Hello Folks, this is my first post. I have just recently accuired a 1978 4001. Great bass but getting very little signal through amp when plugged in. (owner since 85'said output was always low.) The 1/4 & soldered connections all look in excellent origional condition(slight
oxidation...but hey, were in FL.!) I have worked on many a Gibson/Fender but this is my first Ricky(a virgin!!!) repair job. Elighten me with your vast wealth of knowledge before I rip into this thing! Are the caps a common problem? If so, what should they be replaced with? One of the folks posting on this forum used the orange drops(cool pics) or can I find ones more similar to the origional? Any cool alt/mods??
Another question I have is about pick-up output. What is considered good?...Ohms. Reccomended testing methods? This is great bass that my bro & I would love to see back in action for studio & gigging. Any info would be Ricken' great!
4001 DOA....HELP!
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
Welcome to the forum!
The first thing you should do is make sure your bass is wired correctly. All of the troubleshooting in the world is meaningless if the thing is not wired properly. Rickenbacker provides wiring diagrams for most of their instruments. The one you are looking for can be found right here.....
http://www.rickenbacker.com/us/19507.htm
If you have any questions about the schematic, post them here and someone will help. While you are steping through the circuit, check the solder joints for slop and shorts. Shorts can cause LOTS of problems. Gentily press on the solder joints to check for adhesion. Cold solder joints provide poor electrical connections and will often pop loose with light pressure. If the circuit is all there, check the switch for crud and try a little tuner cleaner in the pots. Make sure the jack is clean and not too oxidized. These measures will catch most the common problems. You should also check the ground wire under the bridge. It should be soldered to the bottom of the mute plate or otherwise firmly attached to the tailpiece (props to Jeff Rath - he takes his mutes out). That should get you started.
The first thing you should do is make sure your bass is wired correctly. All of the troubleshooting in the world is meaningless if the thing is not wired properly. Rickenbacker provides wiring diagrams for most of their instruments. The one you are looking for can be found right here.....
http://www.rickenbacker.com/us/19507.htm
If you have any questions about the schematic, post them here and someone will help. While you are steping through the circuit, check the solder joints for slop and shorts. Shorts can cause LOTS of problems. Gentily press on the solder joints to check for adhesion. Cold solder joints provide poor electrical connections and will often pop loose with light pressure. If the circuit is all there, check the switch for crud and try a little tuner cleaner in the pots. Make sure the jack is clean and not too oxidized. These measures will catch most the common problems. You should also check the ground wire under the bridge. It should be soldered to the bottom of the mute plate or otherwise firmly attached to the tailpiece (props to Jeff Rath - he takes his mutes out). That should get you started.
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jwr2
get yourself a cheap little ohm meter from radio shack ... test the pickups ... they should read 8k ohms for that year ... You can get prewired volume and tone controls from Ric dealers like this guy ... http://www.the-music-connection.com/ric.htm ... newer pickups are more like 11k ohms ... they are louder and fuller sounding ...
I got a screwed up '73 4001 off of ebay a few years ago ... I replaced everything but the pickups and jack plate and Truss rod cover ... it turned out great ...
I rewired a late 70's azureglo and replaced a dead neck pickup ...
lots of times when I get an old rusty 4001 I remove the malfunctioning ric-o-sound and wire the bass with 2 mono outputs ...
Some players love the .0047 capaciter ... some want a fuller sound so they remove it ... the capaciter only removes bass not volume ... the other 2 capaciters are .047 tone capaciters ...
my favorite modifiaction is a 5th string ... see my web site ... http://www.3dentourage.com/425/ ... I don't recommend this for a 70's 4001 ...
so it could be a dead pickup, or bad wiring, or bad jack, or a broken solder ...
I got a screwed up '73 4001 off of ebay a few years ago ... I replaced everything but the pickups and jack plate and Truss rod cover ... it turned out great ...
I rewired a late 70's azureglo and replaced a dead neck pickup ...
lots of times when I get an old rusty 4001 I remove the malfunctioning ric-o-sound and wire the bass with 2 mono outputs ...
Some players love the .0047 capaciter ... some want a fuller sound so they remove it ... the capaciter only removes bass not volume ... the other 2 capaciters are .047 tone capaciters ...
my favorite modifiaction is a 5th string ... see my web site ... http://www.3dentourage.com/425/ ... I don't recommend this for a 70's 4001 ...
so it could be a dead pickup, or bad wiring, or bad jack, or a broken solder ...
Francis: Welcome. Be sure to let us know what you find after your assessment.
Life, as with music, often requires one to let go of the melody and listen to the rhythm
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