Restoring a Ric 4001 Bass, need some help...
Posted: Fri Sep 16, 2011 10:42 am
Hi all, I am helping a friend restore a lovely old 4001 bass and I need some help and maybe some parts.
1. Neck pickup is dead, I think the middle ground wire connection is broken. The magnet fell off and I tried to re-attach it but I think I need to attack a ground to the little center 'bump' under the magnet. Anyone know if this is correct?
2. The bridge pickup works, kind of. I am getting a really farty/distorted sound with very low output. Again, I had to fix some broken leads and not sure I have it wired right but I think I do...
3. Bridge pickup hardware is missing. I have the plate and springs but I am missing one height adjustment screw and the cover. The pickup mount itself has one hole stripped which is probably how the screw went missing. I think I can repair that but any pointers are welcome.
4. Stock bridge has been replaced with what looks like a copy of a Badass bridge. It has rollers and says "Made in Germany" on the bottom so I am thinking it's made by Schaller. I don't like it and I am leaning towards finding a Ric replacement bridge.
Some history,,, my buddy owns a pawn shop and this was something he "acquired" from someone who owed him some money. It had various mods when he got it like the replacement bridge and a set of Seymour Duncan Ric Bass pickups that he does not care for at all. That's how this whole thing got started...he asked me if I would re-install the original pickups and adjust the neck for him. I adjusted the truss rods and tried to re-install the pickups and ran into the issues I described. So priority 1 is to get it back up and running with some stock Ric or possibly some custom wound pickups. Priority 2 would be to restore the bass to stock. It's in player condition, relic condition really but we both think it would be cool to return it to stock.
So, I am thinking of just buying a whole new assembly for the bridge pickup and if I can't repair the pickups then replacing them with something (Ric, custom??) or maybe sending the original to ?? to have them rebuilt. I don't know if any of the usual guys do Ric bass pickups so if you know some names then please post here and let me know. I am also looking for a stock replacement bridge but again, this is a player so I am open to suggestions.
Thanks for any and all help you can give.
-Frank
1. Neck pickup is dead, I think the middle ground wire connection is broken. The magnet fell off and I tried to re-attach it but I think I need to attack a ground to the little center 'bump' under the magnet. Anyone know if this is correct?
2. The bridge pickup works, kind of. I am getting a really farty/distorted sound with very low output. Again, I had to fix some broken leads and not sure I have it wired right but I think I do...
3. Bridge pickup hardware is missing. I have the plate and springs but I am missing one height adjustment screw and the cover. The pickup mount itself has one hole stripped which is probably how the screw went missing. I think I can repair that but any pointers are welcome.
4. Stock bridge has been replaced with what looks like a copy of a Badass bridge. It has rollers and says "Made in Germany" on the bottom so I am thinking it's made by Schaller. I don't like it and I am leaning towards finding a Ric replacement bridge.
Some history,,, my buddy owns a pawn shop and this was something he "acquired" from someone who owed him some money. It had various mods when he got it like the replacement bridge and a set of Seymour Duncan Ric Bass pickups that he does not care for at all. That's how this whole thing got started...he asked me if I would re-install the original pickups and adjust the neck for him. I adjusted the truss rods and tried to re-install the pickups and ran into the issues I described. So priority 1 is to get it back up and running with some stock Ric or possibly some custom wound pickups. Priority 2 would be to restore the bass to stock. It's in player condition, relic condition really but we both think it would be cool to return it to stock.
So, I am thinking of just buying a whole new assembly for the bridge pickup and if I can't repair the pickups then replacing them with something (Ric, custom??) or maybe sending the original to ?? to have them rebuilt. I don't know if any of the usual guys do Ric bass pickups so if you know some names then please post here and let me know. I am also looking for a stock replacement bridge but again, this is a player so I am open to suggestions.
Thanks for any and all help you can give.
-Frank
and I guess Ben is around there somewhere still doing his thing, but seeing as how he hasn't returned the guitar I left him 3 years ago, I'm reluctant to recommend him. Andy Winter (a member here, "wints") is your best bet. Find him under the member search and shoot him a pm or email.
