Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I, can I replace my original 4001 pickups by Toasters Pickups? the electronic scheme will keep the same? the sound will be better? I want to do a "Chris Squire Boost" in my Bass =]]

Toasters have a softer, rounder tone from the high gains. They are not as loud nor as bright. Sergio Silva and Jeff Rath are the main pickup dudes around here. I am sure they will chime in at some point.

Thanks guy, so I will wait for Silva and Rath´s post =]]

You want to do something like this?

I want "Geddy Squire´s Sound"

How does the bass sound now? and what do you want it to sound like? also what year is the bass? are the original pickups in it?

I want the extreme Rick Sound...Like Chris Squire and Geddy Lee sound, Im very satisfied with my current pickups, my bass sounds GREAT, it is just for tests etc ... I own a 4001 1974 FG

then maybe leave the pickups alone and try a Bass pod or sans amp or something similar ...

both Squire and Geddy have a lot of of attack, fret buzz, distortion, and gain ...

changes you can make to your bass ...

put in a neck toaster ... this will make the bass smoother sounding ...

remove the bass cut capaciter ... this will give the bass more mids and low end and growl ...

put in modern high gains ... this will make the bass hotter, louder and fuller ...

put in 500k ohm volume pots ... this will make the bass hotter and it will have more treble bite ... the Ric comes with 250k volume pots ...

When I used to play a 70's Ric bass I took out the bass cut capaciter and left the original pickups and pots and ran it into a bass pod ... I could get a Geddy/Squire type tone out of it then ... also playing with a pick can help to ...

Also dial the neck pickup volume back to 7 or 8 and turn the rest of the dials to 10 ... this will give you a more aggressive sound ...

JZL - You have a vintage, 30-yr old bass. If it sounds and plays good, why tamper with it?

Jeff gives some good advice on the Lee & Squire sounds. A big part of those tones is the Rick bass, but another big part is effects and amps.

You'll want a little distortion. If you lean towards Geddy, don't be afraid to apply just a smidge of chorus - not a lot, just as a thickener (personal observation, also modeled that way by Line6). Good luck!

I gave up trying to get the Squire sound years ago, and at the end of last year, maybe my 5th or 6th gig playing bass again, I got it with my 75 4001 with flats. Real dead flats at that.

My amp is a piece of **** Behringer 3000 head...actually an OK amp, but you pay for what you get. Certainly no world beater.

Playing my 4001, it clipped a bit the way I drove it. I think that little bit of amp distortion I had played a role in getting "the sound". The hotter PU's of my 4004 also had quite a bit of "it" (Rick growl), but had the stock RW's on it and I didn't like the the low end as much. But different night, the bar was cleaned, one bass per night...tough to compare.

So, I guess for me, I accept that my "sound" is a bit of a moving target...after all, my "sound" is affected by the drummer, guitarist and singer...too many variables to say anythign for certain. The Pod or V Amp idea is probably the saner route to go, unless your a "purist" like me ( to Jeff!) who just plugs the bass into the amp and seems to prefer flats!

CS really uses flats, he just says he uses Rotos for the endorsement and to keep eveyone else from copping his sound, except for me and Ed!

I too have given up on the CS sound, and ordered a set of Pyramid Flats. If I can get that old school sound, I'll be very pleased. If I need more sounds, I'd imagine the PODxt can help. My friend plays a P-bass, and I love the sound he gets. For a modern sound, he uses a Carvin five string with active electronics, and that bass sounds amazing.