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NBD: Mapleglo Ric 4003

#21
Yay!!! Nice grain on that one especially the center strip on the treble side. Thumb screws adjust the mute. A bezel is a matter of choice and not required. I made one out of mirrored plexiglas and mounted it around the pickup just to cover the cavity but it looked weird. Pickup volume can be adjusted by raising or lowering each pickup until they match. Too high results in wolf tones. I recessed mine deep into the body to get a smoother response (not a common practice). You can make a splitter by wiring one stereo 1/4" jack to two mono jacks. You'll need a stereo cable to plug into the box and two standard mono cables out. The beauty of this is you can choose the cable lengths in order to place the box where you want it. Hope this helps.
 
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#22
jamro217 said:
Yay!!! Nice grain on that one especially the center strip on the treble side. Thumb screws adjust the mute. A bezel is a matter of choice and not required. I made one out of mirrored plexiglas and mounted it around the pickup just to cover the cavity but it looked weird. Pickup volume can be adjusted by raising or lowering each pickup until they match. Too high results in wolf tones. I recessed mine deep into the body to get a smoother response (not a common practice). You can make a splitter by wiring one stereo 1/4" jack to two mono jacks. You'll need a stereo cable to plug into the box and two standard mono cables out. The beauty of this is you can choose the cable lengths in order to place the box where you want it. Hope this helps.
Click to expand...


I drop my bridge pickup to equal the neck volume usually.
 
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#23
B-Mac said:
Very nice!
What year? Brand new?
I own a 2009 Mapleglo
How's your neck at the nut?
I have the Hipshot bridge on mine for easier access to the saddles for intonation.
Click to expand...
It’s a 2020. It was a “demo” model from Sweetwater. It has a very small ding in the finish on the back.... which does not bother me at all.

I haven’t measured the neck. However the neck at the nut is way more comfortable than my precision bass.
 
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#24
WillyWonka said:
The cover can be taken off and the hole left there.

-or- treble bezel or Rickenbacker make these hoodads to cover the hole. (Mine is the Rickenbacker one)

I took my bridge apart and trimmed back the factory mute foam and rebent the metal so it muted evenly. (I also added a strip of eggcrate foam too)

There is a magnet mod to the neck pickup, to make it more even with the bridge.

View attachment 4013463

View attachment 4013464
Click to expand...
That looks fantastic! Great looking Ric.
 
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#25
GreggBummer said:
It’s a 2020. It was a “demo” model from Sweetwater. It has a very small ding in the finish on the back.... which does not bother me at all.

I haven’t measured the neck. However the neck at the nut is way more comfortable than my precision bass.
Click to expand...
That’s what I was getting at.
Mine’s almost like a F Jazz neck.
But sometimes they’re like baseball bats per posts by TB-ers.
Glad you got one with a comfortable neck.
 
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#29
My first bass was a 4001. I removed only the pickup cover...the bar that goes over the pickup. No other changes.

This is not my bass...the image is provided as an example of the look without the after market bezel. I think it looks fine, but YMMV. To be honest, I think it bugged me a bit in the early 80s, but I quickly go over it.
upload_2020-10-10_19-39-25.png


For Ric-O-Sound I ran my amps in a vertical array so there was no need for a box to break the signal out into two separate 1/4" cables of infinite length.

Instead, I found a chord that I think was intended for an acoustic guitar that did the trick. It was basically wired like a 1/4" TRS to 1/4" TS insert cable. So if you need longer cable runs, just order one in whatever length you need. Way easier than dealing with a box IMHO. YMMV here as well.

aadede8c11fa12e7467c8b5ded1a18d4.jpg
 
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#30
Wasnex said:
...I found a chord that I think was intended for an acoustic guitar that did the trick. It was basically wired like a 1/4" TRS to 1/4" TS insert cable. So if you need longer cable runs, just order one in whatever length you need. Way easier than dealing with a box IMHO. YMMV here as well.

View attachment 4013683
Click to expand...

I am planning on using a splitter for the time being. After I figure out how I want my signal path to go.... I’ll try a box
 
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#32
GreggBummer said:
I was worried that the neck might be too wide for me, but, I adapted easily and find it comfortable to play after only a few hours. The neck feels weird if you are used to a Fender-style neck. I thought it might be too wide for me as well at first, but I quite like it now that I am used to it.

It looks and sounds fantastic. Nothing looks or sounds like a Ric! It is a true original.

I see some folks have the bridge pick up off. I’m not sure I want to do that, but if I decide to: Do I have to replace the bezel. You do not have to replace the bezel, but I put a Treble Bezel on mine because it looks better. I also put a Zero Mod thumb rest on mine. I went with the Longboy version because I prefer to play above the bridge pup, but the Nubbin version would accomplish the same thing.

Nubbin
8b0c0a9566bf9d990c9248344a9117ca?AccessKeyId=6A2D9B90AFE3B574C1B2&disposition=0&alloworigin=1.jpg


Longboy
e382e73a498efc991ef3c9691997ce47?AccessKeyId=6A2D9B90AFE3B574C1B2&disposition=0&alloworigin=1.jpg


The bridge pick up is slighter hotter than the neck. Is this the charm of the Ric, or should I adjust (sounds good now!) I messed with pup heights for quite a while before finding my favorite sound with the bridge pup hotter than the neck pup. The only downside to this is volume loss if you want to solo the neck pup.
Click to expand...
 
#38
Congratulations! I've owned my early '70s Mapleglow 4001 from new; they're awesome basses that look fantastic! The Ric-O-Sound feature is "interesting" but little more IMHO. I left the cover on the bridge pickup; it's something one gets used to. The bridge sucks. Sorry, but I changed mine in '75 and recommend doing the same...the mute function isn't anything that can't be replicated with a bit of foam and a bridge that will actually intonate the bass is much more useful.
 

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#40
The newer UV catalyzed finishes and ABS binding don't seem to yellow with age, which is a good thing in my book. Your MG should stay nicely clear for many years. I love the contrast between the maple body and Caribbean Rose wood ( or whatever they are calling that species now) finger board. If you are like most people, the pup cover will get in your way eventually, but the open edges on the surround can be a little sharp. If you go for a treble bezel, buy the Tubeampology version, not the ripoff version Rickenbacker sells.
 
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