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RWRP on a Rickenbacker 4003 - 411?

RWRP - What's the 411?

  • Do it! It significantly reduces hum; no affect on tone.

    Votes: 9 56.3%

  • Think twice; cuts hum, but hurts tone.

    Votes: 2 12.5%

  • Doesn't affect the hum; don't bother.

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Don't do it; hum = vintage

    Votes: 5 31.3%
  • Total voters
    16
billoetjen

billoetjen

May 3, 2005
1,291
21
Burlington, Vermont vt
#1
Hi,

I'm considering doing a RWRP mod on a new Ric bass. This axe is noisier than I'm used to. It's the usual 60 cycle hum. Not horrendous, but I find it annoying. Other than that, I consider this the Rolls Royce of basses. :smug:
I'd like to hear from folks who've done this mod to learn from their experience. Some people claim significant reduction in noise; others negligible. Some claim that it affects the signature Ric tone; others hear no change. Some even claim that the hum is part of the vintage tone - that one seems delusional to me. :hiding:
So, I got my little screwdrivers ready and my soldering iron warmed up, but I want to post this as a poll first. What do y'all think? :help:
Oh, and I tend to run the neck pup on full, the bridge rolled back a little, and tone controls rolled down about 80% with the "vintage" switch set to "modern."
Thanks in advance.



reverse winding reverse polarity
 
#5
The bridge pickup and neck pickup on a stock 4003 are single coils wired parallel, same polarity same phase.

By doing the RWRP mod the pickups are wired identical to a Jazz Bass as far as hum is concerned. Both on, full volume=significant hum reduction.

Tonight I will get my 4003 (2007) with this mod out and engage the cap to show you the difference in hum. With the cap in-line the pickups are not able to hum-cancel because of the effect on phase. This is also why the cap removes comb filtering.

I did this mod myself; it was easy. I will try to finish my procedural of it soon. BlueAngel on the RIC forum is probably the best authority on this however.
 
#6
cassius987 said:
The bridge pickup and neck pickup on a stock 4003 are single coils wired parallel, same polarity same phase.

By doing the RWRP mod the pickups are wired identical to a Jazz Bass as far as hum is concerned. Both on, full volume=significant hum reduction.

Tonight I will get my 4003 (2007) with this mod out and engage the cap to show you the difference in hum. With the cap in-line the pickups are not able to hum-cancel because of the effect on phase. This is also why the cap removes comb filtering.

I did this mod myself; it was easy. I will try to finish my procedural of it soon. BlueAngel on the RIC forum is probably the best authority on this however.
Click to expand...


Hey, thanks for the input. Very valuable. Effect on tone?
See if you can get others from Ric Heaven over here. It's a little Fender-heavy in my opinion.
Thanks again. Really much appreciated.
 
#7
billoetjen said:
I think they're both single coils. It's a 2010 4003. Help me here; I'm new to Rics.
Click to expand...

My apologies- I guess I was basing that on the Seymour Duncan replacement pickups (or Bartolini?). I know one of those uses a humbucker in the bridge position. Anyway- I should probably have left that up to a Ric owner to answer...

I never understand why some instrument manufacturers do that with guitars that have multiple single coil pickups (old G&Ls were the same). I couldn't think of a good reason not to mod it if it is as simple as it seems. Does it just involve switching the magnet polarity on one pickup and switching the hot/ground leads? If the pickups are wound to a similar resistance, you should be able to cancel most of the hum. It shouldn't sound much different, as the humbucking effect removes only signal that is shared by both pickups- which is mostly outside noise, though you will likely lose a little harmonic content. I would imagine less than in a Fender though, as the pickups seem to be spaced farther on a Ric, so there would be less shared harmonic content between the pickups.

Good luck!
 
#8
To make this mod work you need to flip the magnet and reverse the wires connections at the pots. OR ... put a jazz pickup in the bridge position. I like to use a Seymour Duncan neck pickup for this. I like the hot or 1/4 pounder. Then it will be like a jazz bass except the reverse wound pickup will be at the bridge. When both pickups are full on it will be a humbucker. And yes you do lose a little vintage tone when both pickups are full on. Simply roll the volume of one of the pickups off to 8 and you get all the vintage tone back.

I have a 4004 bass with a jazz pickup at the bridge and a 4 band audere preamp as well. It works fine.

Here's a bass with that pickup combo ...

b%20039.jpg
 
#12
Well, it's not perfect because I can't do any real direct comparison (I have no similar bass--the others all have non-stock pickups--and there is no way to go back to the stock Same Wind Same Polarity configuration without going in and changing the pickup back to the way it was). However I hope you recognize the bass tone as quite similar to "the Ric sound", although it does have a bit of a personal touch to it and isn't a recognizable "Ric song".

http://www.soundclick.com/bands/default.cfm?bandID=816857

Click "RicRWRP" when you get the link opened up.

billoetjen said:
Thanks, I owe a debt of gratitude to you and all the helpful folks here and on the Ric forum.
Click to expand...

No worries man--I just like to share information. That RIC forum honestly has given me so much good information over the last three years, not just related to Rics. So I am happy to "spread the wealth" if indeed I can.
 
#17
or you can simply, well not monetarily speaking, drop in a couple of HB1's and be done with it.
:hiding:
Personally I like the slightly darker tone and it still sounds like a Ric.
I tried the RWRP trick but was unhappy with the loss of output even though it is slight to some.
 
#18
Hmmm.... my 4001 appears to have both magnets glued on. So, not that easy to remove. Will have to do a bit of background research now.

4001_neck.jpg


4001_bridge.jpg


As for changing to humbuckers, I haven't heard them, but I know that I like the single coil sound (except the hum) and have reservations about anything darker. Other than Q-tuner, I've not been a big fan of humbuckers on bass.
 
#19
12bass said:
And reverse the polarity of the wires?
Click to expand...

You said polarity... that deals with the magnet. Reversing the wires is done also and reverses the winding, hence "RW".

I've got a 1982 4001. Which pickup is the best to alter? Is there an easy way to remove the magnet without damaging anything?
Click to expand...

The bridge pickup is a heck of a lot easier to mod. There is a weak adhesive holding the treble pickup together; the adhesive on the neck pickup is a lot stronger.

Also, HB-1s are great-sounding in a 4003. I have done that mod as well.
 

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