Chinese rickenbacker legacy project

[MrGreen666]

Hey TB People!

Hope You are all right!

I'm not. My Friend passed away couple of days ago and I have His bass - chinese Rickenbacker copy (made by Career) from 2011 (?).

Exactly this model:
https://reverb.com/en-nl/item/90776515-career-cb-rik-400-electric-bass-korea-black

I plan to mod it a lot. I plan to make it the best bass in the universe... How my Friend wanted to do.

Are there any Chickenbacker fans here? Any moders?

I plan to:

1. Refret and put the new frets - question - which ones? Nickel?
2. Put the shielding and new electronics - which wiring is OK? Any ready sets?
3. Seymour Duncan Rickenbacker set pickups
4. Allparts Rick bridge / Babicz - which one will work with China Rick?
5. Brass or graphite nut - which one works better with Ric copy?
6. Premium input jack.
7. Heavy tuners (which ones?)

Then setup, heavy steel strings - it should do the justice?

Picture from Career site to make a post nicer.

 

[MrGreen666]

Thanks in advance for the answers! Merry X-Mass!

 

[eddybuzzard]

I'm sorry for your loss Mr Green.

You could do a lot of mods, and spend as much money on it as you like,
but it will always be the instrument that was owned by your late friend.
Personally, and I have been in this situation myself, I feel the best way to honor loved ones, is to keep it as is,
AKA the way your friend knew it.
Peace to you

 

[Bass Jones]

Man, sorry about your friend. Twice in the last few years it happened that a few of us old friends were planning to get together and catch up after years of not seeing each other, and both times one of us passed before we had a chance. We should have tried harder.

I don't know anything about Ricks, just wanted to say I know it sucks and offer condolences.

 

[Bassistcool]

Very sorry about your friend.
I would leave the bass as it is, just the way your friend played it. Keep it in this condition in memory to your friend.
All the best.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Sorry to hear about your friend.

The hardware and electronics on these Chinese basses are generally.... not great. From the few I've seen, the tuners are OK, but that bridge is kind of a hot mess. The Allparts Ric bridge would probably work, but it requires an extra recess routed into the body for the mute asembly, so you'd have to route for that. The Babicz bridge is really just a saddle assembly made to replace the removable Ric saddle piece, and it only fits the original bridge or the Allparts clone.. The original Ric bridge design is a PITA to adjust, but unless you are constantly changing string guages, it's pretty much set and forget. The new Ric two-piece bridge design is much better, but it's $190 aftermarket!

IIRC correctly, these basses are wired like a Les Paul. You can buy OEM Ric wiring harnesses from a couple places, Ric Boutique, RickySounds UK, and sometimes on Ebay. A TB guy @Aceonbass sells hand-wired ones using better components than the stock Ric ones.

You can buy OEM Ric Hi-Gain pickups from the same sources listed. There are a few other options from Joe Barden, Classic Amplification and others. I don't think the Seymour Duncan sound much like Ric pickups, but they are quiet. A full copper foil or conductive paint shielding job will make the bass MUCH quiter but you'll never get all the hum out with single-coils.

One source you might check out is Retrovibe, they sell a pretty convincing bridge pickup and chrome surround that looks a lot closer to accurate than that flimsy piece of tin the Chinese used. They sell them as a unit with the pickups, but you may be able to buy just the surround.

Retrovibe Replacement Rickenbacker® Style Treble Pickup and Chrome Surround – Retrovibe

I've seen some Chickenbackers with literally green frets, some kind of cheap alloy with a high brass content. What's up with your frets? Can they just be hammered in better with a full level and dress? Uness they are really bad and un-salvageable, I'd leave them in. It's not easy to remove frets without at least some chip-out on the fretboard, and unless you have some experience doing this, take it to a Pro Luthier. Typical replacement would be "nickel silver" (which contain no silver). Fretwire is cheap, the skills to use it correctly isn't.

The Ric nuts are unusually thick and tall., so it;s hard to find nut blanks big enough. There's a company called Axemasters on Ebay that sells pre-cut Ric nuts in brass or the original bakelite material. They still need some hand dressing, but that will get you about 90% of the way there. Brass nuts have a bit more sustain, but that's moot unless you are playing an open string. The original bakelite material is actually pretty nice, it has a kind of waxy self-lubricatiing texture and can be buffed up to a nice satin sheen. Brass nuts are bit more work to polish. Check the dimensions though, Chickenbackers may have a more standard nut size, don't rememeber. If so, maybe a black Tusq nut would work.

Good luck with it.

 

[ctmullins]

Sincere condolences on your loss. Seriously. I have family going through that right now. It just flat sucks.

1. Stainless.
2. Definitely shield it. Wire the controls however you like.
3. Cool. Works for Becky Baldwin!
4. Babicz. Or Hipshot. Just make sure the Chickenbacker has enough room to place the bridge so that the saddles are at the correct location for the scale length.
5. Whichever. Or bone. Or aluminum. Just not plastic.
6. Pedantically, it's an "output jack". Get a Switchcraft.
7. DO NOT get heavy tuners. Get lightweight tuners. Gotoh GB350 Res-O-Lite are my first choice. Hipshot Ultralite are my second choice.

 

[TeeSee]

Hey TB People!

Hope You are all right!

I'm not. My Friend passed away couple of days ago and I have His bass - chinese Rickenbacker copy (made by Career) from 2011 (?).

Exactly this model:
https://reverb.com/en-nl/item/90776515-career-cb-rik-400-electric-bass-korea-black

I plan to mod it a lot. I plan to make it the best bass in the universe... How my Friend wanted to do.

Are there any Chickenbacker fans here? Any moders?

I plan to:

1. Refret and put the new frets - question - which ones? Nickel?
2. Put the shielding and new electronics - which wiring is OK? Any ready sets?
3. Seymour Duncan Rickenbacker set pickups
4. Allparts Rick bridge / Babicz - which one will work with China Rick?
5. Brass or graphite nut - which one works better with Ric copy?
6. Premium input jack.
7. Heavy tuners (which ones?)

Then setup, heavy steel strings - it should do the justice?

Picture from Career site to make a post nicer.

View attachment 7393726

Sorry for your loss mate it's really hard to understand it sometimes, one minute they're there the next minute gone and I understand, sometimes life can be a real crock.
I actually upgraded a cheap AliEx RSO not too long ago.
Firstly, as others have pointed out most of the chinese clones are always wired like Gibsons - that is you still have VV/TT but with pickup selector switch in middle position for both pickups dialling down the volume on one pickup will dial down the entire signal. If you are happy with this that's fine, but I rewired it like a Rick so that both volumes worked independently when both pickups selected.
TBF the tuners on the one I bought from AliEx worked surprisingly well but if they play up in future I'd generally go Schaller as I've always used them and they're great quality but obviously Gotoh and Hipshot will do just as well, just depends upon your preference. Even Wilkinson do great tuners at far less than you'd pay for the other 3 makers. It's your call and what you want to pay, just don't go for cheap die cast.
Nut, again there is no hard and fast material that is a must it's down to your preference, I particularly like Tusq XL but bone, brass, anything other than plastic will serve you well.
Bridge, I just went for the Hipshot Drop in Rick Replacement but these come in at a fairly hefty price, it depends how much you're willing to pay other that that, I have no knowledge of the Allparts and the Babicz though I hear the Babicz are well respected but very pricey too. Some folk like the allparts for their clones but others say they suck, as I say I leapfrogged any worry about bridges by buying the Hipshot.
Stick with the Switchcraft output jack, you don't have stereo I suspect? so the standard 2 lug jack work's just fine in my clone. I also bought the Switchcaft switch at the same time added 500k CTS pots and Sprague Orange Drops (although the OJ were just a bit of box ticking for me and I'd defy anyone who can tell the diffrence with a cheap 3 cent cap and an expensive cap withough quality electronic measuring equipment).
If you want to go the whole hog you can replace the pickups with Rick pickups or what I did was but a pair of Retrovibe rick replacement 12ks which I really love.
World is your oyster mate.

 

[Relsom]

Sorry for your loss. Comes with the territory as we get older, but doesn't make it any less sad.
Personally, I'd try to salvage the fretwork if possible. I'm no good at it other than dressing up sharp ends, but in all of my 30some basses, the neck playability is always #1, so that has to be right before going any further.
Next, you can go as cheap or as expensive as you want with pickups and related electronics.
One thing for sure, since you may not have to deal with filling the route left behind from an actual RIC tailpiece, why not install a Badass bridge.... All the cool kids were doing it in the '70s.
I have no experience with the nut width or tuners on these, but I think others have covered it pretty well.
Have fun!

 

[HardNHeavy]

Hey TB People!

Hope You are all right!

I'm not. My Friend passed away couple of days ago and I have His bass - chinese Rickenbacker copy (made by Career) from 2011 (?).

Exactly this model:
https://reverb.com/en-nl/item/90776515-career-cb-rik-400-electric-bass-korea-black

I plan to mod it a lot. I plan to make it the best bass in the universe... How my Friend wanted to do.

Are there any Chickenbacker fans here? Any moders?

I plan to:

1. Refret and put the new frets - question - which ones? Nickel?
2. Put the shielding and new electronics - which wiring is OK? Any ready sets?
3. Seymour Duncan Rickenbacker set pickups
4. Allparts Rick bridge / Babicz - which one will work with China Rick?
5. Brass or graphite nut - which one works better with Ric copy?
6. Premium input jack.
7. Heavy tuners (which ones?)

Then setup, heavy steel strings - it should do the justice?

Picture from Career site to make a post nicer.

View attachment 7393726

condolences for you and your friend..this sounds like a fun project, i love Rics but dont own any and with those parts it will be more than nice when its done with quality hardware and an honor to your buddy...goodluck, post pics of ya progress..

 

[Gilmourisgod]

The Hipshot is a nice option, but $$$. One big advantage is that it has a flat bottom, so no routing required. The Chickenbackers are 34" scale vs. 33.25" standard for genuine Ric, so any of these bridge options may or may not cover the existing screw holes. Most of the available options have downloadable PDF "footprint" drawings you can check against your bass to see which one will work best, adjusted so that the G string saddle, set a couple screw turns back from it's maximum extension towards the nut, falls at the 34" scale point (17" from center of 12th fret). Come to think of it, check that measurement. AFAIK, all Chickenbackers are 34" scale, but it's still the Wild West of manufacturing over there, so...... Trust But Verify.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Here's a dimensioned drawing I did a while back for a standard Ric/Allparts original design bridge. It should print to scale, otherwise you'll have to scale it up or down to dimensions given in decimal inches.


The Hipshot PDF bridge drawing is here:
chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/1574/0577/files/5RK400.PDF?3940270826534800268

 

[MrGreen666]

I'm sorry for your loss Mr Green.

You could do a lot of mods, and spend as much money on it as you like,
but it will always be the instrument that was owned by your late friend.
Personally, and I have been in this situation myself, I feel the best way to honor loved ones, is to keep it as is,
AKA the way your friend knew it.
Peace to you

Hey. Thanks for the comment!

My Friend planned to mod it a lot.

My plan is to mod it a lot and give it to his son on the 15th birthday. As super-uber-Chickenbacker.

 

[MrGreen666]

Very sorry about your friend.
I would leave the bass as it is, just the way your friend played it. Keep it in this condition in memory to your friend.
All the best.

Last discussion I had with Him was that he wanted to mod this bass a lot with Seymour Duncans and AllParts bridge... That's why this topic. I plan to mod it a lot and give it to his son on his 15th birthday.

 

[MrGreen666]

The Hipshot is a nice option, but $$$. One big advantage is that it has a flat bottom, so no routing required. The Chickenbackers are 34" scale vs. 33.25" standard for genuine Ric, so any of these bridge options may or may not cover the existing screw holes. Most of the available options have downloadable PDF "footprint" drawings you can check against your bass to see which one will work best, adjusted so that the G string saddle, set a couple screw turns back from it's maximum extension towards the nut, falls at the 34" scale point (17" from center of 12th fret). Come to think of it, check that measurement. AFAIK, all Chickenbackers are 34" scale, but it's still the Wild West of manufacturing over there, so...... Trust But Verify.

Amazing. Thanks for this comment! All the comments. That's why I think in 2026 forums are still the thing. Thank You for all the info - I wish You all the best - sending a good karma!

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Sorry,
That Hipshot link is NFG:

 

[MrGreen666]

Sincere condolences on your loss. Seriously. I have family going through that right now. It just flat sucks.

1. Stainless.
2. Definitely shield it. Wire the controls however you like.
3. Cool. Works for Becky Baldwin!
4. Babicz. Or Hipshot. Just make sure the Chickenbacker has enough room to place the bridge so that the saddles are at the correct location for the scale length.
5. Whichever. Or bone. Or aluminum. Just not plastic.
6. Pedantically, it's an "output jack". Get a Switchcraft.
7. DO NOT get heavy tuners. Get lightweight tuners. Gotoh GB350 Res-O-Lite are my first choice. Hipshot Ultralite are my second choice.

Amazing comment. Thank You!

I am taking all that info into consideration! 10/10.

 

[MrGreen666]

condolences for you and your friend..this sounds like a fun project, i love Rics but dont own any and with those parts it will be more than nice when its done with quality hardware and an honor to your buddy...goodluck, post pics of ya progress..

Thank You for this comment. Sending good karma! All the best!

I will make pics like with all my previous projects .

 

[MrGreen666]

Sorry for your loss. Comes with the territory as we get older, but doesn't make it any less sad.
Personally, I'd try to salvage the fretwork if possible. I'm no good at it other than dressing up sharp ends, but in all of my 30some basses, the neck playability is always #1, so that has to be right before going any further.
Next, you can go as cheap or as expensive as you want with pickups and related electronics.
One thing for sure, since you may not have to deal with filling the route left behind from an actual RIC tailpiece, why not install a Badass bridge.... All the cool kids were doing it in the '70s.
I have no experience with the nut width or tuners on these, but I think others have covered it pretty well.
Have fun!

Thank You for this comment. I wisj You all the best! Merry X-Mass and good karma to You!

 

[MrGreen666]

Sorry for your loss mate it's really hard to understand it sometimes, one minute they're there the next minute gone and I understand, sometimes life can be a real crock.
I actually upgraded a cheap AliEx RSO not too long ago.
Firstly, as others have pointed out most of the chinese clones are always wired like Gibsons - that is you still have VV/TT but with pickup selector switch in middle position for both pickups dialling down the volume on one pickup will dial down the entire signal. If you are happy with this that's fine, but I rewired it like a Rick so that both volumes worked independently when both pickups selected.
TBF the tuners on the one I bought from AliEx worked surprisingly well but if they play up in future I'd generally go Schaller as I've always used them and they're great quality but obviously Gotoh and Hipshot will do just as well, just depends upon your preference. Even Wilkinson do great tuners at far less than you'd pay for the other 3 makers. It's your call and what you want to pay, just don't go for cheap die cast.
Nut, again there is no hard and fast material that is a must it's down to your preference, I particularly like Tusq XL but bone, brass, anything other than plastic will serve you well.
Bridge, I just went for the Hipshot Drop in Rick Replacement but these come in at a fairly hefty price, it depends how much you're willing to pay other that that, I have no knowledge of the Allparts and the Babicz though I hear the Babicz are well respected but very pricey too. Some folk like the allparts for their clones but others say they suck, as I say I leapfrogged any worry about bridges by buying the Hipshot.
Stick with the Switchcraft output jack, you don't have stereo I suspect? so the standard 2 lug jack work's just fine in my clone. I also bought the Switchcaft switch at the same time added 500k CTS pots and Sprague Orange Drops (although the OJ were just a bit of box ticking for me and I'd defy anyone who can tell the diffrence with a cheap 3 cent cap and an expensive cap withough quality electronic measuring equipment).
If you want to go the whole hog you can replace the pickups with Rick pickups or what I did was but a pair of Retrovibe rick replacement 12ks which I really love.
World is your oyster mate.

Thank You for the great response! I am taking it into consideration. I wish You all the bestr and sending a good karma!

I am planning to make the output MONO - single - no Rick-O-Sound.