Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Silly question here. Does the V63 have the "cap" that everyone talks about? If so, has anyone done the bypass? And if so, how does it sound?

I love my V63, and will never part with it. But I have a tough time working with the pickup balance. The horshoe is very hot, and the toaster is almost to subtle, I was just wondering if the mod would give me more balance like my 4003's.

I don't find extremely different the two p.u. balancing system proportions between V63 and 4003
the horseshoe in the 63 and the bridge high gain in 4003 both sound a wee bit louder than the toaster/high gain in the neck position...
this is what i hear from my basses

My '98 v63 was born without the cap. The horseshoe did severely overpower the toaster, but I backed the horseshoe pickup away from the strings and it is more balanced now.

But I have a lot of room to back mine down as I've removed the 'shoes.

Some months ago I rewound a re-issue HS pickup. That thing was HOT! A very fine pickup to be sure, and one you can install the cap in line with should you find it to be way hotter than the neck pickup.

My CS was also way hotter at the bridge. I just lowered the pup a little and it evened out AND improved the sound.

Is a hotter bridge PU on a Rick necessarily a bad thing? If anything, the neck PU is there to just smooth things out. The whole rick sound is treble bite, and many players roll off the neck slightly to get it. Also the 4000 has no neck PU and sounds plenty Ric-ish. Just wondering.

p.s. I love the look of a 1/2" spaced Toaster, but hate the sound compared to a regular hi-gain.

Why not just use the volume knob? it's the simplest solution. The bridge Hi-Gain on my 4003 Shadow (okay I know this is a horseshoe thread...) is about 20% louder than the neck pickup (which is set as high as it will go without cracking the pickguard), so I just dial the treble pickup volume back about 1/3 turn. I didn't want to modify anything in this bass.

Ilan is right IMHO...after all there must be a reason if people at RIC have chosen to install a louder pickup in the bridge position
the 4001 concept in origin was to make a 4000 with an extra pickup able to add a little bottom end

"... p.s. I love the look of a 1/2" spaced Toaster, but hate the sound compared to a regular hi-gain"

Did some A/B-ing last night, I absolutely LOVE the sound of the toaster in the ½" position! To each their own, I guess. I rarely solo the bridge pickup, most of the time it's either both or just the neck pickup.

Wes wrote: "..The whole rick sound is treble bite, and many players roll off the neck slightly to get it...."

I have found that it really depends on what your're doing, but I believe that some of the Rickenbacker 4001 sound that people use as a benchmark to gauge others by (such as Squire's classic Yes sound) has GOBS of neck p/up in it rather than more HS. It's all in how it's blended.

Yes, to each their own. I have a couple Ricks with 1/2 inch spacing and toasters, as well as the regular variety.

I prefer either the bridge solo'd or both pup's on with the neck volume rolled off a little.

The sound of the neck solo'd, either toaster or hi-gain, is not pleasing to these ears.

I had the chance to own three 4001V63, one produced in 1988, and two in 1993. I still have one produced in 1993 and she is here to stay with me so much I love her.

The 1988 model had a weak output from the neck pickup and a big difference of output between the horseshoe and toaster. I tried everyting possible to adjust the levels but it simply did not work. The one I have now has a very well balanced output from the two pickups and both simply "sing". I guess the problem comes form the pickups themselves or some wiring as none of them had the cap.

I prefer not to use the vol pots for tone because they roll off inconsistently in tone ranges and volume. However, one 4001 I had had a 'sweet tone' with the bridge pup vol at 80%. I've noticed that outputs from pickups can vary a lot. I guess you have to experiment and set up each bass to its needs.

I usually back off the bridge pup just a bit too, pretty much at 80% like you Scott.

I have the toaster in the 1/2 spacing.

The HS is considerably hotter on my V63 ('98) but with both PUs up full I get a nice balanced tone, and sometimes I will back off the toaster to get a more aggresive tone. I also feel that the basic tone is the bridge pickup, be it HS or hi-gain, with the toaster/hi-gain adding bottom end to the sound. Mine has a cap in it but I am not certain if it is stock or added; at the moment it is bypassed but I may reinstate the cap.