly replicating the sound of a "classic" 4001 (i.e. pre early '75) even with vintage spec pickups, but again the difference is fairly subtle. If you really want, a 4003 can be modded (with a little routing and a new 'guard) to the classic 1/2" neck pickup spacing.

In the the real world your 4003 is going to be a brilliant approximation to a vintage 4001, remembering that string choice, rig, eq settings and most of all technique will have at least as much bearing on your ability to replicate a specific sound (like Geddy's) as pickup spec.

[johnallg]

Plus the wood sounds different, due, I believe, to the neck construction of three pieces. There is a difference in the harmonic content of the notes.

Let the flames begin.....

[antipodean]

Plus the wood sounds different, due, I believe, to the neck construction of three pieces. There is a difference in the harmonic content of the notes.

Let the flames begin.....

Flame maple? I prefer birdseye....

[08 Ric 4003]

The bass pup has been moved to the 1/2 inch spacing. Forgot to mention that. I have not done a resistance check in a while. If I remember from when I was trying to solve a grounding issue after I first got the bass the pups are 7k ohms or so. I don't remember them being 13 k ohms.

[cassius987]

The 4001s do sound a bit different and I definitely think neck construction (as John already mentioned) plays quite a part--they are super thin and three-piece, and very stable as well because of the old style rods. I believe neck construction impacts tone a lot more than a number of other factors that are usually discussed. On the other hand these basses also had moderately low impedance pickups and a wiring schematic that basically created a warm sound (final load was 125K unless you were using Ric-O-Sound), yet they have a high end response that is all their own. I haven't heard a 4003 that sounded truly like a 4001 yet. And honestly that's a good thing... I find the 4003 tone way more useable. But the 4001 tone is certainly cool. Because my 4001FL is fairly modified, including a modern wiring harness and three 7.4K Toasters, it sounds more like a modern 4003 (and a P Bass thanks to that middle pickup), but it still has some of those vintage characteristics in its sound.

[08 Ric 4003]

I only have one bass amp, so I don't run Ric-O-Sound, but I would like to some day. Every axe I own except one has been modded with new pups. The 4003 was modded prior to me buying it. It sounds damn good. I may one day I may try hums due to it being a lot noisier that my F Jazz.

[weemac]

I may one day I may try hums due to it being a lot noisier that my F Jazz.

H'mm something is wrong then, they usually are much quieter than a J....

emac.

[antipodean]

I may one day I may try hums due to it being a lot noisier that my F Jazz.

H'mm something is wrong then, they usually are much quieter than a J....

emac.

Unless you have both pups on the J at similar volume, so the RWRP effect makes them one big humbucker...

[cassius987]

A stock Ric can be converted to RWRP with ease--I posted a thread about that a little while ago.

Single coils is single coils. They're going to be noisy sometimes. If you do the RWRP mod, you can run them at near-equal volume like was mentioned, and you can use a toggle switch to make a series humbucker out of the pickups if that sounds better to you.

[08 Ric 4003]

I keep my J Bass volume knobs the same and it is dead quiet. As soon as I turn one a little I hum, but that is where I like it. The Ric hums as much as the J does when the volume is not equaled no matter where the volume is or what pup I am on. I looked at doing RWRP on one of my Sergio Silva pups but it looks like if I start to mess with them I will have to destroy them to take them apart.

[08 Ric 4003]

I know singles can be noisey. I have a Tele, a Strat, the 4003 and the J all with singles. I have also noticed more or less noise depending on if the AC is on in the house, how close my amp I am standing or where in the room I am standing.

[cassius987]

I looked at doing RWRP on one of my Sergio Silva pups but it looks like if I start to mess with them I will have to destroy them to take them apart.

Aren't they just standard Hi-Gains that Sergio has re-wound? If so then it's a fairly non-invasive procedure... it's comparable to taking a stack of legos apart and then back together after flipping one of the bricks around. The soldering work is equally simple.

EDIT: Here's the tutorial. viewtopic.php?f=2&t=400767

[08 Ric 4003]

They are not just rewinds. I think these are hand made. The guy who I bought it from told me he did not keep the original pups, and Sergio made these for him. I can send you pics if you would like. I can take the strings off and expose the pups. I did it several times when I was chasing a bad ground before I knew the prior owner used the mute thumb screws for strap buttons and the bridge and the mute were not grounded. That was how I spent my first three hours with my new to me but used RIC. I have soldered half my life. I am an electrician and have changed pups on many of my guitars. I just do not want to wreck the pups if they are indeed Segios. I sent him pics a while back but he has not gotten back to me in months. So I stopped bugging him.