Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I've searched through the archives and found a little info on these, but I'm wondering if any of the newer/current forumers have any experience with them. (They're available here, by the way: http://www.bestbassgear.com/bartolini-ric-pickups.htm)

The Seymour Duncan Rick pickups seem to be almost universally reviled, but I have to admit I'm curious about these.

I had a set in my '79 4001 for awhile.

Now I've got a horseshoe and a high-gain neck pickup, and MUCH prefer them.

Genuine RIC parts from here on out for me...

The cool thing about bartolini pickups is they had one that would fit in the mute slot ...

other wise I have no idea what they sound like other than they would have no single coil hum ...

i just got a new bass (not a ric)P bass copy the other day and i `ll tell ya......ric pick ups are LOUD!

i just changed to duncan 1/4 pound pickups and it didnt do anything to the sound????????

The 1/4 pound p-bass pickup is hotter and more highs and more lows ... it will react to distortion and effects differently ... the standard p-bass pickup is more mid-range in its sound ... a little more woody ... the difference is not huge ...

My '92 4003 has Bartolini replacement pickups installed. It's former owner had the pickups changed and the BadAss bridge route done by Mike Lull. I've thought about putting the original pickups back in, but unfortunately I don't have the original pickup mounting screws. This bass does sound very impressive, very RIC like with extra sustain. I don't find that the Barts change the voice of the bass at all. There is no noise from these pickups, and Mike Lull also shielded the cavities. He did a nice job I learned a bit from it.

Yesterday I removed a bartolini neck pickup and a dimarzio jazz on the bridge position to install some '76 4001 pups on my '79. Unfortunately, the wiring is all messed up. I checked out the Rickenbacker website and found the wiring diagram to be unreadable. I've checked all of the forums and and found others to have the same similar complaint. Is there anybody out there who could send a photo or and illustration of the wiring schematics for a 4001 bass without the .0047 cap.
Since this might be a common request perhaps someone could post a better illustration or photo on this forum so others can gain access to it.

What is wrong with the schematics on the RIC website? Looks perfectly good to me.

The schematics look perfectly fine to me as well. Is that unreadable as in they look blurred or as in I don't understand them?

It's unreadable for novices who who seldom work with electronics. I've looked at other companies who offer diagrams for their products such as Seymour Duncan and have found them to be much more comprehendable. Too bad they don't offer Rick schemes. If You search the forums with the words (wiring, schematics and/or diagrams') you will find that I'm not the only one having a problem. Usually some generous person from the site ends up making a drawing for them to understand, emails it to them and their problem is solved. If they would have posted those drawings for other people, who in the future happen run into the same problem, a more efficient number of beneficiaries would have resulted from their time and effort.

Repectfully, our opinion is that one who can't read a proper standard schematic might not be the best person to be working on a circuit.

I think the short time it would take to learn how to read these would be paid back many times through the years on all kinds of electronic items, i.e. the furnace, washing machine, alarm system, etc. Having this knowledge will also open yourself up to the thousands of useful guitar and amp related schematics (real schematics, not diagrams) that are available on the 'Net.

Here's some starting points:

http://arts.ucsc.edu/EMS/Music/tech_background/schematics/ReadSchem.html

http://www.guitarnuts.com/wiring/schematics.php

Lemmy used to use replacement Bartolini's in his 4001's. He said he never really liked the (original) RIC pup's. One could only surmise he was satisfied with the pup's on the 4004LK.

BTW: I agree completly with Mr. Hall's diplomatic post. It's not that difficult to learn how to read a simple schematic such as the ones for RIC's instruments, and the knowledge will serve you well.

Lemmy plays all out assult on your ears loud music ... a 4001 is not the right bass for that ... you need hotter pickups ... a 4003 or 4004 would work better ...