Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

The deal is a good pickup should have a magnets or pole pieces or rails that are narrower than the strings ...

Hmmm... interesting silence insues.....

Greg, glad to hear you solved your own problem.

Jeff, there's no urgency that I can see to have a 5 stringer in our line what with a 440+ plus day backlog. It's one less product we have to worry about right now.

Essentially Ric used a guitar pickup on the 4004CII5 and it didn't get the job done ... the 4001/4003/2030 used what were essentially guitar pickups and it worked because the string spacing was small enough ... and the beloved toaster and horse are guitar pickups as well ... but that is part of what I like about Ric basses they sound different ... but you got to cover all 5 strings ... magnetic fields fall off exponentially with distance ...

John ... I can see your point of view ... but from my point of view I only play 5 string basses ... I know I am not mainstream ... but 6 string guitars and 4 string basses are not much use to me ...

And John with all due respect I am not interested in making you look bad in any way ...

Gee Jeff...that part about making better 5-string RIC basses in your basement isn't very flattering.

I sometimes get carried away and over state my case ...

but all of my basses have pickups that cover all 5 strings ...

I think Jeff meant better for himself, since he has small hands.

I also purchased my 4004Cii5 basses to be played, not just looked at. I was given the choice by Chris at Pick Of The Ricks to return either or both of them for a full refund, no questions asked. I chose to keep them even with the pickup problem, so I don't complain. Besides, if I put them on ebay, they would probably make a frenzy there, but I'm not planning on doing that. Shortly after I got my first 4004Cii5, I asked Sergio Silva if he could make me one pickup that I might be able to install in the bridge position, He did...I never installed it since the neck pickup still had the same problem and since I had another 4004Cii5 eventually on the way, I felt funny to ask Sergio to make any more. I'm sure he would have done it.
I had faith that RIC would eventually do me right on these basses. Unfortunately every time I emailed John Hall, he probably didn't receive them since that spam filter at RIC is set super sensitive. When I spoke to John Hall about the matter in person, he gave me the answer I hoped for.

...and that pickup of Sergio's went to good use. I wanted more power in the bridge position of my '73 4001. That's a great pickup that he made.

Joey, your 4003-s5 plays wonderfully, I'd happily go for one, in Fireglo of course !!!

I've a Sergio special as well, fantastic pickup ... !!!

Yeah Jim, I love that 4003S/5 Blue Beast!! I thought I would keep it until I got my 4004Cii5 basses, but it's tone tells me that it's a keeper.

Let me state that Rickenbacker makes excellent products ... but they occaisionally make mistakes ... that is part of being human ...

....reaching for a box of Kleenex.

or toilet paper

They gotta make these p'up for the 5'er...

"a good pickup should have a magnets or pole pieces or rails that are narrower than the strings"

oops ... I meant to say NOT narrower ... I need a proof reader ... they should be equal or greater ... my experience is if you go narrower anything more than 1/16" and you get drop off ...