Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I saw a 4001v63 on line with a 4003 bridge pickup installed. Is it possible to reinstall a horseshoe if I find one or is the 4003 replacement an irreversible operation?

they can be interchanged easily with a screw driver and a soldering iron ... the hard part is finding a horseshoe to put in there ... Ric doesn't sell them as spare parts any more, used ones are hard to find, and I think Ric shut down the guy who was making 3rd party horseshoe replacements ...

a v63 horseshoe pickup and a 4003 high gain will sound very similar ...

Jeff, you have an email...

I like the high-gain tone, with the horseshoe look.

What to do?

+

+

=

I have both 4003 and V63, and maybe it`s just me, but the horseshoe is more powerful and punchy !!!
The hi-gain is powerful too, but seems it has less gutts, just a little.
The V63 combination with horseshoe and toaster is hands down totally

I agree, they're totally different sounds. That's why I want one with a horseshoe. However, Rickenbacker isn't releasing any horseshoes in the near future, so I passed on the v63 deal.

Hm... "RIC aren't releasing any horseshoes in the near future", but we are...
What do you say, Jared? Should we advise these gentlemen to take a chance on our product, i.e. your horseshoes, my coil/magnet assemblies?

as soon as it stops raining, I can fire up the TIG (or GTAW for the techno types) welder for the aluminium horsies.


but Jeff gets first dibs...

I have a V63 abd 4003 as well. The sound is different as has been stated before. That horseshoe pick up is POWERFUL. I live in an apartment, so I have to practice with studio headphones and the 4003 is cleaner sounding than the V63. Live though, both basses ROCK!!!!

Having recently got a v63 I find it more powerful in tone and in percussives than my 4003.

Both have the same strings, new Ernie Ball Slinkies, and both go into the same input on my B-25 on the mono output. I've experimineted using the same tone and volume settings on both.

The 4003 is a little more mellow, and rounder in it's tones, whereas the v63 sounds more aggressive there seems to be a little wider range of tones on the v63. The v63 delivers more of that deep piano like sound than the 4003.

At the higher end of the fretboard, the 4003 seems to be more in control and has a nicer overall response than the v63.

When I'm playing with a pick the heel of my hand rests on the tail pickup. With the v63 I can feel more resonance from the strings up throuugh the horeshoe than I do with the 4003.

Don't get me wrong the 4003 still sounds wonderfull, but at the moment I'd give the edge in tone and in the type of sound that I like to the v63.

Neck wise as much as I've loved my 4003 over the years, the neck on my v63 feels wonderfull and is a little easier to play than the 4003.

All I need to do is swap out the old style strap buttons for the newer Schaller locks and I'm good to go ...

Hope these observations help ...

What years were your basses made? Newer pickups are hotter than the older ones. My v63 is a '94 and it is LOUD compared with most of my other basses. There will always be tonal differences between otherwise identical instruments. The wood, the finish, laminations, and electrical variations can account for subtle and not so subtle differences.

In my case Ted, my 4003 is September 1997, and my v63 is October 1992. I'd agree with you, the v63 is louder than the 4003 ...

My Tuxedo is an '86 and my BlackStar is an '89. I can tell them apart by their sounds alone. Despite the fact that they are identical in materials and construction, they are suprisingly different in tone. The Tux is softer and more muted and round sounding where the BlackStar has a lot more bite and an undeniable balls-out growl. I could easily tell them apart blindfolded. It takes a lot less effort to make the BlackStar bare it's fangs.

Same here, would be very easy to tell them apart sonicallly.