Is Paul McCartney's Rickenbacker bass wired backwards?

[Seans]

but is it really that important in the scheme of things?

No, but it's more fun talking about it than cleaning the pine needles out of the carpet like I was just doing.

DId anybody go to YouTube and watch Wings in the studio playing Juniors Farm? Paul plays the Rick and it has a more trebly sound to it. Where were the switch and pots on that? He plays through an Acoustic amp in the vid.

Good call John, certainly has more Treble and the switch is in the middle.

Love that thing with Ric where they don't always go by the book, makes for a company with that bit more soul.

[teeder]

Oh come on, everyone knows that the switch position doesn't matter 'cause it was all done with a synth bass track...

They were ahead of their time, weren't they!

[Scotty_Guitar]

Interesting to note that during the Sgt Pepper era (or maybe just before or just after), Macca is photographed playing his 4001S through a Vox amp, and an open back Vox guitar cab (likely with 2x10" or 2x12" speakers)... The resulting "sound" can't possibly be from the "treble" pickup! I frequently record bass through small vintage Fender amps, using a sealed 2x12 cab... The so-called treble p'up doesn't provide enough bass to match Macca's sound...

That, combined with RIC's lack of "left-handed experience" (and jigs), and other sonic experiments (in spite of what Dane claims), I believe, at the very least, JPM's 4001S pickup selector switch was "incorrectly" wired for a left handed bass. Or, in the OP's words, wired backwards.

[aceonbass]

For the switch to be wired wrong (there are only two ways to wire it) it would have to be upside down, not backwards. I often play my 4003 with just the bridge pickup (RIHS) with the tone rolled back, and the sound is very "Silly Love Songs". I don't have the .0047 cap though, but no one knows if it's in Paul's bass either. I'd like to either hear something from someone who's actually seen under the guard on Paul's bass, or who's actually wired several dozen Rick basses to chime in on this, 'cause it's starting to sound like someone doesn't know what they're talking about.

[Wiker]

DId anybody go to YouTube and watch Wings in the studio playing Juniors Farm? Paul plays the Rick and it has a more trebly sound to it. Where were the switch and pots on that? He plays through an Acoustic amp in the vid.

Good call John, certainly has more Treble and the switch is in the middle.

these?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0wTLWdzg20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xklhv3GSLQw

Both clips are featured on the (bootleg I guess) DVD “One Hand Clapping”. For some reason the bass on Junior’s farm is more trebly on YouTube than on the DVD.
Hard to see for Junior’s farm, but in my eyes the switch is definitely down.
The clips are supposed to be from 1974. Wasn’t the horseshoe dead by then?

[Scotty_Guitar]

For the switch to be wired wrong (there are only two ways to wire it) it would have to be upside down, not backwards. I often play my 4003 with just the bridge pickup (RIHS) with the tone rolled back, and the sound is very "Silly Love Songs". I don't have the .0047 cap though, but no one knows if it's in Paul's bass either. I'd like to either hear something from someone who's actually seen under the guard on Paul's bass, or who's actually wired several dozen Rick basses to chime in on this, 'cause it's starting to sound like someone doesn't know what they're talking about.

I've wired enough guitars to know what it takes... Otherwise I wouldn't have contributed my own guesses.

Going simply by photos and sound, it appears Macca's 4001S was wired "differently" than what you'd expect to see in the photos based upon what we HAVE heard.

There are several folks who are familiar with Paul's Rick... They were tasked to replace the treble p'up at the factory at some point...

Once repaired, Paul did seem to use it quite a bit in the 70s and 80s...

[antipodean]

The resulting "sound" can't possibly be from the "treble" pickup!

Not necessarily so. My recipe is as follows:

- Normal Channel of a Vox AC50, roll off treble and roll up bass;
- Roll off the tone a little on the bass;
- Use TI flats (close to '60s spec);
- Adjust technique so that you pluck relatively gently close to the neck pickup and play mainly above the 5th fret.

You have to jump through some hoops but the tone is attainable. The relatively gentle attack is an oft-overlooked factor.

[teeder]

I can't imagine a guy, that had been playing a Hofner for years, thinking the Rick's Toaster was too muddy, then using a HS but with all the treble off so it sounded more like the Toaster. McCartney wasn't the gear-head type to jump through hoops to get to a toaster tone when it was already right there. That doesn't add up. Also, by the time they got to "Pepper" they were running Paul's bass direct to the board more so than micing an amp, so the amp wasn't a factor. IMO, the HS and Toaster were wired to the opposite sides of the switch than they should have for a lefty guitar.

[teeder]

DId anybody go to YouTube and watch Wings in the studio playing Juniors Farm? Paul plays the Rick and it has a more trebly sound to it. Where were the switch and pots on that? He plays through an Acoustic amp in the vid.

Good call John, certainly has more Treble and the switch is in the middle.

these?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0wTLWdzg20
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xklhv3GSLQw

Both clips are featured on the (bootleg I guess) DVD “One Hand Clapping”. For some reason the bass on Junior’s farm is more trebly on YouTube than on the DVD.
Hard to see for Junior’s farm, but in my eyes the switch is definitely down.
The clips are supposed to be from 1974. Wasn’t the horseshoe dead by then?

It looks to me that the switch is down in both songs.

[teeder]

Does anyone have a picture with the switch in the up position? I can't recall seeing one.

[jps]

Does anyone have a picture with the switch in the up position? I can't recall seeing one.

Not me, most of the photos I have are with the switch down, a few have the switch in the middle, and one with his 4001FL, looks like it could be in the up position but I think it is in the middle (but that one would most likely be wired as a true lefty, so that makes sense).

[Seans]

It's in the middle here, www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLAOZ6UzDWY

[teeder]

HS is gone too.

[Seans]

Not sure about the HS here, but 1.35 it seems switch is in the middle. www.youtube.com/watch?v=xklhv3GSLQw

[teeder]

Could be. It's pretty fuzzy. I thought at 3:40'ish it looks like it's down. Maybe it's a shadow?