Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I'm also in the camp of not modifying it. If it had been factory routed, that's one thing since there's no possibility of weakening it and you could easily go back to the original configuration. Once you start cutting wood though, it's a whole different ball game...

I converted my 1971 4000 with neck thru the body in 1980. It was already factory routed for the neck pickup and wire. Chances are your bass is already routed. Look under the pickguard!

DavyR wrote:I converted my 1971 4000 with neck thru the body in 1980. It was already factory routed for the neck pickup and wire. Chances are your bass is already routed. Look under the pickguard!

Do you still have that?

chefothefuture wrote:

DavyR wrote:I converted my 1971 4000 with neck thru the body in 1980. It was already factory routed for the neck pickup and wire. Chances are your bass is already routed. Look under the pickguard!

Do you still have that?

Mmmm! Not many of these around!

I modded the wiring on my 4000 and am happy with the results. It can go form thick and warm to as bright as it did with stock wiring. I feel no need for the neck pickup. I dare say though that this may differ from bass to bass as the pickups varied through the years. Unfortunately I did not document what I did (it took a few trys and errors) but if needed I can pull off the pickguard and draw a schematic. Note I have flats on this bass.

I am still thinking about converting my 4000 to a 4001 (LK) also. It is my first Rickenbacker so she will never be sold. But I never play it because I miss the neck pickup.

If it were me, I'd buy a 4001 or 4003.

Whether or not it's worth converting your 4000 depends on how much you are sentimentally attached to it. If i means that much to you, and you're pretty sure that you won't need to sell it, then go ahead and add that neck pup - if the routing is already there you have little to lose or worry about. If the routing is not already there, you have to consider whether it's worth the risk to route the neck pup out, given the potential risk to the stability of the neck. Again, if you never intend to sell it, the risk is all yours, and only you can weigh up the pro's and con's...

Ashley and davidr,he clearly stated earlier that the body is NOT already routed,which is the reason why most of us are advising against doing this. If it were already routed,this would be a no brainer. I' m wondering if his amp/speaker is powrful enough to get a full sound from his pickup. I play through 2 12" 500 watts,and don't lack anything in the tone department,in fact the 4000 is my most aggressive sounding bass.

Sorry, missed that point.

I understand the need for 2 pickups. I love the phase cancellation of the middle position. Still if someone really were willing to trade for it that might be a better way to go.

woodyng wrote:Ashley and davidr,he clearly stated earlier that the body is NOT already routed,which is the reason why most of us are advising against doing this. If it were already routed,this would be a no brainer. I' m wondering if his amp/speaker is powrful enough to get a full sound from his pickup. I play through 2 12" 500 watts,and don't lack anything in the tone department,in fact the 4000 is my most aggressive sounding bass.

How did I misread this? LOL! If it has not been routed I'm NEVER do that to that bass. I guess some 4000s were routed and some were not?

chefothefuture wrote:

DavyR wrote:I converted my 1971 4000 with neck thru the body in 1980. It was already factory routed for the neck pickup and wire. Chances are your bass is already routed. Look under the pickguard!

Do you still have that?

Yeah! I told my little story out here before years ago I believe. Back in 1980 I took a picture of the bass and sent it to John Hall Sr. asking questions about the bass and the single pickup. I still have his response letter. I ended up buying a new pickguard and the bridge pickup cap from RIC. I then swapped out the single pickup for a set with a toaster out of a 1972/1973 4001. In an effort to keep the orignal bridge pickup cap sound (I'm a bit of a purist) and to be able to bypass the cap, since I didn't like the sound, I did the following. I bypassed the bridge pickup cap with a 'treble bypass' using the tone control pot of the bridge pickup so I could dial in the amount of cap I desired. No internet and very little info to go on in those wild days. I didn't think of the push/pull pot idea back then but I was bypassing the cap to get more 'balls' out of the bass.

Just reading back this lively thread.

Has anybody fitted an HB1 into a 4000? On my '98 4003, I have an HB1 in the bridge with coil tap facility, and a modern (with adjustable poles) higain in the neck. I only ever use the HB1 really.

I'm tempted to to reverse-engineer it to 4000/4003 hybrid, by removing the neck pickup, and fitting a simple plain pickguard, with 1 volume pot only. I never use tone either. Possiby a push/pull for coil tap. Rather than change the jack socket plate, I'd just wire it double-mono.

I've plenty of spare plexiglass in my shed, so it may be worth a try!

GT

vulcan_creedler wrote:Just reading back this lively thread.

Has anybody fitted an HB1 into a 4000? On my '98 4003, I have an HB1 in the bridge with coil tap facility, and a modern (with adjustable poles) higain in the neck. I only ever use the HB1 really.

I'm tempted to to reverse-engineer it to 4000/4003 hybrid, by removing the neck pickup, and fitting a simple plain pickguard, with 1 volume pot only. I never use tone either. Possiby a push/pull for coil tap. Rather than change the jack socket plate, I'd just wire it double-mono.

I've plenty of spare plexiglass in my shed, so it may be worth a try!

GT

If I'm not mistaken, RRF user cassius987 ran that set up for awhile. Maybe he'll weigh in for you?