Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Gene, Read my post from the 16th. There I have a link to a "vp" that is hanging in a local store. I have tried it, and there is obviously, as you can see from the photo, no Horseshoe treble pickup, just a regular old Hi-gain. This makes sense, since the VP option is only a $50 upcharge. The Horseshoes are quite a bit more expensive to buy and build.

VP option on a bass gets you the toaster for $50 extra. Not the horseshoe. Remember Mike Parks is talking about guitars too, if you order the VP option on a guitar you have to get the toaster on all pickups, at $50 each.

Well I guess I won't be ordering a 4003VP anytime soon! I do like the idea of a 4003 in Monty Brown with two vintage pickups...and I have seen modern 4003s done up with BOTH pickups replaced.

The best way to replicate Paul's Wing's Bass is to put a toaster in the neck, modern high gain in the bridge, and no capaciter, and flat wound strings ...

Sounds like my bass! Except that mine came that way but with roundwounds, I put TI flats on it.

another pic of Paul and his ric wings bass in the 70's.

Need your help, guys as I just received my neck vintage pickup from Pickofthericks, to install on my 4003.

It`s just that two small black kind of rubber grommets came in a little bag with the mounting screws. What do I do with those ??? I know I will use the mounting screws, but what about the two rubber grommets ???
If you know, please advise.

I heard the vintage neck pickup before and it`s a great pickup, really sweet sounding and with more depth than the hi-gains IMHO. I think it is a great match withthe bridge hi-gains as the horseshoe pickup is so powerful that it makes the vintage neck pickup more timid than mixed with the hi-gains, again IMHO.

That's interesting. The two Scatterwound pickups I got from The Music Connection had six grommets with each pickup. You place the grommets between the pickup and the pickguard with the mounting screws going through them. This "buffers" the pickup from damaging the pickguard and adds some height adjustability, but not much though.

Stéphane,
Jeffrey's advice is right on.

You can slice the grommets in halves and use only a half slice for each side. That will put the toaster closer to the strings and make it louder. You can also replace the 4 corner screws with very thin wires holding the pickup together if you want to raise it as high as possible.
For even better height adjustability, I recommend replacing the grommets with 2 small springs that are about 1/8" long (like those intonation springs found in a Les Paul bridge).

On one of my 4001's i took the four corner bolts off entirely, likewise the rubber grommets and just use the two adjusting screws to keep it against the pick guard, it works great and sounds great and is very sturdy, the two screws do a good job of keeping the pickup together, it's all the way up, and that bass hass b#lls! Iused one of the nuts for the ground wire.

Thanks for your recommandations. I just installed the vintage neck pickup, and cut the grommets in half for better height adjustment, but I am thinking of removing the four corner screws as you recommend to make the pickup closer to the strings and thus make it even louder.

So far, the pickup gives a more depth response than the hi-gain, but it has a little less volume output, as expected. Great combination with the hi-gain bridge pickup !