That sounds pretty cunning! I want to keep the bass stereo, so I would have to be looking for a dual-gang pot for treble/bass cut like you set up in your bass. I wondered about doubling up a tone control. I'm not sure if there is enough depth in the control cavity to accomodate a full-sized dual gang pot.
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Fun with a Rickenbacker - troubleshooting and modding.
- Thread starter Axstar
- Start date
That sounds pretty cunning! I want to keep the bass stereo, so I would have to be looking for a dual-gang pot for treble/bass cut like you set up in your bass. I wondered about doubling up a tone control. I'm not sure if there is enough depth in the control cavity to accomodate a full-sized dual gang pot.
Fun with pickguards!
I'm using a sheet of 3mm-thick acrylic plastic to fashion a new pickguard. It has a protective film on the front, so I've traced everything out on the back. I've tried to combine most of the original pickguard outline with a few tweaks.
The stock 4003 pickguard was overweight! I have a PDF template of a '70s pickguard, and the new pickguard is fatter all round. It isn't just thicker but more bulbous! The black inner lines on my tracing are revisions to the outline. I already removed the 'double hump' from my stock pickguard. Without getting too deep down the rabbit hole, I looked at old Rickenbackers and tried to work out where the pickguard started flaring out on the treble side. On old basses the pickguard describes a clear right angle on the treble side of the neck pickup.
I used a coping saw, a rasp and a couple of files to grind out a basic outline. I then used 80, 180 and 240 sandpaper, mostly on a rubber block, to do the rest.
I've added a very subtle round-over, just to smooth out the edge. The plastic is matte white. I might polish it out slightly, but I didn't want a cheap shiny plastic look to contrast the satin sheen of the body, and I didn't want a sharp right angle on the edge either.
The knob placement is also wacky on Rickenbackers. On my stock 4003 pickguard the pots and switch are all closer towards the bridge-end of the body versus the '70s template. The knobs on old '60s and '70s 4001 basses seem to be in a consistent diamond formation (though this seems to falter in the early '70s). In the '80s the knobs had shifted to describe a 'V' with the neck tone and volume controls clustered quite tightly together. Again, on a modern 4003, the neck tone control seems to be knocked out of alignment with the other knobs, and is closer to the bridge pickup surround for some reason. Once you see it it looks goofy. I don't know if this is down to scruffy CNC programming, worn out templates or some other factor. Between the weird knob layout and double hump, these pickguards are some of the ugliest that Rickenbacker unleashed.
As I'm working from the rear of the pickguard I studied a photo of Paul McCartney's Rickenbacker, and tried to busk the control locations from that.
Not too bad! I just need to carve out the neck pickup route.
I'm using a sheet of 3mm-thick acrylic plastic to fashion a new pickguard. It has a protective film on the front, so I've traced everything out on the back. I've tried to combine most of the original pickguard outline with a few tweaks.
The stock 4003 pickguard was overweight! I have a PDF template of a '70s pickguard, and the new pickguard is fatter all round. It isn't just thicker but more bulbous! The black inner lines on my tracing are revisions to the outline. I already removed the 'double hump' from my stock pickguard. Without getting too deep down the rabbit hole, I looked at old Rickenbackers and tried to work out where the pickguard started flaring out on the treble side. On old basses the pickguard describes a clear right angle on the treble side of the neck pickup.
I used a coping saw, a rasp and a couple of files to grind out a basic outline. I then used 80, 180 and 240 sandpaper, mostly on a rubber block, to do the rest.
I've added a very subtle round-over, just to smooth out the edge. The plastic is matte white. I might polish it out slightly, but I didn't want a cheap shiny plastic look to contrast the satin sheen of the body, and I didn't want a sharp right angle on the edge either.
The knob placement is also wacky on Rickenbackers. On my stock 4003 pickguard the pots and switch are all closer towards the bridge-end of the body versus the '70s template. The knobs on old '60s and '70s 4001 basses seem to be in a consistent diamond formation (though this seems to falter in the early '70s). In the '80s the knobs had shifted to describe a 'V' with the neck tone and volume controls clustered quite tightly together. Again, on a modern 4003, the neck tone control seems to be knocked out of alignment with the other knobs, and is closer to the bridge pickup surround for some reason. Once you see it it looks goofy. I don't know if this is down to scruffy CNC programming, worn out templates or some other factor. Between the weird knob layout and double hump, these pickguards are some of the ugliest that Rickenbacker unleashed.
As I'm working from the rear of the pickguard I studied a photo of Paul McCartney's Rickenbacker, and tried to busk the control locations from that.
Not too bad! I just need to carve out the neck pickup route.
Very Nice! I bought a cheap Allparts Ric pickguard, just as a scaling device to get the body outline to scale from photos for my Hossenfeffer clone build. It's a horrid thing, razor sharp, slightly rough edges, neck pup hole a hair too tight, cheap and shiny looking. Now that I've thoroughly dissed it, anybody who wants it, PM me! 
I found the same thing generating my own templates from photos, nearly every detail on a Ric has changed back and forth over the years. I actually like the current 4003 upper horn dimensions the best, the 70's 4001 horns look kinda clunky.
I found the same thing generating my own templates from photos, nearly every detail on a Ric has changed back and forth over the years. I actually like the current 4003 upper horn dimensions the best, the 70's 4001 horns look kinda clunky.
The horns got fatter and fatter until they brought in CNC and revised the outline to match older basses. I almost think the new ones look too thin, even compared to '60s basses. Did templates simply wear out, like they did on '70s Fenders I wonder?
This '85 looks way too chunky for me:
At the same time, those big elephant-leg upper horn 4001 and 4003 basses are in a lot of old punk videos, so I have a soft spot for them.
Even this 1974 looks chunky:
Whereas this 1970 doesn't look as bad:
Fun with pickguards and pickups.
The first pickup, shown above, decided to self destruct when I started hogging out the neck pickup route. Ouch.
This is round two.
Bardens are go.
Subtle round-over is go:
Since taking the photo I've deepened the counter-sinks for the mounting screws.
The first pickup, shown above, decided to self destruct when I started hogging out the neck pickup route. Ouch.
This is round two.
Bardens are go.
Subtle round-over is go:
Since taking the photo I've deepened the counter-sinks for the mounting screws.
Fun with electronics!
Just in case this is the secret to Rickenbacker tone, I laid down two strips of masking tape under the pots and switch. The pots are CTS 500k, I recycled the capacitors from the bass, used my Frankenstein switch and used colour-coded cloth-insulated wire for each pickup channel and ground. I used off-cut insulation on the capacitor legs.
The 4.7 nF capacitor is there on the bridge pickup volume control, acting as a treble bleed. As you turn down the volume signal is still passed through this capacitor to the output jacks. This means that with the volume on 10 you get modern 4003 tone, and with it on 5 - 7 (or so) you get the vintage tone. No need for push/pulls.
Which left me to put strings on...
Bingo! I strung the bass up with TI flats.
There is still work to be done. I've dialed in the action, but I'm surprised in turn by how much influence the truss-rods have on the action. Growing up with Fender necks, I consider the truss rod to only really work in the center of the neck, whereas on the Rick it seems to influence everything. Is this right?!
On my list of corrections:
1) This bass needs shielded! If I take my hands off the strings I get a lot of noise, which makes sense as it isn't shielded any longer. The Bardens cut down on any single coil hum, but there is noise from the circuitry itself.
2) Maybe reshape the pickguard? It is a bit egg-shaped down by the controls as a result of my mashup of modern and vintage outlines. It is just a case of bringing it in a bit down towards the output jack.
3) Re-map the TRC screw holes. I might have purchased a Pacific Rim replacement TRC, in part because I like the flat appearance of vintage Rickenbacker covers, and in part because mine is pretty beaten up.
4) Commit the controls to muscle memory. In my head this has a Les Paul wiring scheme and I keep turning down the neck tone when I'm hunting for the neck volume.
Just in case this is the secret to Rickenbacker tone, I laid down two strips of masking tape under the pots and switch. The pots are CTS 500k, I recycled the capacitors from the bass, used my Frankenstein switch and used colour-coded cloth-insulated wire for each pickup channel and ground. I used off-cut insulation on the capacitor legs.
The 4.7 nF capacitor is there on the bridge pickup volume control, acting as a treble bleed. As you turn down the volume signal is still passed through this capacitor to the output jacks. This means that with the volume on 10 you get modern 4003 tone, and with it on 5 - 7 (or so) you get the vintage tone. No need for push/pulls.
Which left me to put strings on...
Bingo! I strung the bass up with TI flats.
There is still work to be done. I've dialed in the action, but I'm surprised in turn by how much influence the truss-rods have on the action. Growing up with Fender necks, I consider the truss rod to only really work in the center of the neck, whereas on the Rick it seems to influence everything. Is this right?!
On my list of corrections:
1) This bass needs shielded! If I take my hands off the strings I get a lot of noise, which makes sense as it isn't shielded any longer. The Bardens cut down on any single coil hum, but there is noise from the circuitry itself.
2) Maybe reshape the pickguard? It is a bit egg-shaped down by the controls as a result of my mashup of modern and vintage outlines. It is just a case of bringing it in a bit down towards the output jack.
3) Re-map the TRC screw holes. I might have purchased a Pacific Rim replacement TRC, in part because I like the flat appearance of vintage Rickenbacker covers, and in part because mine is pretty beaten up.
4) Commit the controls to muscle memory. In my head this has a Les Paul wiring scheme and I keep turning down the neck tone when I'm hunting for the neck volume.
Yeah, all Rics can do with a full shielding. I Copper taped the whole pickguard back, control cavity, pup routes, etc., and it’s MUCH quieter. Check your bridge ground? The Ric system of grounding to the mute assembly is kinda Borky, I have a wire loop around one of the bridge screws instead. Pickguard looks good to me!
That's the first thing I thought: if an instrument buzzes but stops when you touch the strings, the main culprit is usually a broken/missing bridge ground wire.
If the buzzing stops when you touch the strings it means the bridge ground wire is intact but the instrument is poorly shielded.
Any opinions on “Star Grounding”, collecting all the grounds to one lug vs grounding to the pots? Soldering to pots makes me nervous.
- Apr 18, 2008
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In an instrument cavity, the voltages and currents are so low that star grounding isn’t necessary. However, it looks neater, and it could be more convenient, and works equally well to other proper grounding schemes. So it’s a viable option, but electrically no better or worse than grounding to pots.
I’ve seen other folk use lockwashers with grounding tabs on them; you might like those.
I started a thread on it over in Pickups and Electronics, hoping the electrically inclined would weigh in. The online opinions vary wildly (of course). I’m inclined to star ground just avoid to avoid inept solder heat damage to the pots, but maybe it’s overkill.
Star grounding leads many an amateur modder astray. The blogger 'Guitsrnutz' spotted ground loops in stock Stratocaster wiring because he cast an Electrical Engineer's eye over the circuitry. I don't think star grounding matters at all, beyond making it easier to quickly account for all ground wires in an instrument. Bad solder technique and unshielded wiring will introduce noise, but I don't think ground loops are an issue in passive instruments.
I grounded all the pot-backs together here, as well as the switch chassis. I didn't close the ground 'loop' by connecting both the neck volume and tone pot backs to the switch, just in case!
This bass makes as much noise as my old MIJ Mustang did before I shielded it.
FWIW, this is how I shielded my Hossenfeffer clone build, undoubtedly overkill, but it's dead quiet.
This is a stock OEM Ric harness, wiring not as neat as @Axstar! I copper taped the whole pickguard, which grounds to the tabs coming up out of the cavities at the pickguard and pup surround screw holes. I have no idea what I'm doing electrically, but it worked!
This is a stock OEM Ric harness, wiring not as neat as @Axstar! I copper taped the whole pickguard, which grounds to the tabs coming up out of the cavities at the pickguard and pup surround screw holes. I have no idea what I'm doing electrically, but it worked!
Copper it is.
And more copper...
This has made the world of difference. I can now take my hands off the bass and there is no increase in noise. There are small uninsulated wires running between each copper section, and the continuity is consistent between everything that should be grounded.
I also reshaped the pickguard and tidied up some the lines and curves.
This bass has the official blessing from Dibs, the synth/vocal/bass player of Hawkwind, which makes me pretty happy! Hawkwind and Rickenbackers have a long history, and the band is one of the reasons I wanted to get one.
Yesterday I tried a stock 4003S bass, and it reminded me of how far this bass has come along. I found the 4003S pickups to be imbalanced. The neck pickup is too quiet and too murky sounding. The pickups are also quite hot-and-not, depending on if the string is right over the pole piece or a hair off to the left or right. You also get a nasty clank if the string hits the poles.
There isn't a decent clip of the Joe Barden pickups online, so I might try recording this bass. I have it strung with D'Addario roundwounds now, and the TI flats are stashed away in the case.
And more copper...
This has made the world of difference. I can now take my hands off the bass and there is no increase in noise. There are small uninsulated wires running between each copper section, and the continuity is consistent between everything that should be grounded.
I also reshaped the pickguard and tidied up some the lines and curves.
This bass has the official blessing from Dibs, the synth/vocal/bass player of Hawkwind, which makes me pretty happy! Hawkwind and Rickenbackers have a long history, and the band is one of the reasons I wanted to get one.
Yesterday I tried a stock 4003S bass, and it reminded me of how far this bass has come along. I found the 4003S pickups to be imbalanced. The neck pickup is too quiet and too murky sounding. The pickups are also quite hot-and-not, depending on if the string is right over the pole piece or a hair off to the left or right. You also get a nasty clank if the string hits the poles.
There isn't a decent clip of the Joe Barden pickups online, so I might try recording this bass. I have it strung with D'Addario roundwounds now, and the TI flats are stashed away in the case.
So glad you have rounds on there! It feels like this bass has been brought to life, and IMHO flats just don't accentuate that aspect of Ricks as well as rounds.
Fantastic looking build, would definitely love to hear how it sounds. Never heard of these Barden pickups before reading your build thread! I agree that the way (especially these days) RIC wind their pups, or just the height they set them to in the factory, is totally imbalanced. But a stock set can be evened out, with a bit of tweaking. I think, if you're going for that classic clanky 4001 edginess, getting a smidgen of string-on-pole-piece noise isn't the worst thing in the world.
