Joe Barden Now Has 4001/3 Replacement Pickups

[bassduke49]

The only two Jetglo basses I have are these - and that's all the Jetglo a man can handle!

[ken_j]

... I know it is physically impossible for a dual coil to sound like a single coil, ...

They will sound like a single coil if you wire the two coils in parallel instead of series.

+1, or at least, extremely close.

Look here at the bottom of the page under "What are the differences between coil tap, series/parallel & reverse phase?":http://www.guitarelectronics.com/catego ... ring_faqs/

[jps]

All my Zon basses had their humbuckers wired in parallel as that produced a wider frequency range without the mid hump that is typical of high DC resistance humbucking pickups, to my ears, anyways, Yes, they were lower in output, but that is what a good powerful amp is for. When I have had the opportunity to play a Fender Roscoe Beck bass it was easy to compare the different wiring schemes of it's pickup with the series/single coil/parallel switches on each pickup, perhaps the single coil vs. parallel differences I perceived were solely due to the volume differences between those two setting as I would have to adjust the volume on the amp to make up for the lower output of the single coil setting.

[cassius987]

The HB1's mount directly onto any 4003 bass made in the last 20 plus years, without having to futz with moving existing pickup covers, rendering the old ones useless. (The mounting holes are already provided in the treble pickup plate. Two small holes will make them fit 4001 series basses, or just order a new base plate).

Not to kvetch but I do wish there were HB-1s with machine screw mounting so I wouldn't have to tap the ones that use wood screws. That would make mounting them easier in both positions of a 4003 but especially the neck position.

I like the way HB-1s sound a lot, they do lack some of the very high end frequencies, but for most stuff I find them better than adequate in terms of frequency response. Pairing them with a spartan VT circuit in the 4004 is genius, the way it lets them avoid some of the loading of the 4003 circuit and keep some highs. I am kind of like Scott though, wondering if they were wound a bit lower if they might not sound a little more like a Hi-Gain, which is becoming my gold standard as far as Ric tone of late.

When I step back and think of it I really like all RIC pickups a great deal, each one for a different reason, though I have no impulse to acquire a RIHS after hearing and playing three of them. The only aftermarket pickup I really like--so far--is Jason Lollar's Broiler.

[RobRick]

My Rick basses have more than enough high end, I can't imagine needing more. How can it even be called a bass at that point?

I'll be sticking with my stock pick ups in my Ricks, thank you!

[rickenbrother]

I'll be sticking with my stock pick ups in my Ricks, thank you!

Same here!

[iiipopes]

... I know it is physically impossible for a dual coil to sound like a single coil, ...

They will sound like a single coil if you wire the two coils in parallel instead of series.

No, they don't. with the coils in parallel, the impedance of a current RIC production HB-1, having about 7.5 kohms' worth of wire per coil, is half of a single coil, and they actually have less mid response, all other things being equal, than a highgain wrapped with the same amount of wire, and this holds for just about every HB parallel vs. single coil I've tried with numerous pickups over the 35+ years I've tinkered with guitar wiring. The closest thing an HB-1 sounds like in parallel is if you have a stock 3-pickup 340 or 370 with high gains with the selector in the top position, which with the neck and mid wired together in parallel amount to about the same thing tone wise, even if not humbucking. If what you mean is that there is less mid loading from doubling the impedance of two coils in series, then yes, they do that. But they don't sound like a single coil. They sound thinner from the dropped impedance.

Most stacked configurations don't sound like single coils because of the phase cancellation of the bass frequencies because the coils are opposite polarity under the same sensing point of the string, so they have less bass than the single coil pickup they're trying to emulate. And if you try to wind them more to make up for it, all you do is foul up the midrange again.

Something like an "unbucker," with the coils mis-matched, can be a better alternative for some, because even though they don't cancel all the hum as does a balanced coil configuration, they do cancel a significant amount, and with the difference in coils, you don't add that much extra impedance, and the lighter signal from the lighter wound coil doesn't comb filter or mid load the response of the primary coil so much. Again, that's not a perfect solution, either, but it's one possibility. But even that may not work on a RIC instrument because that might still color the neutral acoustic midrange response of the maple body.

That's why, for a "Toasterbucker," something in the Kinman vein might be worth exploring, because unlike a conventional stack coil design, he shields the lower coil so it doesn't sense string response, but does sense hum from exterior sources. So it gets closer to the character of a single coil. Not perfect; nothing is. But we're talking about a believable emulation heard from the stage while getting rid of hum, which is the whole point.

[ken_j]

I have a set of SD '59s wired series-single-parallel and there is very little difference between single and parellel (in-phase). This single mode seems to get a little brighter but it is minimal. I am sure all pickups have their own personalities but when I read it at guitar electronics (in the above link) I would think that it is a fairly common characteristic. They do mention "lower output" but I don't notice that much difference between single and parallel on the '59s. No doubt in series they are quite a bit louder.

[Daved]

I haven't heard these Bardens yet but one of my students put a set of Bardens Js in an MTD and they sounded uh-may-zing! Hard to imagine them being better than stock Rics but might be cool for a project bass or a Rickenfaker.

[jps]

Tell me more about the Barden Js as I am considering those for my G&L JB-2. Do they come with covers or are the coils protected only by the tape wrapping? What do they sound like, tonally, etc?

[superdick2112]

I haven't heard these Bardens yet but one of my students put a set of Bardens Js in an MTD and they sounded uh-may-zing! Hard to imagine them being better than stock Rics but might be cool for a project bass or a Rickenfaker.

I haven't heard any of Barden's bass pickups, but the Fender Danny Gatton Tele I test-drove (with factory-supplied Bartons) sounded fantastic - best Tele I've ever heard. I'm hoping to hear some real-world reviews of the new Barden Ric jobs - I just might try a set in my blue 4003 if the reviews are positive.

[cheyenne]

Joe Barden has a good reputation and makes some great pickups.

I just dont know if there's a big market for Rickenbacker 4003 replacement pickups. Like myself, most people buy a Rick bass for the unique tone. I think the old saying, "If it aint broke, dont fix it", comes into play here.

[cheyenne]

I would try them in a 4004 bass. I have to agree with JH though, for $299 a set, I hope you get something great.

[paul_yan]

Joe Barden has a good reputation and makes some great pickups.

I just dont know if there's a big market for Rickenbacker 4003 replacement pickups. Like myself, most people buy a Rick bass for the unique tone. I think the old saying, "If it aint broke, dont fix it", comes into play here.

+1

Besides, IMHO, unlike the RIC HB1s, the Joe Barden R4000 pickups only come with 2 wires that don't allow coil-splitting or series/parallel switching schemes. Also, I personally think the HB1s are easier on the eye with the vinyl covering the polepiece fins.

By the way, does anyone know if the RIC HB1s also has the AWG #44 coil wires like the Hi-Gains and toasters? Correct me if I'm wrong, I tend to think the thinner #44 wire pickups up more growl and details than the conventional thicker #42 wire used by most other guitar manufacturers. Maybe it's the #44 wire that makes the RIC pickups unique?

[cassius987]

Besides, IMHO, unlike the RIC HB1s, the Joe Barden R4000 pickups only come with 2 wires that don't allow coil-splitting or series/parallel switching schemes.

It's highly likely these use a four-conductor plus shield like the HB-1, and, also like the HB-1, simply hide the series connection under some heat shrink at the end of the lead. So two-wire installation (series mode) is encouraged, just like in the HB-1, and to get to other configuration you have to strip off about 0.5'' of outer sheath to expose the other two leads.

I thought all RIC pickups use 44 AWG wire. I know HB-1s have a certain clarity to them that many humbuckers do not.