Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Yep that is it, I have the same photos. It came with the pickup cover already removed and more guitar tuners, (the G tuner of the guitar neck is loose and I need to tighten/fix it, but ti has no playability problem it still Rocks. It doesn't seem as "live" as say my 3/5JG, maybe it just the age of the pickups or wiring... hmmm anyway it sounds great when I boost the Amp. Really has great tone.

thanks the 4003FL is a wonder to behold. when I went to pick it up I almost could not believe it. I asked "can I touch it?" and the sales guy says, "sure, you bought it!" I was just awestruck when I first saw the thing.

Welcome ... another Jeff with a five string ric ... too cool ...

Send the 4080 pickups to Sérgio (our pickup guru!!!) to perform his "Arcanum" magic on them and make her "live" again. No need to boost the amp anymore haha!

What's the brand and gauge of (tapewound?) strings on your 4003 FL? Are they high or low tensioned?

I am currently using (Ironically enough...) Fender Nylon tapewound strings. 56/72/92/110 sizes, they are flat nylon over roundwounds, so they don't rip up the fingerboard, but they are very Bright. the bass came wiht tape wound strings but when I asked RIC about what brand they were, they gave me the statement that all basses have the standard RIC bass strings. SO I hunted down the only tape wound I could find and bought a couple sets... just in case... (jst strings has them Fender model 9120 Nylon tapewounds.
as for tension.... that is a little subjective in my opinion... I have great "bendability" if that is a word....but they are rather firm. and in comparison to the acousticore strings I put on my Lightwave fretless...these are TIGHT, the acousticore are Nylon centered so it took 2 weeks to stretch out to usable tension and they BEND (useless on a RIC though....no ferric material so magnetic pick ups won't work, but the rock on a Lightwave...)
Sergio What do you do? and where are you located? it woudl be cool to boost that 4080 outputs ( and the guitar/ bass ratio is wacky too, more guitar than bass...through the switch.. get a different level...

Welcome Jeff, Lovvvvvvvve that fretless.

I have RIC tapewounds on my '72 fretless. They are loud and bright and have what I consider medium tension.





They are not absolutely black but has a blueish cobalt tint.

Jeff,
Is there a .0047 mfd cap somewhere in the signal path of the 4080 bass' treble pickup? Is your bass' treble pickup the trebly or the fat kind?

That is a truely gorgeous bass! and I need to order a set of those strings. I can order them from RIC?? i did not see them on the last price list. (or I simply over looked them... could happen...it has happened before...) my current strings are getting to be close to the Dead point, and if I can get RIC strings all the better. besides there is something "wrong" with Fender strings on a RIC....

Before I gut it like a fish.... is it located at the pick up or at the controls for both pick ups where I should be looking??

Oh, just to warn you guys, I have a great sense of humor...

FOUND IT! it is attached to the Treb pot and the Treb pickup switch. (see pix!) it is the small middle Cap

and I have another question...what could the hole be that is between the neck pick up and the bridge pick up, that has part of the wood in it, but is cut to a pick up shape?? there are no wires, maybe someone decided to do a mod (it is on the guitar side) but still I am wondering. (see what happens when a can of worms is opened??
thanks!
j

Bravo! Yes, that's the one that cuts off the mid lows and lows of the treble pickups. The guitar body's treble pickup doesn't have much low end to be taken away so the guitar remains loud while the fundamental frequency content of the bass' is cut out, thus less loud. It's the classic '70s sound though. Replace the cap with a straight wire will bring back the volume of the bass part. Try it to see which sound you prefer.

I bought my RIC tapewounds from Mike Parks (#95588, http://www.the-music-connection.com/ricpart.htm) last March and he ran out of stock shortly after. You may want to ask Chris Clayton at www.pickofthericks.com if he has any, or contact RIC directly.

I've been tempted to try the TI flats which are lighter in tension, on my '72 but I love the look and feel of the black RIC tapewounds on her that I doubt I'll ever do so.

By the way, Sérgio lives in Portugal. Lets wait for him to give you the answer regarding the additional pickup routing.

Great! thanks for the info! I should be able to put a piece of wire in there no sweat. I was almost afraid I was going to have to re wire the whole electronics. it is a little corroded, maybe the resistance had increased and caused some degradation of the performance. but if I can brighten it up with a jumper or replace the cap... Outstanding!
Thanks again!