Restoring a Ric 4001 Bass, need some help...

[frankencat]

Hi all, I am helping a friend restore a lovely old 4001 bass and I need some help and maybe some parts.

1. Neck pickup is dead, I think the middle ground wire connection is broken. The magnet fell off and I tried to re-attach it but I think I need to attack a ground to the little center 'bump' under the magnet. Anyone know if this is correct?

2. The bridge pickup works, kind of. I am getting a really farty/distorted sound with very low output. Again, I had to fix some broken leads and not sure I have it wired right but I think I do...

3. Bridge pickup hardware is missing. I have the plate and springs but I am missing one height adjustment screw and the cover. The pickup mount itself has one hole stripped which is probably how the screw went missing. I think I can repair that but any pointers are welcome.

4. Stock bridge has been replaced with what looks like a copy of a Badass bridge. It has rollers and says "Made in Germany" on the bottom so I am thinking it's made by Schaller. I don't like it and I am leaning towards finding a Ric replacement bridge.

Some history,,, my buddy owns a pawn shop and this was something he "acquired" from someone who owed him some money. It had various mods when he got it like the replacement bridge and a set of Seymour Duncan Ric Bass pickups that he does not care for at all. That's how this whole thing got started...he asked me if I would re-install the original pickups and adjust the neck for him. I adjusted the truss rods and tried to re-install the pickups and ran into the issues I described. So priority 1 is to get it back up and running with some stock Ric or possibly some custom wound pickups. Priority 2 would be to restore the bass to stock. It's in player condition, relic condition really but we both think it would be cool to return it to stock.

So, I am thinking of just buying a whole new assembly for the bridge pickup and if I can't repair the pickups then replacing them with something (Ric, custom??) or maybe sending the original to ?? to have them rebuilt. I don't know if any of the usual guys do Ric bass pickups so if you know some names then please post here and let me know. I am also looking for a stock replacement bridge but again, this is a player so I am open to suggestions.

Thanks for any and all help you can give.

-Frank

[rictified]

Nice to meet you Frank, quickly, as far as the pickups I would check with Sergio Silva in "Winding Up With The Best: by Sergio Silva" which is here in this forum, he's done a few for me in the last and is the best. I don't know how old the bass is and how close to original you plan on restoring it but you can get a lot of parts on both ebay and at the Rickenbacker International Corporation online store, also Pick of the Ricks has parts.

[Ontario_RIC_fan]

Frank:

The serial number (letters and numbers on the jackplate), will tell you how old it is and thus what pickups you will need to restore it back to stock...

Pre 1974's had toasters, while high gains became the norm afterwards... RIC still makes both and they will likely still fit...

By the mid 80s the wiring changed slightly, so dating the instrument is important to know...

Pictures are always very welcome too - they get the best response from the folks here.

Best of luck with the restoration!

[jdogric12]

Hi Frank. Sorry I haven't followed up yet.... Legends closed and I guess Ben is around there somewhere still doing his thing, but seeing as how he hasn't returned the guitar I left him 3 years ago, I'm reluctant to recommend him. Andy Winter (a member here, "wints") is your best bet. Find him under the member search and shoot him a pm or email.

[frankencat]

Hi Frank. Sorry I haven't followed up yet.... Legends closed and I guess Ben is around there somewhere still doing his thing, but seeing as how he hasn't returned the guitar I left him 3 years ago, I'm reluctant to recommend him. Andy Winter (a member here, "wints") is your best bet. Find him under the member search and shoot him a pm or email.

Hi Jason, I figured I would bump into you around here! Thanks for the tip.

[frankencat]

Wow this is a great place! Makes me want to get a Ric of my own.

[ken_j]

Welcome Frank. Looks like RAS is already setting in.

[jdogric12]

Yep, it's pretty good all right. It sounds like your neck is okay, and you just need electronics, which are much easier than truss rods. Try Chris at Pick of the Ricks for any parts or wiring help you need. Schematics are on the RIC corporate website.

www.pickofthericks.com

www.rickenbacker.com

[johnallg]

To expand on what Jason linked:

This shows the wiring to check lead placements - just ignore the switch and two red wires that go to it.



Here is the wiring for a 4003. The 4001 would have 250k volume pots and 500k tone pots. C3 (.0047uF) would be in the circuit.

http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/19507.pdf

[rickcrazy]

New bass pickups, anyone?