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In Praise of Ric5

#21
Jeff is a great guy who does great work. When I was thinking of swapping out the pups in my Ric 4003, he invited me over to play a few of his modded Rics, and then he generously allowed me to play his entire bass collection!
One of these days I have to return the favor - preferrably before my collection dwindles any further. These days, I pretty much only play my Spectors, so the others are slowly getting thinned from the collection. With very few exceptions, if a bass I own does not get played regularly, then I don't keep it around for long...
 
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#23
Ric5 said:
Ric5 is really Jeff Rath

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The man, the myth! :D
 
#24
I thought this was going to be about a 5-string Rickenbacker bass. But yes, Ric5 puts some very impressive-looking basses together. I always love to see them in various threads. I wish I had the knowledge & ability do to that myself. Thumbs up for Mr. Ric5!
 
#26
I'm intrigued by this. How does the A string sound centered between those split pickups? Your conversion looks like a great cheap mod.

I have a Peavey Fury parts bass (early T-20 neck and later P-bass style split pups) that would be a perfect candidate for a 5 string conversion. I can make my own string nuts and would only need to find a tight 5 string bridge. There may even be an opposite side fishtail tuner in my parts bin. My first 5 string bass has been underwhelming and I would rather have a 5 string Fury than what I ended up with.
 
#29
Grebnaws said:
I'm intrigued by this. How does the A string sound centered between those split pickups? Your conversion looks like a great cheap mod.

I have a Peavey Fury parts bass (early T-20 neck and later P-bass style split pups) that would be a perfect candidate for a 5 string conversion. I can make my own string nuts and would only need to find a tight 5 string bridge. There may even be an opposite side fishtail tuner in my parts bin. My first 5 string bass has been underwhelming and I would rather have a 5 string Fury than what I ended up with.
Click to expand...

Like Jeff has stated before, the a string is a non-issue. It is even with the others. As far as a bridge I just found a cheap 2.5 inch spaced one on eBay. I think 2.5 inch is the max width you want
 
#30
bgmww said:
Jeff.. would you post a list with all the bridges with the right string spacing to make the conversión ?
Click to expand...

Most 4 to 5 conversions a 2 1/2" spaced bridge will work fine. I prefer 2 5/8". A Rickenbacker 4003 will need a 2 1/4" or 2 3/8" spacing. A Rickenbacker 4004 will need a 2 3/8" to 2 1/2" spacing.

The Schaller bridge is a very nice choice. The saddles have roller adjustments to go from 2 1/2" to 3".

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The Kahler bridge is a little unusual but very adjustable.

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This bridge here is available on ebay all the time. It is spaced at 2 5/8"

5s%20007.jpg


These cheap olp/mm style bridges work pretty well. They are 2 1/2".

r%20009.jpg
 
#34
Grebnaws said:
I'm intrigued by this. How does the A string sound centered between those split pickups? Your conversion looks like a great cheap mod.

I have a Peavey Fury parts bass (early T-20 neck and later P-bass style split pups) that would be a perfect candidate for a 5 string conversion. I can make my own string nuts and would only need to find a tight 5 string bridge. There may even be an opposite side fishtail tuner in my parts bin. My first 5 string bass has been underwhelming and I would rather have a 5 string Fury than what I ended up with.
Click to expand...

Most 4 string bass pickups cover 5 strings. For instance Rickenbacker uses the 6 pole toaster guitar pickup on guitars, 4 string basses, 5 string basses, and 8 string basses. So the 8 pole Fender pickups usually work well with 5 strings.
 
#35
My latest conversion ... A 2001 4004cii trans red.

I added a 5th tuner, put in a new nut, I oil finished the fretboard, wired it VVT with 500k ohm pots, put on a 5 string bridge, and I modified the bridge pickup to accommodate a wider string spacing.

It plays great and looks great.

red4004%20001.jpg


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red4004%20014.jpg


red4004%20015.jpg
 
#39
Jeff,that is one of the most gorgeous Cii's I've ever seen,and your conversion retains the original look beautifully. (I hate it when i see the A string tuner stuck way up in the "north" crest of the headstock!) is this the first conversion you've done using the 500k volume pots? I think it makes a tremendous sonic improvement,myself. (Have it on both my Laredo and my Cii). This bass looks like a keeper!
 
#40
I'd like to add to the praise of Ric5! I did a P bass conversion a few years ago. He doesn't know me, but I pm'd him asking for advice and he helped me out. Thanks! And yes, all five strings sound great over standard 4 string pickups. I also prefer the tighter string spacing over my Fender Jazz V.

One question- anyone do a 4 to 5 string conversion on a Jazz with hum cancelling pickups? I'd like to do this, but I know that many hum cancelling jazz pickups use two side by side coils, with a gap in between. On this type of conversion, the A string would be right over that gap. Seems like that might cause the A to drop out. Anyone have any experience with this?
 

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