Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi,

new to the forums, thought i'd tap into the collective knowledge here.

I've got a '05 4003 fireglo bass which i bought new & am totally in love with, but just recently i bought a new amp (walter woods ultra high power), & when i'm playing, if the string hits the pickup pole pieces, i get a huge click (more like a "CRACK!") through the speaker. thought it might be the woods, but it doesn't do it with any other bass (p-bass, danelectro, upright), & was wondering if there is anything i can do to eliminate the problem. I play pretty hard, & really like to belt the bass around a bit, cause it just sounds so nice when it gets all growly & dirty - I don't have this problem when i use my SVT-II or Acoustic Image amps, (please don't just tell me to not use the ricky with the woods.. I bought the woods so i can get rid of half my gear & keep things simple..). my speaker is an eden d410xst if you're interested.

This arvo i tried gaffering up the pickups (covering the pole pieces with the gaffer) & it seems to alleviate the problem, but this is clearly not an ideal solution.
The bass has not been modified at all, it's completely as i bought it electronics-wise. Don't wanna wreck the ricky!

any ideas?

cheers,

timbo.

If you're yanking on your strings as hard as you say you are, I'd recommend lowering your pickup. I'm guessing that the problem is with your bridge pickup, in which case you'd take a large Phillips head screw driver and turn the large screws on both the top and bottom of the bridge pickup surround counter clockwise. If you like the current string balance out of your bridge pickup, then make sure you turn both screws equally.

And...Welcome to the forum, Timbo!

Yeah, just lower your pickups.

To maintain your present timbre while avoiding the crack, do as the others say and lower the pickups. The strings should never come into contact with the pole pieces anyways.

What they said +1

Welcome, Tim!

Yes the problem is the WW Ultra, so I will take it off your hands, for say, $500, and your problem will go away!

Actually, the WW is a great amp, I have a Super I bought new in '01 and have had others in the past, going back to '82, the problem is more of technique as stated above.

Lower the breedge peeckup!

Yep. I lower the bridge pickup and then dig on the bass hard . When i get just a random click here and there its at the perfect height.

Thanks all, i'll give lowering the bridge pickup a go. When i lower it though, doesn't the pickup cover lower as well? Can i lower the pickup without lowering the cover?

TIA,

tim.

No, but you can add washers under the cover if you think it's getting too close to the strings.

Or better yet, remove the cover and have full access to your strings.

I had thought of removing the cover, but i actually quite like it. I often use it as a rest if i'm slapping or playing with my thumb. Experiment time - i'll lower the pickup & see how i go with the cover height.

thanks,

tim.

timbo7173 wrote:I had thought of removing the cover, but i actually quite like it. I often use it as a rest if i'm slapping or playing with my thumb. Experiment time - i'll lower the pickup & see how i go with the cover height.

thanks,

tim.

Another candidate for a horseshoe pickup!

You could try putting some electrical tape over the pole pieces. That's what I do with a DarkStar to eliminate the clacking noise when I hit the strings against the pickup. It doesn't change the tone on the Darkstar, but I could be wrong with the horseshoe. It's worth a shot, you can always rip it off.