Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have found that my 8-month-old (to me) 4003 fretless bass is by far my favorite bass in terms of sound and playability. It's fast become my intimate partner that I use for all of my gigs--mostly jazz right now, but also a lot of pop and rock.

It has a pretty decent sized control cavity, as you all know, and I thought it might be neat to get an Audere 3ZB for it to gain access to the awesome potential of the Z modes. However, as a passive bass with 4 controls, a mini switch capacitor, and a pickup selector, it already has a huge number of sounds (at least 4 very distinct voices on the bass). If I switch to Audere's onboard pre, the bass is likely to both gain a lot and lose a lot. Right now I'm trying to design an Audere wiring harness that will keep most of the stock functionality intact--preferably all, down to that mini-switch capacitor.

Does anyone have any caveats or praise about the Audere stuff? Oh, and I know, "If it ain't broke don't fix it." Agreed. But I'm not one of those people who can just play by the rules like that... I have to tinker. Ultimately I frequently reject the results of my tinkering and go back to stock with my basses... but I must always try. Luckily Audere has a 10-day satisfaction guarantee.

I will post clips of me playing this bass live with a jazz band as soon as they are ready so you all can know how it sounds. Much more like an upright than you'd expect for any fretless with a very strong fundamental. Right now ~4 hours of material are being edited into a demo by my friend.

Thanks in advance for the advice.

EDIT: Here's the product URL: http://www.audereaudio.com/Scripts/prod ... dproduct=9

jeff rath,who takes "tinkering" to dizzying heights, has used audere preamps on various basses and has posted good results. i myself prefer the sound of passive basses,and can't quite imagine what active preamping could do to improve the rick pickup sound,but as you said,it's a reversible thing,why not try it?

The thing about Audere's pre is that it allows you to change impedance. I'm not in it as much for the 4-band EQ but I guess I'll go with that also. I suppose I could just order a V V T T setup + a Z switch, totally leaving EQ behind... then I wouldn't have to buy new stacked pot knobs! I'll really miss my "vintage" knobs, shallow as that may be, if I have to get stacked pots.

The Z switch is awesome, though. Lo-Z looks like the mode that will really pair well with my Toasters if I decide to keep the mod.

Okay people, vote: should I get a V + V + T + T setup (trad. Ric) or a V/T + V/T + Lo Mid/Bass + Hi Mid/Treble setup?

Don't worry, I have ten days not to get burned if it's not worth it.

The few Audure preamp Jazz basses I tried had good tonal flexibility and nice tone (certainly very subjective). Reviews of their products are generally quite positive as well so it certainly won't hurt to give it a shot and see if it's for you.

Just to throw out another option......check out the ACG unit as well (made by John East). http://www.bestbassgear.com/acg-eq-02-two-pu.htm After searching around a bit it seemed like the best option for me and I couldn't be happier with my decision. It is filter based rather than a traditional EQ style. It does subtle changes very well along with drastic/sweeping alter-egos if needed. It still sounds like a Ric but has some Wal-like characteristics mixed in as well. I'm too inept to give a non-subjective description.......how to describe tone? A beefed up Ric with more nuances to the tone. My wife says that with each note that it sounds like "there's lots going on".

Certainly nothing wrong with a passive Ric but having options is nice as well. Good luck on your quest!

Oooooops!

incubus2432 wrote:Certainly nothing wrong with a passive Ric but having options is nice as well. Good luck on your quest!

The Ric is already really versatile. I basically want the maximum number of worthy sounds I can get out of one bass. I am a "one bass romantic", i.e. me and my fretless fly into the sunset and save the day, or something. OTOH I hate the thought of having >10 basses... that's just who I am. I couldn't stand having so much! Tough enough having 3 right now. Weird, huh...

cassius987 wrote:OTOH I hate the thought of having >10 basses... that's just who I am. I couldn't stand having so much! Tough enough having 3 right now. Weird, huh...

I can't believe you are really trying to fight RAS! Can't be done, trust me. It will just be a matter of time, you know?

jps wrote:

cassius987 wrote:OTOH I hate the thought of having >10 basses... that's just who I am. I couldn't stand having so much! Tough enough having 3 right now. Weird, huh...

I can't believe you are really trying to fight RAS! Can't be done, trust me. It will just be a matter of time, you know?

All your base are belong to us.

...if I ever do get super RAS-y it'll be to acquire exotic stuff like 4002s and 4000s, or cool vintages of the flagship bass. I'm sure that's what most of you are up to as well! For now I really just want to rely on my one fretless and one fretted 4003. I'm selling my Jazz Bass now so I'm going from 3 to 2. And when I get my 4003 MG, it'll mean one of three things: 1) I sell it back out; 2) I sell the 4003 AFG out; 3) I convert one of those two into a second fretless with an ebony board. Presently I'm really leaning towards #3.

cassius987 wrote:...3) I convert one of those two into a second fretless with an ebony board. Presently I'm really leaning towards #3.

Most of us here will prefer you do not do this; better you should should talk Ginger into selling you her fretless 4002.

jps wrote:

cassius987 wrote:...3) I convert one of those two into a second fretless with an ebony board. Presently I'm really leaning towards #3.

Most of us here will prefer you do not do this; better you should should talk Ginger into selling you her fretless 4002.

Why would you prefer I did not?

And good luck talking Ginger into anything remotely like that!

It's your bass but it seems that when we see these sorts of mods done to Ricks we tend to cringe!

Seriously, fretless ebony? I've seen Dane do some very classy things in this vein, although I don't recall if it was ebony or not. I don't see how switching the fingerboard is anything like hacking pieces off the bass and calling it a Shark Attack model.

This is getting OT so I'll stop now. Anyone wanna talk preamps?

The Audere is supposed to be a good preamp, so is anything made by John East. I was less than pleased with the BArtolini preamp in my first Zon so I bypassed it and then the following two Zons I got, I had Joe make them passive.

Zons seem neat, I've never been a fan of ol' Bart though.

My big debate right now is whether to try a 3ZB with four singular pots that mimic the stock config and lose the push-pull (an awesome feature, but is replaced in the Audere's HI-Z Mode which has its own unique capacitance); or else to get 4 STACKED knobs, that would be V/T, V/T, Lo/Lo-Mid, Hi/Hi-Mid. Any thoughts on that? I mean, active EQ is nice I guess, but personally I thought the sound of it sucked on my old Stingray (that I sold). Yes, it did work very well at what it was supposed to do, but the tone was so artificial. The basic concept of Audere's Z Switch on the other hand sounds VERY natural.