My 4003FL is getting some extra oomph.
Posted: Wed Apr 07, 2010 12:47 am
About a year ago I ordered a Classic 4 Band preamp from Audere, configured Volume/Tone + Volume/Tone + Bass/Lo-Mid + Hi-Mid/Treble. I installed it in my 4003, but it was very cramped under there with the original Switchcraft switch in place, and eventually I took it out and restored the original wiring because I didn't like the seeing the pickguard bulge. However, I was really happy with the results of installing the preamp, because it gave me a very nice tone that felt "right" with the bass but just gave me some more onboard flexibility. In fact, the night I debuted the 4003 with this preamp at a jazz gig, I got asked by a guy in the crowd to join his cover band! It was a well-paying gig that quickly took care of the cost of the Audere pre.
It's been a long time and I've since moved to Denver. Finally though, I got around to reconfiguring how I can run this preamp with a 4003--but this time around it's going to go with my 4003FL. The 4003FL has become so much of a "go to" bass for me that it doesn't make sense to install this in anything else, especially since the guys in my band have (without my help) chosen the 4003FL for their pick of my basses to use in the project.
Instead of using the original Switchcraft switch, I will now use a 3PDT On/On switch by C&K (similar to what a 4004 uses) to toggle between the preamp's mono output and a passive stereo output of the two pickups without any controls in the signal path. This way I can utilize the second jack effectively and in a novel way instead of wasting it, as I felt I was doing before. In addition it frees up a lot of room "under the hood" for the preamp module, because the C&K switch is markedly smaller than the Switchcraft switch.
Here's the basic signal path: the pickups go to the 3PDT switch, with their commons on the same lug and their hots on separate lugs. The three lugs on one side go to the preamp's 3 corresponding wires, and the three on the other side go to the stereo jack for passive output in a Ric-O-Sound fashion.
Tonight I removed the original pickguard and harness and did some shielding in preparation for installing the preamp tomorrow. I also went ahead and put some of the hardware in the pickguard. Photodocumentation below:
In the operating room... (We just moved in and ripped up the linoleum from the terra cotta beneath it in the kitchen, so you can see we still have glue to remove and a door to paint, etc. etc... don't tell my wife I let you see it!)
The pickguard and harness have been removed along with the neck pickup.
For reference, this is the original harness made by Rickenbacker. It's no slouch to say the least!
The cavity for the pots and module has been shielded, and I have soldered the mechanical ground wire to the copper shielding with rosin core solder. It has been taped over with electrical tape to keep the wire securely in place, flush to the bottom surface.
The bass is going to bed for the night. The neck pickup cavity is not totally shielded because I found making the proper copper shield "box" too difficult with the exposed truss rods. Besides, the 4002 pickup I use in that position is already covered with metal so it's not as if shielding this compartment was truly necessary--just something I did while I had the tape out.
Here's the new pickguard, shielded with the 4002 pickup installed and the 3PDT switch. The electrical tape on the back of the pickguard holds the series connected wires of the low-Z coils and the mid-Z coils on the back of the pickup so they don't flop around when installing the pickguard. (This is actually a 4002 bridge pickup, bought direct from RIC by Scott Pope and more recently sold to me. Therefore I have joined the 800 ohm coils that go to the XLR and the "standard" coils for a total of just over 8 kΩ. This pickup has a great, unmatched sound--I look forward to hearing it through the preamp.)
The pickguard from above with pickup and switch installed. It won't look radically different from stock when all is said and done.
More to come...
P.S.: Thank you to the forum members who helped me track down the right C&K switch for my needs. Much appreciated.
It's been a long time and I've since moved to Denver. Finally though, I got around to reconfiguring how I can run this preamp with a 4003--but this time around it's going to go with my 4003FL. The 4003FL has become so much of a "go to" bass for me that it doesn't make sense to install this in anything else, especially since the guys in my band have (without my help) chosen the 4003FL for their pick of my basses to use in the project.
Instead of using the original Switchcraft switch, I will now use a 3PDT On/On switch by C&K (similar to what a 4004 uses) to toggle between the preamp's mono output and a passive stereo output of the two pickups without any controls in the signal path. This way I can utilize the second jack effectively and in a novel way instead of wasting it, as I felt I was doing before. In addition it frees up a lot of room "under the hood" for the preamp module, because the C&K switch is markedly smaller than the Switchcraft switch.
Here's the basic signal path: the pickups go to the 3PDT switch, with their commons on the same lug and their hots on separate lugs. The three lugs on one side go to the preamp's 3 corresponding wires, and the three on the other side go to the stereo jack for passive output in a Ric-O-Sound fashion.
Tonight I removed the original pickguard and harness and did some shielding in preparation for installing the preamp tomorrow. I also went ahead and put some of the hardware in the pickguard. Photodocumentation below:
In the operating room... (We just moved in and ripped up the linoleum from the terra cotta beneath it in the kitchen, so you can see we still have glue to remove and a door to paint, etc. etc... don't tell my wife I let you see it!)
The pickguard and harness have been removed along with the neck pickup.
For reference, this is the original harness made by Rickenbacker. It's no slouch to say the least!
The cavity for the pots and module has been shielded, and I have soldered the mechanical ground wire to the copper shielding with rosin core solder. It has been taped over with electrical tape to keep the wire securely in place, flush to the bottom surface.
The bass is going to bed for the night. The neck pickup cavity is not totally shielded because I found making the proper copper shield "box" too difficult with the exposed truss rods. Besides, the 4002 pickup I use in that position is already covered with metal so it's not as if shielding this compartment was truly necessary--just something I did while I had the tape out.
Here's the new pickguard, shielded with the 4002 pickup installed and the 3PDT switch. The electrical tape on the back of the pickguard holds the series connected wires of the low-Z coils and the mid-Z coils on the back of the pickup so they don't flop around when installing the pickguard. (This is actually a 4002 bridge pickup, bought direct from RIC by Scott Pope and more recently sold to me. Therefore I have joined the 800 ohm coils that go to the XLR and the "standard" coils for a total of just over 8 kΩ. This pickup has a great, unmatched sound--I look forward to hearing it through the preamp.)
The pickguard from above with pickup and switch installed. It won't look radically different from stock when all is said and done.
More to come...
P.S.: Thank you to the forum members who helped me track down the right C&K switch for my needs. Much appreciated.
