Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

With the recent sale of the 4002, it reminded me of how cool that bass is. There was also that cool 3 pup 4004Cii fretless mod that just sold here, pictured below.

I've superimposed my 4004L over the 4004Cii to see where things line up. Seems the neck pup and bridge are in pretty much the same place. How was the position of the second and third pup arrived upon? I was considering making it just a 2 pup bass with the neck pup eliminated, with a pickguard covering the hole where the neck pup was, or make it a 3 pup bass. Any discussions on number of pups and their placement would be great

I went through a whole discussion on pickup placement a while back, when I was considering adding a 3rd pickup to my 4004Cii. I'm still wanting to do it, just ended up having to move, etc. so haven't had the time to do it. Anyway, I made up this diagram that shows a whole range of pickup placements used over the years on various RIC basses:
Yeah, it's a bit crowded in a few spots, so perhaps a bit hard to read.

I'm not sure we ever came up with why pickups were placed where they are, mostly it was just figuring out where they were. Several people made measurements from the 20th fret (since intonation adjustments will move the bridge saddles) to the center of the pickups for various models.

Anyway, this might give you some hints on where to place things based on various RIC models and their sounds...

Thanks for posting the chart. Three pups may make for a wiring nightmare, and too many choices.

coolhandjjl wrote:Three pups may make for a wiring nightmare, and too many choices.

Just 3 pickups?
CJ's 4004Cii with FOUR pickups!!

Yeah, I haven't completely ruled that out either, but with 3, I know exactly how I'd wire it. With 4, well, I start getting a bit confused...

Found these threads, CJ:
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=392689&hilit=placement
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=392254&start=0&hilit=placement

Yeah, that's the one...

coolhandjjl wrote:I've superimposed my 4004L over the 4004Cii to see where things line up. Seems the neck pup and bridge are in pretty much the same place.

The bridge pickup is about 3/4" further back on that bass. I know because I cut a maple block to fill the original route and then re-routed the top further back for the "4002 placement". This has a noticeable effect on the sound. If I could chose the pickup locations, I'd have eliminated the neck pickup, but there was really no cosmetically pleasing way of doing so.

aceonbass wrote:The bridge pickup is about 3/4" further back on that bass. I know because I cut a maple block to fill the original route and then re-routed the top further back for the "4002 placement". This has a noticeable effect on the sound. If I could chose the pickup locations, I'd have eliminated the neck pickup, but there was really no cosmetically pleasing way of doing so.

Sorry. I meant the bridges themselves appear consistent on the basses, not the bridge position pup. I'm thinking I'll leave my bridge pup in its existing place and move the neck pup to the 4002 neck pup position. I've got a pickguard design in mind based on the pics of those Vigier basses.

Here we go...4004 via 4002 via Vigier.

I'm not loving the pickguard. Maybe something along the lines of a Gibson Ripper instead, or something similar to the design I'm working on with my 4001FL. (In progress.) Just my two cents.

cassius987 wrote:I'm not loving the pickguard.

Me neither. One of the things I love about a 4004 trans finish is there's no pickguard to cover the nice wood.

cassius987 wrote:I'm not loving the pickguard. Maybe something along the lines of a Gibson Ripper instead, or something similar to the design I'm working on with my 4001FL. (In progress.) Just my two cents.

Can we get a peek?

Here's other variations:

It's getting to look more like a Stu Hamm Urge II.