Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

So I have a 1980 4001 and a newly acquired 1980 4003. Both have been rewired with the cap bypass (or whatever you want to call it), but the 4003 doesn't seem to have quite the "hotness/punch" as the 4001. He tested the pups and said they are working fine, but it's a much "softer" sounding bass. Any reason for that?

woods and construction

Your 4001 have a skunk stripe of walnut?

The 4003 does not...it is more like the newer 4003's...the pickups also may be a little less output (not factory set just getting old??)

my tech, who i trust implicitly, said he could rewire to run them parallel and that would give it a boost. otherwise, would hotter pups be the fix?

1980 was a transition year ... 70's 4001 basses had high gain pickups that were 7k to 8k ohms modern 4003 pickups have 11k ohms ... but 1980 ... The only way to know is to test them on an ohm meter ... also check the pickup height ... also has anybody messed with the electronics? those basses are 25 years old ... maybe somebody changed pots or pickups or something ... also are the pickup magnets degaussed? ... if one of the basses is substandard then list it on ebay for $1200 and somebody will snatch it up ... then buy a new one and pocket the difference ...

a new one? *gasp* never!

why not ... I love the new stuff that Ric is making ... I got rid of all of my old basses and stocked up with newer ones ... now I have modern truss rods, modern pickups, strong necks, and fewer dings, and chips , and less rust, and less yellowing ...

I have to agree with Jeff on this one.

The newer 4003 pickups are ultra bright, smokin' hot.

The new ones play well and sound great, yes, but i find them god awful ugly. that headstock, man...kills me.

unless they are Ruby!!! Of course, I only have one left now. How about the original mid Blue??

I played a 1968 4001 for 25 years and the 70's and 80's headstocks always looked deformed to me ... but the newer Rics have the same headstock as the 60's rics ... so I feel right at home with them ...

I also like the new ones better, but an 80 4001 and an 80 4003 should have very similar pickups in them, about 7.5 to 8K. I've owned a lot of them, usually the difference is how close the strings are to the pickups, they have different depth fingerboards sometimes and different set ups, especially after 25 years, I would measure the difference if there is any and go from there. I also agree the wood has something to do with it, but think it is more the set up than anything else, can also be the strings, can be many things.

one left, Jaymi? maaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan.

In my opinion the skunk stripe has a lot to do with it, I've found this many, many times. All the skunk-less Ricks I've played have been somewhat softer sounding compared to those with skunks; check them out acoustically and see whether there's a difference. Walnut ultimately sounds different to maple, so it's got to have some effect, however small. People often forget that an instrument is more than just a bunch of electrics; the first thing I try in any comparison test is to see what the instruments sound like when they're not plugged in; obviously as Bob implies, set them up as near the same as possible first. Then work from there. Once you've established how different (or similar) they sound acoustically then move on to the electrics. And bear in mind every instrument will sound somewhat different anyway, even when apparently constructed the same; that's just the way wood is. And the finish makes a difference too....