1973 Rickenbacker input questions

[jakethesheepy]

My dad surprised me with a nice graduation gift from grad school and got me a 1973 rick and I know one output jack is normal and the other is for a rick o’something or other? Can anyone explain what that means, if it matters, and does it involve buying more gear?

current setup (if it matters): darkglass microtubes 900 through a carvin 4x12.

 

[jakethesheepy]

I found a website saying I have to buy some converter box and a second amp to use the second output jack???

 

[luciens]

The Rick-o-sound jack is a stereo jack, with each "channel" simply routed to the two pickups.
It does involve buying more gear, in addition to your current bass amp as follows:
- a 100W Marshall stack guitar amp and matching 4x12" cab.
- a stereo cord with a splitter.
- well, better upgrade your current amp and cab too, at least 700W on the head and a 2x15" cab.

So unfortunately, that's an extremely expensive jack they put on there.....

L

 

[Spidey2112]

 

[Spidey2112]

Nice gift, bro! Pretty sure if you can locate a stereo Y cord, plug the single end into the Ric'O'Sound Jack and each individual end into their own respective amps/channels you can keep one pickup clean and one wet, with effects.

Or, plug in normally and show everyone within hearing distance how awesome it is to play a '73.

Congrats on getting your degree, as well!

 

[luciens]

One other quick note on the bass: _Do Not Sell_. If anyone approaches you to try to buy it off you, ->Do Not Sell<-. it'll be a cheap-b@st@rd offer guaranteed.

Keep it forever as a family heirloom and pass it on to your kids.

70's rickenbacker 4001's are becoming collectors items now and are significantly increasing in value. Only time will tell on how much they will continue to appreciate, but it's guaranteed that they will...

L

 

[jakethesheepy]

One other quick note on the bass: _Do Not Sell_. If anyone approaches you to try to buy it off you, ->Do Not Sell<-. it'll be a cheap-b@st@rd offer guaranteed.

Keep it forever as a family heirloom and pass it on to your kids.

70's rickenbacker 4001's are becoming collectors items now and are significantly increasing in value. Only time will tell on how much they will continue to appreciate, but it's guaranteed that they will...

L

I’ll never sell gear like that. That’s my gigging bass I put strap locks on it and new tuning pegs because the original literally fell off when I was getting it set up

 

[jakethesheepy]

The Rick-o-sound jack is a stereo jack, with each "channel" simply routed to the two pickups.
It does involve buying more gear, in addition to your current bass amp as follows:
- a 100W Marshall stack guitar amp and matching 4x12" cab.
- a stereo cord with a splitter.
- well, better upgrade your current amp and cab too, at least 700W on the head and a 2x15" cab.

So unfortunately, that's an extremely expensive jack they put on there.....

L

What’s wrong with the darkglass head? It’s 900w and has the micro tubes for an overdrive effect. I’ve been super happy with it. Agree on the cab, not necessarily because it sounds bad but it’s huge and I have a bad back.

upside I already own one of those Marshall cabs. My friend was moving to Ny for school and basically just gave it to me.

If I were to use the splitter I figured I’d want to use two bass amps for though

 

[daveman50]

C'mon, where's the photo?
Congrats! On your degree, and having a great Dad.
I still have my 73 Rick that I bought in... 1973!
I've fooled around occasionally with Ric-O-Sound, but never gigged with it in all these years. For me, it's a gimmick and another cord to lose. But Chris Squire (Yes) used it in the olden days. I could see that if you're really into effects, it would be cool to figure out how to exploit it.

 

[luciens]

What’s wrong with the darkglass head? It’s 900w and has the micro tubes for an overdrive effect. I’ve been super happy with it. Agree on the cab, not necessarily because it sounds bad but it’s huge and I have a bad back.

upside I already own one of those Marshall cabs. My friend was moving to Ny for school and basically just gave it to me.

If I were to use the splitter I figured I’d want to use two bass amps for though

Oh sorry, I didn't see that. Yes, that amp you have is perfect for the neck pickup. But the Marshall stack is a hard requirement for the bridge pickup, anything else and it just won't sound right...

But seriously, that's all it is - a jack to run each PU entirely separately. When I was gigging, I tried the rick-o-sound with the bridge PU through a borrowed Marshall from my guitar player. His was a 50 watt, but I ran the bridge PU through that and the neck pickup through my Sunn and 2x15" cab with 2 JBL subwoofer drivers in it. I covered everyone up, even the drummer, which wasn't a bad thing at the time with that particular drummer.

But I've never heard anything that sounded like that, before or since.

The other jack is the regular mono jack with both pickups in the normal setup, so you'd use that with a normal mono cable and single amp.

Another neat effect is when recording, if you run the two pickups through two separate channels, with two DI's right into the board. If you route one pickup hard right, the other hard left, you get a very velvety almost chorus like sound, due to the slight waveform phase delays caused by the mechanical differences of the strings as they vibrate over the two pickups. I highly recommend trying it....

L

 

[luciens]

I’ll never sell gear like that. That’s my gigging bass I put strap locks on it and new tuning pegs because the original literally fell off when I was getting it set up

Speaking of setup, be very careful with the truss rods. The 4001 has a thin neck and the truss rods are fragile and easily broken. Rickenbacker still makes 4001 replacement rods, but they aren't guaranteed to work in basses made before 1990. Meaning, they may not fit or work right in your bass. So you may not be able to replace them if they break.

I had a 70's 4001 when I was in college and first started playing in bands and that was the flimsiest neck I've ever seen. It's good quality and will stay put, but adjusting the rods is a very careful procedure if you have to make any adjustments. Also, use low tension strings, like light guage roundwounds (.95's or less if you can find them) or something like TI flats. That'll reduce the strain on those little truss rods....

I think you'll love it. I love rickenbackers and though I don't play fretted basses anymore, I still hope to get another 4003 one day....

L

 

[msb]

The stereo jack is there so you can run two amps , or if you're happy with one just use the mono jack .
Your bass has the old style spring rods . Read up on adjusting them , you can damage the bass by tightening the rods without putting tension on the neck . They can lift the fretboard if you over tighten them without putting pressure on the neck . They are no longer sold by Rickenbacker but you still can get them . Ric sell the newer style rods but they will not work on an older style bass . The channels are cut differently . You can easily remove the truss rods on a Ric , unlike other basses . You will probably never have to do that ...

 

[Spupilup]

My father bought my ‘73 Ric for my birthday. I picked it up right before I played out for the first time back in 1973. Jetglo black, toasters and checkerboard. I kept that bass until I was in my early 20’s. If I had just stashed it in the closet or under the bed and forgot about it instead of liquidating everything even I came home from college to start my “career.”

Good luck, you have a great dad and a great bass!!!

 

[Tom Gallo]

But the Marshall stack is a hard requirement for the bridge pickup, anything else and it just won't sound right...

Maybe for you. But there's no requirement to use a Marshall to get good tone from the bridge pickup.

OP, as far as a cable is concerned, you can use an ordinary 1/4" stereo (tip/ring) to mono splitter cable. You don't need a rick-o-sound splitter. You will
need a second amp, if you want to go stereo, of course. The advice given about the truss rods is very important. Unlike modern truss rods, the old rods
on ricks are not used to adjust the neck. They're used to hold the adjustment in place. If you crank on those rods under tension, you'll risk popping the
fingerboard off near the nut.

 

[I-play-bass]

Maybe for you. But there's no requirement to use a Marshall to get good tone from the bridge pickup.

OP, as far as a cable is concerned, you can use an ordinary 1/4" stereo (tip/ring) to mono splitter cable. You don't need a rick-o-sound splitter. You will
need a second amp, if you want to go stereo, of course. The advice given about the truss rods is very important. Unlike modern truss rods, the old rods
on ricks are not used to adjust the neck. They're used to hold the adjustment in place. If you crank on those rods under tension, you'll risk popping the
fingerboard off near the nut.

The marshall thing was definitely a joke, and a nod to Lemmy.

Speaking as someone who has a Marshall Superbass 100 and matching cab, literally no bass sounds decent through that thing unless your "sound" is 100% ear splitting midrange volume

 

[Coolhandjjl]

No pics, no Rick...

 

[Londo Molari]

I haven't seen a photo of this alleged 4001, I'm not so sure this isn't and elaborate ruse just to get us to talk about Rickenbacker again.

 

[luciens]

Maybe for you. But there's no requirement to use a Marshall to get good tone from the bridge pickup.

I was of course joking. But it really is quite something to have the bridge PU dirty through a guitar amp and the neck PU clean through a big bassy cabinet....

I admit that was the only configuration I ever used a stereo setup in a live situation, though. That was a lot of gear to carry around and eventually the guitar player needed his amp back. So I just went back to one amp and didn't really use the stereo again to my recollection.

I love the rickenbacker and especially my 4003s, which I don't think had the capacitor in it, had a pretty beefy tone out of the bridge PU. I was able to get it to sound pretty good soloed on the bridge PU through all kinds of different borrowed amps, etc.

L

 

[GIBrat51]

Maybe for you. But there's no requirement to use a Marshall to get good tone from the bridge pickup.

OP, as far as a cable is concerned, you can use an ordinary 1/4" stereo (tip/ring) to mono splitter cable. You don't need a rick-o-sound splitter. You will
need a second amp, if you want to go stereo, of course. The advice given about the truss rods is very important. Unlike modern truss rods, the old rods
on ricks are not used to adjust the neck. They're used to hold the adjustment in place. If you crank on those rods under tension, you'll risk popping the
fingerboard off near the nut.

^This^, pretty much. The "Rick-o-Sound" box was an overpriced doo-dad that did the same thing that the strereo splitter cable does. The cable works fine. I know; I use one occasionally. I run the "Bass"(neck)pickup through one of my bass amps, and the "Treble" (Bridge) pickup through an old Rickenbacker TR-25 guitar amp. It's a PITA, to tell the truth, but it's an interesting sound... The advice about the truss rods is correct. The "hairpin" (because of their shape) truss rods in a 4001 are only meant to hold the neck how you want it. Flexing the neck by hand on a Rick is really pretty easy; holding it where you want it, and tightening the truss rods enough to keep it there isn't rocket science, either. Just takes a little practice. Download and print the generic factory Rick Owners Manual; it will tell you what you need to know... The really nice thing about those truss rods is that they are dead stable. I bought this '73 4001 in 2009; after the initial set up? Never had to touch them again... I bought a 4003 around the same time; it, too, is very stable, but... it's needed a truss rod tweek or two over the years. As for buying new truss rods for a 4001? Sorry; RIC quit offering them a lotta years ago; the ones for a 4003 are hardly ever available - and no, they won't work in a 4001. There's a company in the UK (RickySounds) that does sell hairpin truss rods, though. But, they aren't exactly cheap... In any case... congrats on your way cool graduation gift. And, yes; bass pictures are more or less mandatory around here. Here's my '73 4001 (October '73, to be exact); where's yours??

 

[Londo Molari]

Here's my '71. As GIBrat51 said, the ric o sound is a pain in the a$$. Taking a second rig around for a Taurus was always much more rewarding.