• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Is the Rickenbacker pickup cover really that bad?

Hamlet7768

Hamlet7768

Here to chew gum and rock. Still have gum.
Jun 5, 2011
1,394
220
#1
I've heard maybe three people say they liked the pickup cover on the Ric. As someone who has severe GAS for a Ric (probably bad considering my new-ness), this worries me a bit.

Is it really so bad as to prevent playing fingerstyle? I wouldn't mind too much, but...okay, I would mind. :hmm:
 
#2
I really dislike all pickup covers.

I played this bass here for many years and I learned to hate the horseshoe pickup.

Rimg1297.jpg
 
#6
Hamlet7768 said:
I've heard maybe three people say they liked the pickup cover on the Ric. As someone who has severe GAS for a Ric (probably bad considering my new-ness), this worries me a bit.

Is it really so bad as to prevent playing fingerstyle? I wouldn't mind too much, but...okay, I would mind. :hmm:
Click to expand...

Do you get along well with pickup covers on other basses? If so, you may be able to adjust to the Ric PU cover. It's purely a personal preference. The cover is easily removed if you don't like it for whatever reason. But I've also known players who liked the looks so much, they actually adjusted their playing style in order to leave it on.
 
#11
I bought my Ric used, the previous oner had taken the cover off. I put it back on because I wanted it to look stock.

I play exclusively finger-style - never ever had a problem. I play mostly in front of the cover (i.e. nearer the neck)
 
#13
I play my Ric with a pick between the neck pickup and the neck using the guard as a rest. It takes a short while to tweak your technique but it sounds great and feels extremely comfortable to play it that way. I play my other bass (j bass) with fingers over the back pickup most of the time. The Ric is a different kettle of fish so to speak but an very tasty one ;)

I do wonder if a lot of the negative comments about Rics come from people trying to play them like a j bass. When you go with the flow they are one of the most comfortable basses out there.

However, if I had very tricky music to play (or jazz for that matter), I would not use my Ric.
 
#14
Yes, they are that bad IMO.

Most people take them off for a good reason, they are exactly in the way of the sweet spot.

And if you do take it off, you either have the gaping hole around the bridge pickup or get to spend money on a plastic surround that might or might not look a little better.

The fact is, that pickup cover is plastic and is merely a kitzy decoration trying to imitate the look of a vintage horseshoe pickup.

And while a real vintage horseshoe pickup may have a coolness factor, a plastic imitation that gets in the way and that requires quite a bit of disassembly to remove leaving a gaping hole, is not.

Oh yeah, I wanted a Ric bad when I was a youngster, loved all that chrome on the bridge cover and tailpiece, thought a Ric was "so much cooler than a common Fender" and all that.

Mowed lawns, saved my money, got a pretty Jetglo 4003 when I was 16.

Ironically those pretty chrome things were the two pieces of that bass that aggravated me the most. IMO, YMMV, blah blah etc etc. ;)
 
#15
Ric5 said:
I really dislike all pickup covers.

I played this bass here for many years and I learned to hate the horseshoe pickup.

Rimg1297.jpg
Click to expand...

Thats a horseshoe pickup and that has to be there, right? Not a higain like that are on most 4003's?

I took my cover off my 4003 but I "could have" played it fingerstyle with it on. It was a snap to take it off, if I could do it anyone can.
 
#16
jgroh said:
Thats a horseshoe pickup and that has to be there, right? Not a higain like that are on most 4003's?
Click to expand...

The original horseshoe has magnetized shoes. Those large pices of metal were prone to loosing their magnetism, hence had to be re-magnetized.

Today, Ric offers a Re-Issue HorseShoe. The RIHS has magnetized pole pieces instead. Some say the metal "shoes" affect the field, hence the sound somewhat, but the jury is still out on that. But those shoes can be removed. The pickup itself is quite different than the Hi-Gain and has different sonic qualities.
 
#18
Tube Ampology makes the Rick Trebel Bezel, a small plastic piece that fits inside the hole of the bridge pickup surround. They make versions with inny and outy thumbrests.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]


Pickguaridian.com also has plastic pickguards you can replace the whole chrome pickup surround with.

[Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I had these put on my five stringer:
10%20005.jpg
 
#19
Jeff Scott said:
No screws to put in the baggy, just the cover.
Click to expand...

Right, the screws that hold it in place are the same screws that hold the pickup in place.

I tried keeping the cover on (it just looks so cool!), but alas, I just couldn't bear it after weeks of trying. So I took it off and put in one of those black plastic bezels, which fills the hole around the pickup and also provides a thumb rest.

Obviously, I kept the cover, but I cannot foresee ever putting it back on. It is so much more comfortable for me to play now. Comfort outweighs looks by far, IMO.
 

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back