Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I nicknamed this procedure "the bypass surgery" about 5 years ago when I first did it to my 4001. Seems appropriate for us old guys.

SD pickups in your RIC? Bad move IMHO.

And, I've been ultra pleased with the .0047 uF capacitor I installed on the stock bridge pickup in my 1994 4003. The tonal variety is where it belongs: at my fingertips, and I swear the sound (to me) is better with the less low-end from the bridge!

Amen, John.

Before you replace pickups check the ric-o-sound wiring .... pretty much every single used Ric I get my hands on has a problem with a malfunctioning ric-o-sound ... so I usually rewire it 2 mono outputs ... anyway if the ric-o-sound is screwed up it can create a short that renders one of the pickups silent ... take the pickup out and check it with an ohm meter ...

When I restore rics if I need to replace pickups I use Ric high gains or toasters, I replace ric-o-sound with mono, and I quite often replace the toggle, volume, and tone controls with Rickenbacker NOS parts .... this looks original, sounds good and does not destroy the Ric resale value ...

Go with V63 Pickups, and re-install the bridge cap. You will have gobs of low end from the neck pickup.

Garry

AMEN, Garry.

The ONLY scenario in which I would use a bass cut capaciter is with a 1960's bass with the original pickups ... in my opinion any other use removes bass and mid punch out of a Ric bass ...

So if you want your Ric to sound fuller cutting the bass response to one of your pickups will NOT help ... the purpose of the bass cut capaciter is give the Ric more treble bite ... With modern pickups and modern amps you can get pretty much any frequency response from a Ric bass ....

So, the Rick bass community is now split into two warring factions - my own, and the one ruled by the evil advocates of the overwound 4003 treble pickup with no .0047 capacitor in-line therewith. Which one will win? Frankly, I couldn't care less. All in all, it's just a matter of taste, still I maintain that the current 4003 has lost the unique TIMBRE of the original 4001 bass. Treble? I don't necessarily need a Rick bass to have a good deal of treble in my sound - any F***** or G*****, to name but the other major brands, will do the job nicely. But timbre? Only if you bring back the old 4001 specs, which are fundamentally right as far as theory goes.

The best solution is what I did on my '73 4001, by adding a switch to select between the .0047 cap or a piece of wire. Now I have the best of both worlds. I also rewired it VVT and got rid of the pickup selector switch. Of course all this is on a new pickguard so I can easily put the original back on if I wanted to.

Sergio: One of the benefits of a Forum such as this, is the opportunity to learn from others. After reading the list of suggestions with regard to capacitor modifications on Rickenbacker basses I do not see a polarization or the emergence of "two warring factions."

Instead, I do see a series of options available to Rickenbacker bass owners to adjust the tonality of their instruments through simple adjustments to the electronics. As we all have different tastes and certainly different amplifiers and pickups, the suggestions presented here provide us with a great toolbox from which to select tonality tools as we need them.

BTW, have you ever built a horseshoe pickup from the ground up?

Hi, Peter. Thanks for reading my post.
I meant 'two warring factions' in a good way, of course.
As to having built a horseshoe p.u. from scratch, well, no, I haven't, simply because I've never come across an original one. I certainly would like to know the exact details of its construction. Maybe someone is willing to provide me with some pictures of such a pickup, including top, side, end and bottom views thereof. Anyone?
As for the reissue version (the one resembling a large F****r pickup) I already have a pretty good idea of its design and particulars.

Sergio: There is a reasonably good look at an old horseshoe, side view, here.

Sergio ... I'll send you some pics of the horseshoe from my 68 ...

Sergio, I don't regard it as two warring factions. I'm just interested in the tone and feel I want, and the stock 4003 does it for me. I've never been interested in recreating the old sound, if you are, more power to you.

Just out of curiosity, what do you consider overwound on a high gain? Measured in circuit, all of mine are 10.6k.

Sergio ...

I played a 1968 4001 with the toaster and capaciter and horseshoe for 25 years as my main bass ... then I got a '74 and '73 4001 without the capaciter and 2 high gains ... I loved the new fuller sound ... then I got an 89 4003 ... my God I was blown away by the thunderous sound ... then I got a 1990 4003s5 ... it is unbelievable how good that bass sounds ...

Yes the basses from different eras have subtle differences due to wood, pickups, total mass etc ... In my opinion they all sound good ... I just think the new ones sound better ... My 1968 Ric sounded great with its original ... but I put in a 4003 high in the neck and an early 70's high without the capaciter in the bridge ... it still has a very similar sound to the original ... just a little more bass and mid punch ...

If I was playing in a Yes tribute band I might go with the old setup ... but I play a lot of music that is less than 10 years old ... the full bass and mid punch and treble bite I get with the modern 4003 pickups is essential .... whan I was playing classic rock the old setup worked fine ...

I agree with Rickenbacker ... they put the new hotter, fuller, punchier, louder, more aggressive pickups in their basses and that is what I prefer ...

It's all a matter of taste ... which is better chocolate or vanilla?