Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Jim, the 70s higains have a special and very satisfying sound. I would play it as is for a while and see what you think before trying the toaster. That will give you a chance to hear the difference, if any. Also be aware there is a .0047uF cap in the bridge pup circuit that if you short it out with a wire will add a little more low end to that pickup and it won't sound as thin. I made a pot swap on my '75 to a pot/switch combo like RIC uses now on the current 4003 to be able to have the cap in or out.

Nice bass.

Nice bass indeed! Congrats. I want another Ric--very much!

Congrats, James!

johnallg wrote:Jim, the 70s higains have a special and very satisfying sound. I would play it as is for a while and see what you think before trying the toaster. That will give you a chance to hear the difference, if any. Also be aware there is a .0047uF cap in the bridge pup circuit that if you short it out with a wire will add a little more low end to that pickup and it won't sound as thin. I made a pot swap on my '75 to a pot/switch combo like RIC uses now on the current 4003 to be able to have the cap in or out.

Nice bass.

It's interesting how different it sounds from my '09 with the push pull pot - I usually have that out. Maybe I'll put the toaster in that one. The soldering iron stays away from the '74 until something breaks and has to be changed.

I also had a new 4003 back in the mid '80s. Well I technically still own it - I just don't know where it is - long story. I think that one was an '86 or '87. I remember being really disappointed in the sound. It just sounded like a plain vanilla bass. I'd still like it back though...

Rickenhands wrote:Nice bass indeed! Congrats. I want another Ric--very much!

Rickenhands wrote:Nice bass indeed! Congrats. I want another Ric--very much!

Thanks and thanks.

cool! I have very early 74, it doesn't have the red dots but it had the 1/2" spacing and the neck profile is really flat. I love the sound of the bridge hi-gain, but I prefer the more articulate bass of the toaster for the neck. Concerning those huge flats, mine too had large strings when I got it and when I investigated the trussrods they no longer had as much bend as they should have. Perhaps at some point you should investigate and correct the problem, when I knew I had 100% working and healthy rods not only did the neck end up even flatter but it is now super easy to do the most precise adjustment. I had a question about the nut though, what appears to be the problem? Is it too cut too deep?

jamespaul71 wrote:cool! I have very early 74, it doesn't have the red dots but it had the 1/2" spacing and the neck profile is really flat. I love the sound of the bridge hi-gain, but I prefer the more articulate bass of the toaster for the neck. Concerning those huge flats, mine too had large strings when I got it and when I investigated the trussrods they no longer had as much bend as they should have. Perhaps at some point you should investigate and correct the problem, when I knew I had 100% working and healthy rods not only did the neck end up even flatter but it is now super easy to do the most precise adjustment. I had a question about the nut though, what appears to be the problem? Is it too cut too deep?

I've not played anything with a toaster in it. Maybe someday.

I took my truss rods out and curved them. (I only did this once) Then I clamped the neck flat and adjusted the rods in the manner described on Joey's Bass Notes. I took the clamps off it every couple days to see how it was doing, and then repeated the process until it stayed flat. It's been a while now and it hasn't moved again at all.


The nut has been "worked on" and the grooves are V shaped and a bit ragged. Not really how I want it.

ah I see, you can always temporarily shim the nut slot.

mac94 wrote:

johnallg wrote:Jim, the 70s higains have a special and very satisfying sound. I would play it as is for a while and see what you think before trying the toaster. That will give you a chance to hear the difference, if any. Also be aware there is a .0047uF cap in the bridge pup circuit that if you short it out with a wire will add a little more low end to that pickup and it won't sound as thin. I made a pot swap on my '75 to a pot/switch combo like RIC uses now on the current 4003 to be able to have the cap in or out.

Nice bass.

It's interesting how different it sounds from my '09 with the push pull pot - I usually have that out. Maybe I'll put the toaster in that one. The soldering iron stays away from the '74 until something breaks and has to be changed

The pickups on the '09 are wound to around 12k where the '74 will have around 8.4k ohms to both of them. The toaster you have will be 7.4k ohms, not much different from the 70s higains. The magnets of the toaster are alnico rods whereas the '09 and '74 have the plasticy under coil bars. There really isn't too much difference between the 70s higains and the scatterwound toasters, IMHO. I have both.

Oh, and if you want to try the cap bypass on the '74 without soldering, tightly wrap a wire across the leads of the cap shorting it out. Then you can hear the difference to see if it is worth pursuing further.

johnallg wrote: Oh, and if you want to try the cap bypass on the '74 without soldering, tightly wrap a wire across the leads of the cap shorting it out. Then you can hear the difference to see if it is worth pursuing further.

I second that recommendation, you can use wire or you can get tiny alligator clips and just make a temporary bridge.

Nah. It sounds too sweet. It's gotta stays like it is.