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03-11-2011, 11:04 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Seattle | | | Phantom coil on a Rickenbacker?
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Is such a thing possible?
Has anyone ever done this?
I glanced at the internet and didn't find anything but am very curious if it's possible to retain the rick sound but remove that 60cycle hum. |
03-11-2011, 11:09 AM
|  | Supporting Member | | Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Close to Los Angeles, CA | | | You can add a dummy coil to any bass if you want, the idea is solid in theory.
The question is, how much is it going to affect the tone.
I experimented with a dummy coil on a Jazz bass a few months back, and the only difference I heard was a lower volume with the dummy coil due to the drop in output impedance. The tone remained about the same.
Are your pickups RWRP? |
03-11-2011, 12:47 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Seattle | | | I'm not sure. They are the stock pickups from an 88 4003. |
03-12-2011, 09:40 PM
|  | Real Basses Have 5 Strings! | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Colorado | | | You could put a dummy coil in the mute cavity |
03-13-2011, 06:57 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Saskatoon, Canada | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Substandard  I glanced at the internet and didn't find anything but am very curious if it's possible to retain the rick sound but remove that 60cycle hum. | Or you can reverse the magnet and polarity of one of the pickups (RWRP). There are a couple of threads on this which should be easily found with a search. IIRC, the 4003 bridge pickup is probably the easiest to change.
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03-13-2011, 06:59 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Saskatoon, Canada | | |
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03-13-2011, 05:43 PM
| | Real Basses Have 5 Strings! | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Colorado | | You can put a jazz pickup in the mute cavity. If you use a reverse wound reverse polarity pickup it will cancel hum.  |
03-13-2011, 06:03 PM
| | Supporting Member | | Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Close to Los Angeles, CA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Ric5 You can put a jazz pickup in the mute cavity. If you use a reverse wound reverse polarity pickup it will cancel hum. | Ugh. That looks pretty bad.
Is there a way to hide it?
If the pickups (The audible ones) are RWRP from each other, the dummy will only humcancel with one of them.
If the pickups are not RWRP from each other, the dummy coil will humcancel with both pickups, but only when either pickup is soloed.
I suppose you could set up a rotary switch to give you one pickup and the dummy coil, the other pickup and the dummy coil out of phase, or both pickups.
Last edited by line6man : 03-13-2011 at 06:07 PM.
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03-14-2011, 09:39 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: League City, Tx | | Quote:
Originally Posted by line6man Ugh. That looks pretty bad.
Is there a way to hide it?
| I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder, I think that mod looks great.  Id gues you could construct a small black cover similer to the bridge pup cover that comes on the ric if you don't like the look of the poll pieces.
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03-14-2011, 09:47 AM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: St. Louis | | | Just keep one of your hands on the strings at all times. lol
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03-14-2011, 09:56 AM
|  | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2005 Location: Burlington, Vermont vt | | Phantom coil on a Rickenbacker?
Why?
To cancel hum?
I got a new 4003 (my first Ric) a few months ago and couldn't stand the hum. Did the RWRP mod, and looooove it.
Nice and quiet, and I don't notice any change in tone. Still sounds like a Ric to me.
The mod took plenty of patience, but was totally worth it. BTW, I think the jazz pup in the mute cavity looks awful.  Why would you do that to a Ric, when you can preserve the sleek look of the Ric with a RWRP mod?
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03-14-2011, 11:30 AM
| | Supporting Member | | Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Close to Los Angeles, CA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by billoetjen Why would you do that to a Ric, when you can preserve the sleek look of the Ric with a RWRP mod? | Making the pickups RWRP from each other only allows humcancellation when the pickups are played together at an equal volume. Adding one dummy coil allows either pickup to humcancel when soloed.
However, you will still hum when both pickups are played together, unless you add a second dummy coil, or get into active buffering. |
03-14-2011, 12:04 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: May 2005 Location: Burlington, Vermont vt | | Quote:
Originally Posted by line6man Making the pickups RWRP from each other only allows humcancellation when the pickups are played together at an equal volume. Adding one dummy coil allows either pickup to humcancel when soloed. |
Right, forgot that.
Thank you.
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"Your primary role is to serve the song and be beautifully anonymous in it. Bass is the power of anonymity.” -Michael Rhodes, First Call Nashville Session Bassist
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03-14-2011, 05:26 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: Saskatoon, Canada | | | Something else to consider is that adding a phantom coil will alter the tone somewhat due to loading. RWRP will not, other than canceling hum when both pickups are used.
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It is far better to grasp the universe as it really is than to persist in delusion, however satisfying and reassuring. - Carl Sagan
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03-14-2011, 05:47 PM
| | Supporting Member | | Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Close to Los Angeles, CA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by 12bass Something else to consider is that adding a phantom coil will alter the tone somewhat due to loading. RWRP will not, other than canceling hum when both pickups are used. | IME, it's mainly just a volume drop, due to the lowered output impedance. |
03-14-2011, 06:07 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Seattle | | | So I tried the rwrp mod this morning and it absolutely made a huge difference on the buzz but the tone is still there for sure.
That was easy to do, small level of soldering and a nerve wracking 20 seconds prying the magnet off.
As far as the dummy coil, can anyone suggest a way to do that that doesn't require routing or sacrificing my bridge? |
03-14-2011, 06:12 PM
| | Supporting Member | | Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Close to Los Angeles, CA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Substandard As far as the dummy coil, can anyone suggest a way to do that that doesn't require routing or sacrificing my bridge? | It has to go somewhere.
You're going to have to do some routing unless you want to tape it to the bass or something. |
03-14-2011, 07:06 PM
| | Real Basses Have 5 Strings! | | Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Colorado | | Quote:
Originally Posted by line6man Ugh. That looks pretty bad.
Is there a way to hide it?
If the pickups (The audible ones) are RWRP from each other, the dummy will only humcancel with one of them.
If the pickups are not RWRP from each other, the dummy coil will humcancel with both pickups, but only when either pickup is soloed.
I suppose you could set up a rotary switch to give you one pickup and the dummy coil, the other pickup and the dummy coil out of phase, or both pickups. | Why hide it?
One reverse wound pickup can cancel 2 normal pickups. |
03-14-2011, 09:55 PM
| | Supporting Member | | Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: Close to Los Angeles, CA | | Quote:
Originally Posted by Ric5 Why hide it?
One reverse wound pickup can cancel 2 normal pickups. | Because it looks horrible.
In this case, especially, because it's a four string pickup on a five string bass.
I don't like the idea of being able to see pole pieces on a dummy coil, because they serve no purpose.
Ideally, I would prefer dummy coils to be completely hidden under a pickguard or something, but if the coil has to be seen, at least make sure it doesn't have visible pole pieces. 
That's just me though.
One pickup cannot humcancel with two others unless you buffer it.
There will (ideally) be complete destructive interference between the dummy and one audible pickup, but then the second audible pickup will introduce the hum again.
You have to have an even number of coils in a passive setup to humcancel, so with one dummy coil, you can only humcancel with either audible pickup soloed. |
03-14-2011, 10:18 PM
| | Registered User | | Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Seattle | | | What would happen if I took a strat pickup and wired that in sans magnets and just tucked it in the control cavity?
I'm new to dummy coils so I don't know if that would even work. | | Thread Tools | Search this Thread | | | | 
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