Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

OK I just had my '71 4001 set up,
and it played great unplugged when I picked it up but when I plugged it in to play it last night, the response of the E string has dropped considerably in volume. It is not unusable, but it is noticable, and it only occurs when I have the switch in the bridge only position. I have one of the early high gain bridge pickups on this bass, that has the greenish semiconducter material on the top of the pickup, with four flathead screws for polepieces. I believe I can just raise the screw a little, but I certainly don't want to damage the pickup(I don't think I can just call Rick to order a replacement!), and I wanted to hear from the experts here first. Any suggestions, anyone?

we have had a few discussions on this same topic already ... check some of the older threads ...

If you replace the pickup with a new one it will sound different ... the newer pickups are hotter and nastier ... some people prefer the older sound ... I put one of those screw pole piece high gains in my '68 ... it is a nice pickup ... mine has no drop off

Gene: If you use the Search function in the menu under Utilities, and limit your search to the current Rickenbacker Basses topic you will come up with about 200 references to keep you busy for your coffe break and perhaps your lunch break too.

If it is only one of the pickups that is doing this then that pickup may have a problem ... if you put in one of the newer high gain pickups and leave out the bass cut capaciter ... then your bass will become thunderous, the bridge pickup can then be played solo or blended in with the neck pickup ... it will sound like the current 4003 basses ... in other words a lot more mid punch ... that pickup that is in there now is probably 6 to 8 k omns ... the new ones are usually around 11k ohmns ... I have tested them at 10k to 16k ohmns ...

If you want the older sound the find a used 4001 high gain and put it in and leave in the bass cut capaciter ...

Jeff,
I appreciate your input, but changing out the pickup is not an option at this time. I simply want to make sure I can turn that screw/polepiece on the E string, and if I do, will it move the polepiece up, closer to the string, and solve the problem? Or will doing this break the screw/polepiece?
I still haven't finished adjusting the pu so that the E side of it is raised closer to the strings, and that may be a better answer than touching the polepiece at all! But I have my doubts about this, since the E has very low output while the A string is plenty hot...

Peter -- the archives didn't help me, mainly because the pickups being discussed in those threads were all newer model pickups. I couldn't find a thread that discussed this problem on a high gain pickup that has screwtop polepieces...

Thanks!

Gene- was the pickup fine before your bass was set up?

Yes it was... The only thing that has changed was the setup and the guy didn't touch the pickups...

then adjust the screws ...

Gene,
It's safe to turn the polepieces and raise them.
My '72 has the same type of treble pickup as yours and I raised the E polepiece to make that string equally loud as the others.

Thank you Paul!
That is exactly the information I was looking for
:~)
I'll let ya know how it turns out!

Paul - do you know if the 1973 4001 i bought of Ebay would likely have the screw pole bridge pickup too? It has The toaster neck.

Very likely, Owen.
Your '73 should be one of the last 4001 basses featuring a toaster and a screw polepieced treble pickup.

I turned the screw up on my 72 for the G string. Where is the green tint that is supposed to be on those first high gains? Mine is black, it is identical to the one above (Pauls). I've never seen a 73 with an adjustable high gain but I'm sure there are some.

I have the adjustable screws like in Paul's picture, but the heads of the screws are the rounded, hemispheric type, and the plate just beneath them is a greenish, almost chartreuse color, very much like what you see when you open up any kind of electronic component, such as a radio, modelling amp, etc. etc. My Fender Blues Jr has such circuit board material. I am referring to my 1971 Fireglo 4001. I also have a '73, but it was made in December of that year, and the pickup in it looks a lot like Paul's pickup, but it doesn't have the screwtop polepieces.
Thanks to all for your help!

So what is the difference between the adjustables with green (circuit board?) and black like mine and Pauls?