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FENDER/RICKENBACKER MUSTANG BASS BUILD

M

MustangBrady

Guest
Oct 5, 2012
17
0
#1
Hi, I love the sound I get from my Rickenbacker basses.
I noticed, that Rickenbacker used to make short scaled basses and I was wondering, would it be possible to put a rickenbacker bass pickup into a fender mustang bass. would it be possible? or would it just sound terrible?
 
#4
Construction and materials have a lot to do with the way an instrument sounds. Rick basses (with the exception of the 2000-3000 series) have always been all maple neck through construction. A Fender Mustang isn't built even remotely like that. I've no doubt it would sound good, but don't expect a Fender to sound like a Rick.
 
#5
The 2000 and 3000 series had a bolt on neck and they totally have the Rickenbacker tone.

A maple fretboard is a good analog for bubinga and you can get Fender style bodies that are maple. The neck through part has very little to do with the overal tone of a Rick. Pickups, and electronics and woods have a lot more to do with tone.
 
#6
Yes, but He did say Fender Mustang, and I've never seen one made of solid maple. Even though Rick 3000 & 3001's had bolt on necks, the necks were still made the same as a 4001, the bodies were solid maple, and they still had that big die-cast zing tailpiece/bridge assembly. I believe those factors had more to do with the instruments sound than the pickups.
 
#7
Do it! All for mutt basses. That said, geometrically, not sure if the pups would fit the small body. Worth trying a mockup. I looked into getting a mustang to add a bridge pickup to and the location was pretty awkward with the big bridge plate. But if you started a thread like this, you could get creative enough to make it fit probably.
 
#10
Thanks for the replies.
I do have a cheap Squier mustang, it's made out of basswood, but I'm thinking of doing the job to it for a try out.
I was thinking of using a the sort of bridge pickup on the Rickenbacker 4003 series ?
I do like the bridge plate, but not sure if it will fit.
I was considering replacing the bridge with a rickenbacker bridge to give it that "ricky look". any thoughts?
 
#11
IMHO as well as the Ric pups, it's where you place them that will give you 'that' sound.

Doing a swift bit of calculation to adjust for 30" scale length, putting the bridge pup centre 4" from the bridge and neck pup centre 8" from the bridge will put the pups in the same relative positions as a 4001.

Skip the Ric bridge, it's the work of the devil, the very worst piece of design on the entire bass IMHO and will only have a minimal effect on tone
 
#13
I don't know about a Mustang but here is my RickenFender P Bass. Started life as a 60th Anniversary P in Fiesta Red. Has full Rick 4003 electronics including push/pull on the treble pot.

I get the grit and versatility of a Rick with the ergonomics of a P. This was built in Florida and bought here on Talk Bass.
 

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#17
The string spacing on a Fender is wider than a Rick. You should take measurements of the string spacing on your Mustang at the spot where the pickup will be to see if the poles line up. I still don't think the bass would sound like a Rick just because you use one of their pickups. There are just too many variables. Put a big meaty humbucking Music Man pickup in there and bring out the tonal characteristics of the Fender. The above Fenderbacker would look a lot better if a custom guard were made for it that fit the instrument and didn't leave uncovered holes. If you decide to mix pickups using RIC single coils and humbucking pickups, be sure to wire it with appropriate value electronics, and reverse the red and blue wires on the HB1.
 

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