1978 4001 and a Happy Bassist

[ch willie]

I replaced the stock pups with Rickenbacker horseshoe and toaster pups. After a few months, I'm so glad I did. The 78 pups were bland and weak--maybe I got duds originally. The Ric now sounds fuller. The bridge pup growls, and the toaster is smooth and round. I've never liked this bass like I like it now. After 35 years, it finally sounds like the Rics I love.

[s4001]

Nice.

[leftybass]

I replaced the stock pups with Rickenbacker horseshoe and toaster pups. After a few months, I'm so glad I did. The 78 pups were bland and weak--maybe I got duds originally. The Ric now sounds fuller. The bridge pup growls, and the toaster is smooth and round.

I may have to do the same thing with my '79, which has the original pickups still in it....I have thought about just having a loom with different pickups ready to just install when I feel like it, maybe I should finally give it a shot after 33 years of owning this bass....

[Ashgray]

Very nice indeed! If you wish your 4001 to look more authentic though, I'd maybe suggest turning the horsie surround through 180% as it's currently the wrong way around.

Ash

[ch willie]

Very nice indeed! If you wish your 4001 to look more authentic though, I'd maybe suggest turning the horsie surround through 180% as it's currently the wrong way around.

Ash

I know it bugs people, but I like it upside down. I thought of righting it, and then I decided to leave it. May change it when I next change strings, which should be about 2015.

Thanks for the compliments guy.

And yes, these pickups sound so much better than the 78s. They've made my bass a different, better instrument.

[Kopfjaeger]

Nice! Is it a re-issue horsie or a real magnetized horsie?

Sepp

[ch willie]

The horseshoe and the toaster are Rickenbackers, bought new, directly from Ric.

As far as I know, Ric still makes the way they did in the 60s and 70s--someone on a forum told me this. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

In any case, they sound great. I can't imagine pups matching my ideal Ric sound like these do. Of course, I'd have to AB it with vintage pups to be able to make an educated and final statement about them.

[Lefty4001]

Very nice indeed! If you wish your 4001 to look more authentic though, I'd maybe suggest turning the horsie surround through 180% as it's currently the wrong way around.

Ash

I know it bugs people, but I like it upside down. I thought of righting it, and then I decided to leave it. May change it when I next change strings, which should be about 2015.

Thanks for the compliments guy.

And yes, these pickups sound so much better than the 78s. They've made my bass a different, better instrument.

That's just another case of The Man sticking it to us Lefties! Next, they'll ask you to flip the headstock.

I'd leave it, too, instead of drilling a couple of more holes. Glad it sounds like you want it to sound.

[Lefty4003S8]

HEY!!!! Do you know that your Horse-shoe surround is on BACKWARDS???? (Just playing Devil's Advocate)

NICE bass!!!! I've often thought of doing the same thing to my 4001.
GLAD you are happy with your bass's sound!!!!


Lefty4003s8







Do not drink from the toilet when taking Lyrica

[iiipopes]

Being left-handed myself, it's his way of the last great act of defiance to a mostly right-handed world. When he plays it, it is in the "right" orientation when looking at it in playing position.

So there.

[Ashgray]

The horseshoe and the toaster are Rickenbackers, bought new, directly from Ric.

As far as I know, Ric still makes the way they did in the 60s and 70s--someone on a forum told me this. Please someone correct me if I'm wrong.

In any case, they sound great. I can't imagine pups matching my ideal Ric sound like these do. Of course, I'd have to AB it with vintage pups to be able to make an educated and final statement about them.

Hi Will

Whilst the RIC re-issue horsie pups look pretty much identical to the ones they fitted to basses in the 60s, they are not the same design and function differently. RIC do not currently offer an original design horsie and haven't done so for some considerable time. To explain the difference, the original 60s horsies feature top shoes that are magnetised, acting as integral elements of the pickup and having a direct effect on the sound, as the strings are effectively surrounded top and bottom by the pickup shoes. The re-issue pups fitted to the 4001 V63s, etc, feature top shoes that are not magnetised and, whilst sounding good, are not the same. Having recently fitted an original horsie to my 4001 v63, I can say that the difference in sound and output is significant.

I'd still say though that the re-issue horsies sound much better to my ears than the hi-gain pickups fitted to later 4001s and 4003s, particularly if you're looking for that vintage Chris Squire sound. However, the bottom line is that if they sound great to your ears and deliver the sound you're looking for, there's no reason for you to change them!

Ash

[ch willie]

Thanks, Ash. I appreciate the lesson because I know so little about the manufacture of Rics.

Of course, a lot of players removed the top bits, and I'm thinking of McCartney as the most notable one.

[johnallg]

Thanks, Ash. I appreciate the lesson because I know so little about the manufacture of Rics.

Of course, a lot of players removed the top bits, and I'm thinking of McCartney as the most notable one.

In the mid 70s McCartney's magnetic shoe horsey went defective and RIC installed a then current higain pickup - the same one you took out to put in the RIHS. Paul took the cover off then. His 4001S now sports a RIHS pickup like yours, but he doesn't play it now live.

[ch willie]

I'm glad to find that out about McCartney's 4001 (big Beatles freak, bought my 4001 in 78 because I was such a McCartney addict).

I love the AB book on the Fab's Gear. Did you come across that info there?

I wish he'd do another book on their post-Beatles gear as well.

[johnallg]

I'm glad to find that out about McCartney's 4001 (big Beatles freak, bought my 4001 in 78 because I was such a McCartney addict).

I love the AB book on the Fab's Gear. Did you come across that info there?

I wish he'd do another book on their post-Beatles gear as well.

No, John Hall posted that info both here on the RRF and also the RIC official forum.