Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

A friend just asked me to set up his '82 4001JG. The bridge pickup is not working well.

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced replacement or a rewinding service?

Check in with Sergio at his forum "Winding Up With The Best".

Thanks!

What about replacement pickups? Are there third-party pickups that give an interesting alternative to the stock Rick sound - Ken Armstrong, Lindy Fralin, Seymour Duncan?

Seymour Duncan makes these...some people like them. They're humbuckers, whereas the stock hi-gains are single-coils.

Personally I prefer stock, all day.

Some folks around here like the Bartolini replacements, I have not heard them, so I can not comment on their tonality. One member here, who is a major Jetglo lover, has, or had, a Rick with Alembic pickups and electronics in it, that is one I'd like to hear clips of.

I've heard Bartolini Jazz Bass pickups and while they were good, they were not my cup of tea.

Rickenbucker - ha!

Alembic! Now there's a thought...

I wonder if Rick Turner makes pickups that would work in a Rick bass.

LenMinNJ wrote:I wonder if Rick Turner makes pickups that would work in a Rick bass.

None that I know of; he does make great pickups, though. I am on my second Renaissance bass, the first was a 5 string fretless that, in the end, I found the neck too fat, so now I have a 4 string Renaissance fretless.

The last time I had visited with Rick, in his shop in Santa Cruz, a customer was trying out his Olson acoustic guitar that Rick put one of his pickups in. Sounded fabulous for an electrified acoustic guitar.

I second the Sergio option. From what I understand, his rates are super reasonable. He does it more for the love of it than for anything else. And if you tell him what you're looking for (higher output, adjustable poles, etc.) he can customize the original pickup to your (or your friend's) own unique taste.

Thanks very much for the feedback!

LenMinNJ wrote:A friend just asked me to set up his '82 4001JG. The bridge pickup is not working well.

Can anyone recommend a reasonably priced replacement or a rewinding service?

Before you go to all the work of removing the pickup and sending it off to be rewound - have you verified the problem really is the pickup, not something like the selector switch, the jack switch, a bad pot, a loose wire...? I'd expect any of those mechanical issues before an '82 hi-gain would just go bad.

songdog wrote: Before you go to all the work of removing the pickup and sending it off to be rewound - have you verified the problem really is the pickup, not something like the selector switch, the jack switch, a bad pot, a loose wire...? I'd expect any of those mechanical issues before an '82 hi-gain would just go bad.

This is an excellent point. Thanks Bill!

I just got done cleaning the switch on my '71 4001 a couple nights ago, 'cuz the bridge pickup didn't seem to be working. It works perfectly now.