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Modding a Ric....

#21
cassius987 said:
20110426-1.jpg
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I passed up a chance to own a green one of these back in the late '70s. I couldn't handle a fretless at the time, but I still kick myself for not getting it anyway.
 
#24
JoshuaTSP said:
I did some searching, but it seems like most are against it.
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I wouldn't give a second thought to anyone who is against you doing what you want to your bass.

I did a 4 string to five string (4-2-5) conversion on my former 4004. Learned that one from Ric5, owned a 4003 he did, and another 4004 conversion done by another Ric owner. I like the Hipshot bridge and tuners a lot as well.
 
#28
JoshuaTSP said:
That looks pretty painless to do....does it change the tone at all when both pickups are used together?
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No, why would it? The only part of the signal affected is the radio frequency interference.

Using two pickups at full volume changes the tone but it has nothing to do with RWRP; it already happens on a stock Ric. It's basically a kind of comb filtering that happens. You can hear it get "scooped" sounding, kind of like a Jazz Bass with the same configuration.
 
#29
cassius987 said:
No, why would it? The only part of the signal affected is the radio frequency interference.

Using two pickups at full volume changes the tone but it has nothing to do with RWRP; it already happens on a stock Ric. It's basically a kind of comb filtering that happens. You can hear it get "scooped" sounding, kind of like a Jazz Bass with the same configuration.
Click to expand...

That's great!

I'm going to do that tonight then. :)

Thanks!

How come they don't come from the factory that way?
 
#30
The only mod on a Ric bass I've ever seen that made sense to me, is installing scatterwound toaster pickups in place of high gains. Most modded Rics are fugly. It goes to show, quality design is hard.

Re the Hipshot bridge, a friend of mine bought one of those when they first came out and installed it on a nice mid 70s burgundyglo fretless. Either the plating was too thick, or the way it was designed wasn't quite right, because the E and G saddles were too close to the outer wall, the outer legs of those saddles were on an incline. So you could not set it for low action with the saddles matching the radius of the board, which is a pretty big design flaw for a bridge. Did they fix that ?
 
#32
JoshuaTSP said:
That looks pretty painless to do....does it change the tone at all when both pickups are used together?
Click to expand...

Not at all.
The tone is exactly the same to my ears.

I'm extremely happy with the results, and I think RIC should consider building the basses this way.
My 4001 is next up, especially since it's more susceptible to hum than my others.

The only reason I'm not modding my 4080 is that I want to keep it purely stock or at least only do no-intrusive totally reversible mods (changed tuners using original screw holes, replace broken pickguard, cap bypass crimped on rather than soldered, etc.).
 
#35
Gougedeye said:
I'm not trying to start anything here, but JHud owes us nothing. If he wants to chop his Ric up into little pieces and burn it to ashes, that's his perogative. We all have the right to express our displeasure at this act, but thats as far as it goes. It's his bass. He should and will do with it as he pleases, and he did. Ironically, he did try to sell it just a few short weeks after the fact. In hindsight, maybe he should have picked another model, but as I recall, the devisive nature of that thread was a little over the top.

As far as Rics being stable, I disagree. I had a Jetglow and was so ready to emulate one of my bass playing inspirations, Geddy Lee, but every time the season changed, the neck would twist, making it unplayable. I sent it back to Rickenbacker several times. As a matter of fact, in the nearly 2 years I owned that bass, Rickenbacker had it in their possession more than me. I took a big loss on that bass. Unfortunately, that soured my desire to own a Ric. I think I got a lemon. That happens, even to the best of them.
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You definitely got a bad one.
I own four, and have had at least one since 1986.
There is minimal seasonal movement, not enough to bother me.
In fact, my '76 4000 has only been set up twice since I got it in '86, and the rods have never been adjusted since before it left the factory (still have the factory paint daubs on the nuts).
I am it's second owner.

You may want to give them another try.

As far as purists getting heated about JHud's or anyone else's mods, well, that's just too bad.
Yeah, I can see their point, it was a pristine 4003s with black trim, not common at all, but it was never going to be a real big collector piece, just a rather uncommon regular production bass.
He wanted to change it, and he was the one who paid for it.

Not what I would have done, but then again, it's not my bass, and he did a very professional job on it.
 
#37
kcole4001 said:
Not at all.
The tone is exactly the same to my ears.

I'm extremely happy with the results, and I think RIC should consider building the basses this way.
My 4001 is next up, especially since it's more susceptible to hum than my others.

The only reason I'm not modding my 4080 is that I want to keep it purely stock or at least only do no-intrusive totally reversible mods (changed tuners using original screw holes, replace broken pickguard, cap bypass crimped on rather than soldered, etc.).
Click to expand...

johnk_10 said:
i agree, the tone is exactly the same after the RW/RP mod, just no hum when they're both on full.
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Just completed this mod.

I messed up the magnet flip the first time....:o.......then I fixed it. :D

Sounds great now......you're all right, it sounds the same....minus the noise. If I were Ric, I would make this happen on all future basses.
I can't imagine why they wouldn't?

Added the tubeampology treble pickup bezel....and am awaiting my pearliod pickguard. I think pickguardian forgot about my order. :o
 
#38
My '74 4001 - Mods done in 1979

100_0846sm.JPG


  • Brass nut
  • Custom pickguard
  • DiMarzio Model One (neck)
  • Stock Rick Pup (bridge)
  • Hi-A pup (in bridge mute location)
  • 3 position switch (on-off-on) for each pup
  • Series/parallel switch for the Model One
  • Master volume and tone
 

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