Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Are you looking for a vintage sixties tone? If so, then yes. If you're happy with the tone you have, then no. The vintage tone will have more treble (less bass).

that is a mod that should not hurt the value of the instrument ... also it would be easily reversed ... so even if you don't like the mod then no real harm done ...

The vintage tone selector on the newer 4003 basses is the addition of the .0047 capacitor and a push pull knob. This Capacitor cuts the bass and low mids response from the treble pickup. The v63 and c64 basses that I have played did not have the capacitor installed. The advantage of the "vintage tone selector" is the capacitor has what is essentially an "on off" switch. Whereas the old 60s and 70s basses had the capacitor on all of the time.

where to order from ... that is your choice ... I have ordered from both ... you will need to have a little skill with a soldering iron and reading the schematics drawings to install it ...

actually Ric should put the vintage tone circuit on the c64 from the factory ... it makes sense for a re-issue bass ... I would think it makes sense on a 4001cs and a 4001v64 as well ... and it even makes sense on an old 70s 4001 ...

Mike Parks at the Music Connection is a pleasure to deal with. If he's out of it, you can also try Chris Clayton at Pick of the Ricks. By the way, the vintage tone selector has the same effect on a Rickenbacker humbucking pickup too. I would think that the currently produced C64 basses would have the .0047 capacitor already, but having the tone selector pot would be nice to give the bass more bottom end. Depending on which way you use it more, you could probably reverse the wiring so that the out position is bypassed and in position is not.

yep Mike Parks is a first class Ric dealer ...

the C64 that I played in a music store did not seem to have the .0047 capacitor ... how you can tell if it is there solo the bridge pickup if it sounds more like a guitar rather than a bass then it is there ...

Jeff, are you sure? The bridge pickup on my c64 had practically no bass to it. I found it damn near unusuable.

I'm not an electronics wiz by any means, but in the interest of "correctness" the C64's have the .0047 cap in the bridge pickup's wiring. David, the vintage tone selector kit comes with a modern .0047 cap but I would use the one that came with your bass to maintain that "correctness". In the case of a C64 you may want to wire it so the "out" position cuts the cap out. Since a '64 4001S would have had the cap, the "in" or down position would be normal.

well maybe I am mistaken ... or maybe the early 4001c64 basses had no capacitor ... maybe someone from Ric can chime in and give us the official word ... I am working from a memory of playing one in Motor City Music a couple years ago ...

My c64 came with the cap.. I've bypassed it, and am now contemplating a new pickguard, but installing an in-out.mini toggle switch...R

I checked the Rickenbacker schematic for the C basses and it shows the .0047 capacitor being in there ... I just wonder if the early ones had it as well ...