Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Can someone point me in the right direction here?
I've recently got my 4003 but it doesn't have enough of the Chris Squire growl.
According to the blurb on the Ric site, the push/pull pot gives this option, but that the cap mod gives a drop in volume.
Is there much of a drop? I'm already noticing a reasonable drop in volume between the neck and treble.
Is there anything else I can do to get closer to that sound? The bass still has the same action as she did when I got her new. Is it too high? I use Rotos and a lot of gain, but there still doesn't seem to be enough grind.
i appreciate that two main factors, CS himself and an RM1999 are absent, but I'm convinced that there's something else I can do to get closer to that sound.
All thoughts are greatfully appreciated chaps.

I've done the Vintage mod myself. The cap mod doesn't give a drop in volume, it just cuts the bass frequencies below 500k. Because of this it seems like there is a loss of volume.
I put the cap in my 2004 Monty Brown 4003 because I wanted a grinding tone. It goes a long way to achieving it.

No way. I didn't realise that one wee capacitor could make such a difference.
Is there a circuit diagram of this mod kicking about? I'm not the most technically minded guy!!
Also, would dropping the action a bit help too then? I take it Ric puts it a bit higher than usual when the basses leave the factory. Or do they?

The push/pull pot option on 2006 Rics is just a switch that changes betwen cap-ped and un-capped sounds.
At the moment your Ric has a wire which goes from the pickup selector to the middle lug of the bass volume control pot. All you have to do is replace the wire with a .0047 micro farad capacitor (sometimes call a 4.7 nano farad).
Hey presto, vintage tone.
I put a push/pull treble tone knob in so I could switch between the two. Works great.
The action should be as low as you want it.
I have my action high because I play with my fingers quite hard.
I did the cap mod so I could get close to Geddy Lee's Ric sound. Not quite there yet, but it makes a difference.
A lot of people will tell you not to do the mod. Try it, if it works, great.
Chris Squire's bass had the cap in.....

Sounds fairly straightforward.
you say some people would advise against it? how come?

Thanks for that post Mark.

Does anyone know where to get that .0047 capacitor? I live in Holland (Europe). Rickenbacker.com won't ship overseas.
Thanks

Hi again.

I think I meant middle lug of the TREBLE volume pot!!!!
A lot of people say that it makes the bridge pickup sound thin and weedy. They want maximum output on the pickup.
I think that tone is more important. All the classic Ric players had the cap in their basses.
Some people prefer the un-capped sound. It's down to the individual.

Any decent electronic shop should stock it. Any .0047 micro farad cap or 4.7 nano farad cap should do it.
Hope this helps.....

Thanks for that.
It's definitely something I'm considering. i've searched previous threads and it does seem to be a big of a hot potato. I'll buy the cap as it should cost buttons and drop the action in the meantime and see if that improves things a bit.