Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have a trans green 4004Cii. I didn't care for it because the neck was thicker than my 4001 and 4003 basses. I was going to sell it, but made the 'mistake' of letting the guys in one of my bands see it, and they insisted that I make it my regular bass when playing with them.

Okay, no big deal. It looks really good, and sounds okay, particularly when I play gently. I don't like it as much when a lay into it. But here's what I'm wondering. With both pickups, it sounds good. When I use the neck pickup only, it sounds good. But when I try to use the bridge pickup only, it has no low end. Even worse than an old 4001 with the blocking cap in place. no lows at all. Is this a characteristic of the 4004Cii bridge pickup? Or is there something wrong with my bass? I looked for a series blocking cap in the control cavity, but saw nothing. What could be causing this?

There must be something wrong... mine has plenty of low end and I usually play with the bridge PU soloed.

I had a 4004CII and a 4004L. I had both of mine wired volume / volume / tone, and got rid of the switch. This gives you a bit more tonal range.

I put concentrics in my Laredo, but there's not a big difference in the bridge PU. It's brighter than the neck, but still has a deep low end.

I'm assuming you've checked the pickup height. If you bought the bass used, it's possible the coils on that pickup are wired in parallel or for single coil .

Isaac wrote:Okay, no big deal. It looks really good, and sounds okay, particularly when I play gently. I don't like it as much when a lay into it.

Then it ether not set up well and/or you just ain't doing it right. it's a different aggressive technique than I use for a 4001/3, but when I lay into my 4004's, about a 1/2 before the bridge pickup, the roar is second to none, especially if the bridge pickup is soloed.

rickenbrother wrote:

Isaac wrote:Okay, no big deal. It looks really good, and sounds okay, particularly when I play gently. I don't like it as much when a lay into it.

Then it ether not set up well and/or you just ain't doing it right. it's a different aggressive technique than I use for a 4001/3, but when I lay into my 4004's, about a 1/2 before the bridge pickup, the roar is second to none, especially if the bridge pickup is soloed.

The fact my Laredo can take such a beating has altered my style to the point where I can't really play the 4001 that effectively anymore...I suppose I really need to lower the PUP's on the 4001.

Well, there was something wrong, all right. I opened it up this afternoon. First thing I found was that the resistance on the neck pickup was about 14K. Bridge pickup was open. Turned out that the red/black coil was open, but the blue/clear was fine, measuring about 7K. So I wired the bridge pickup single coil. Sounds pretty good.

I'll play it like this for a while, but I wonder if it might sound better with the single coil in the neck position. Of course, I also wonder what it would sound like with both humbuckers working properly, but I suppose I'd have to buy a new one for that.

No gigs for the next two weekends, but I have one on 5 June. We'll find out for sure then.

Isaac wrote: I wired the bridge pickup single coil. I wonder if it might sound better with the single coil in the neck position..

Yes.

On my rewired 4004's,the default position is neck pickup tapped to SC,with the bridge pickup in hb mode. It's a great sounding combination,that curbs some of the bassiness tendencies. Maybe you could switch your pickups around?

The hb1's sound great as SC pickups.

I suspect I'll switch them around in time. For now, though, I'm going to enjoy having a functional bridge pickup for a while first!

Tried it out at rehearsal this evening.

Short answer?

Hellz Yes!

Sounded great. Amazing definition in the tone that just wasn't there before. Maybe too much. I'll play it for a week or two, maybe three, then switch out the pickups, putting the single coil in the neck position and vice versa, and see how that goes.

I had a TG 4004 Cii for a while. Fun! Maybe you have my old one. I eventually sold it, never getting tones I loved out of it. Does yours have a little snake in the wood figuring on the back?

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=410836&start=0

Looks as though I don't have your old one. The figuring is different.

I guess this would be another opportunity to tout the miraculous healing powers of upgrading the 4004 wiring components.
(Basically 500k pots and replacing the standard cap). Brings out the clarity and the clankity really well. I've got 4 basses now that have had that done,and while i wouldn't say they sound exactly like a classic 4001 or RM,they are a lot closer than they were when factory spec.

Hey Woody.....please tell the class WHO rewired your Ricks...