Advice Sought: Buy 4004 or Convert 4001S/4003S?

[Kiddwad57]

Hmmmm....Why would you swap bobbins? You could also just put an HB1 in the bridge position, and skip all the extra wiring.

Dane, I realize this concept is short on practicality, but that aside:

I'd swap the neck pick up for the treble pick up because of the chrome cover, which looks good with the aftermarket bezel. I thought it might be easier to remove the poles and magnet from the treble pick up and just use the bobbin, which could possibly fit in the rout under the new pick guard without having to remove more wood. I've never measured them. In the end you'd only be out the effort of rewiring and the cost of the pick guard and bezel.

This whole idea was inspired by a previous thread on integrating a dummy coil into a Rickenbacker for humbucking. I was just riffing off of that.

[aceonbass]

Okay....So, just glue the chrome neck pickup cover over the bridge pickup bobbin. The bridge pickup is a stronger pickup, then wire the neck pickup bobbin in parallel with it. Use a couple of the foam pickup pads to hold it in place under the guard.

[Kiddwad57]

Thanks Dane, your advice is welcome! As always I appreciate the knowledge presented by you and others on this forum. The depth of experience around here is amazing.

I've imagined many mods for my bass, including the conversion to a 4002 pickup placement, replacing/modifying the bridge, etc., but over time I've come to really appreciate my mostly stock 4003fl in all of its glory. I'm not at all opposed to modifying a Ric, and wholeheartedly support other's approaches, but it really is a versatile instrument as it stands.

More pressing is getting it down to San Francisco to have the fingerboard leveled and refinished. It's got some irregularities that I've commented on before, and I've slowly managed to set aside the funds required to get the work done. I've been in touch with Paul Wilczynski and will be heading that way in about a week. I'd have it done locally, but even the highly skilled folks I've talked to in my area either don't have the correct materials available, or prefer to leave it unfinished, which I've decided against.

It has been good to follow other forumite's paths that I've read about here. It makes the whole process much more clear.