The bass pedals are a lot of fun. (I never know whether to leave the pics full size, or thumbnail them? They're rather large pics, so I reduced them.) You know what's the hardest part of playing the pedals? It's not the multi-tasking of playing bass, pedals and vocals at the same time. For me, it's standing on one foot for long periods LOL! Seriously, it's harder than I thought. I have inner ear issues and my balance sucks. But yeah, the MOOG Minitaur has this huge phat bottom that makes Prog a bit more epic. I love it!
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NBD! Rickenbacker 4001v63 FireGlo (Pic heavy)
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- fireglo rickenbacker
I've heard a lot about the positioning of the pickup at the harmonic sweet spot. All I know is when I pick over the toaster, there's this tone (right where the harmonic is, I guess) that is sublime. I just wish they had made the neck pickup route a little smaller. It can be a weak spot. Also, I find digging in behind the Horseshoe, by the bridge makes it sound like a completely different instrument. I'm using less and less effects as I learn how to manipulate the bass. I'm really working on brushing the top of the string, for really fast stuff, too. Hitting the string with the pick and then my thumb a millisecond later also brings out some cool harmonic stuff. After putting so many hours on the CS in the last 25 years, I still feel like I'm just beginning. Which is cool
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I've heard a lot about the positioning of the pickup at the harmonic sweet spot. All I know is when I pick over the toaster, there's this tone (right where the harmonic is, I guess) that is sublime. I just wish they had made the neck pickup route a little smaller. It can be a weak spot. Also, I find digging in behind the Horseshoe, by the bridge makes it sound like a completely different instrument. I'm using less and less effects as I learn how to manipulate the bass. I'm really working on brushing the top of the string, for really fast stuff, too. Hitting the string with the pick and then my thumb a millisecond later also brings out some cool harmonic stuff. After putting so many hours on the CS in the last 25 years, I still feel like I'm just beginning. Which is cool
That's awesome. It really is refreshing to learn something new after so long.
Again, I've never owned a Rick, I'm just infatuated with them, but I'm curious if simply tightening up the neck pickup route may fix the possible, stability issue altogether... But I'm not an engineer or carpenter.
I do think I'd prefer the tone of the 1/2" pickup though, like you have.
I know people have tried to fill the route in the past. There was an epoxy fix and a few others. So far, I haven't had any problems with it. Maybe even modding a 4003S would do the trick?
Looks great man, love mine too. Picked mine up back in...late November? Great bass. Mine's a 1998, but all those later model year ones seem to be about the same. Mine's not quite as minty though, has a couple dings and dents, but man that sound. It's one of the only basses I've found to be more aggressive than my AVRI '62 Precision. They're actually fairly similar in sound, though the Precision has more low-mids and the Ric seems a bit more balanced but aggressive all around. What blows me away most is how burly and roaring the low E is on the first 5 frets. I primarily use the bridge pickup, and it's great. Like you said, these Horseshoes are super hot pickups, put it through a cranked up Sunn 2000s, and that's some seriously raunchy and burly bass tone. I should probably have a setup done at some point, the action is fine for me (I usually keep mine higher), but it could be a bit lower and I get some fret buzz on the first fret G string.
I plan on ordering a new harness from Aceon as well. I really want the ability to use ROS into two Sunn units, as well be able to mix in the the cap for more 4001 tone. Plus if I can coax even more highs out of it? Yeah, yes please.
See this? This is how I want mine to look. Is it just the lighting that gives it the warmer fireglo/more amber tint, as opposed to the much more pale and pink burst often seen on these later models? I probably can't swing an actual horseshoe and I think just the scatterwound by itself might get buried by the hot horse, but I do need to get a new guard cut to the same radius as the HS plate, the gap kinda bugs me, as well as a finger rest installed.
Nah, we're stealing some back too. Mine came out of Montreal back to the states.
I plan on ordering a new harness from Aceon as well. I really want the ability to use ROS into two Sunn units, as well be able to mix in the the cap for more 4001 tone. Plus if I can coax even more highs out of it? Yeah, yes please.
See this? This is how I want mine to look. Is it just the lighting that gives it the warmer fireglo/more amber tint, as opposed to the much more pale and pink burst often seen on these later models? I probably can't swing an actual horseshoe and I think just the scatterwound by itself might get buried by the hot horse, but I do need to get a new guard cut to the same radius as the HS plate, the gap kinda bugs me, as well as a finger rest installed.
Another v63 migrates to Canada. Be careful, we could start a war (blame Canada....and all that)!
Nah, we're stealing some back too. Mine came out of Montreal back to the states.
SirMjac28
Patiently Waiting For The Next British Invasion
First, sorry for the long answer.
To quote @Aceonbass (who made my harness):
"The stock harnesses in Ricks for the past several years have had anything from 175K to 330K pots in them, and they are assembled out of random batches of pots that have not been measured. These low values have a detrimental effect on the clarity of the tone, particularly on the top end. I build harnesses to the older specs with 500K tone, and 250K volume pots that have been measured and matched in pairs. When building harness for Ricks with humbuckers, I use 500K pots all around, and different tone caps measuring .022-.033uF. I'm also very OCD when I assemble the ROS output jacks in making sure the lugs aren't going to interfere with the walls of the holes in the side of the body, causing them to bind when you plug into them. I also test all of the components when I'm finished to make sure they're still in spec, and that there are no shorts or grounding issues. RIC doesn't do any of that when they build theirs, and I don't charge much more for an assembled harness than they do for a harness with the output jacks unattached. I also stock several vintage components that RIC hasn't had in decades.."
Also, to quote me, on my harness upgrade first impressions:
"I'm still dialing in my pickup heights (which is kind of new to me, any advice is appreciated), but yeah there's definitely more usable top end.
My 1992 Chris Squire Signature 4001CS harness upgrade first impressions:
Before:
First of all I have to say, my old harness was probably faulty, so I can't speak for any-one elses 'before' state, except mine - which wasn't a good sound. Before, when I dug in, it was muddy, distorted (not in a good way) and it just didn't sound 'Rick-ish'.
After:
I can dig in behind the bridge and it sounds good, for the first time ever. I also notice I can dig in real hard and get a kind of farty sound (good distortion), or back off and it whispers, without losing hardly any volume. It's like there's a compressor thing happening, without the adjustment sounds I find compressors make. The difference in tone from picking over the toaster, to behind the bridge pickup is huge. I can toss most of my effects now, as it has that classic Squire distortion that comes from picking hard and fast near the bridge. It's....more responsive? Like the difference between a cheap car and a boutique. It's actually changing how I pick and where I pick. It's a more sensitive microphone, which is unforgiving. All my mistakes seem more glaring now.... Lastly, it sounds so good, that I go WOW! and forget where I am in the song, so I'm more prone to 'Wow-mistakes', now.. The cool sound is distracting, but I guess I'll get used to that. Oh yeah, it's a lot quieter now, too.
More to come, as I learn about how to play this new sound....
Finally, I have to thank @Aceonbass for his design, quality control, and customer service. Second to none, as far as I'm concerned. Stellar work!"
Lastly, there is the option of going Stereo - a separate output for each pickup. Plug a mono cord in, and the output is mono - with the bridge volume IN/DOWN. Pull the knob UP, plug in a stereo cord, and it's stereo. Functionally, it's the same as "Rick-O-Sound", but ROS is just a trademark name for stereo using the two output jacks.
Very cool that explains it very well thank you and is the reverse headstock the only difference between your bass and the 4001 C64?
Looks great man, love mine too. Picked mine up back in...late November? Great bass. Mine's a 1998, but all those later model year ones seem to be about the same. Mine's not quite as minty though, has a couple dings and dents, but man that sound. It's one of the only basses I've found to be more aggressive than my AVRI '62 Precision. They're actually fairly similar in sound, though the Precision has more low-mids and the Ric seems a bit more balanced but aggressive all around. What blows me away most is how burly and roaring the low E is on the first 5 frets. I primarily use the bridge pickup, and it's great. Like you said, these Horseshoes are super hot pickups, put it through a cranked up Sunn 2000s, and that's some seriously raunchy and burly bass tone. I should probably have a setup done at some point, the action is fine for me (I usually keep mine higher), but it could be a bit lower and I get some fret buzz on the first fret G string.
I plan on ordering a new harness from Aceon as well. I really want the ability to use ROS into two Sunn units, as well be able to mix in the the cap for more 4001 tone. Plus if I can coax even more highs out of it? Yeah, yes please.
See this? This is how I want mine to look. Is it just the lighting that gives it the warmer fireglo/more amber tint, as opposed to the much more pale and pink burst often seen on these later models? I probably can't swing an actual horseshoe and I think just the scatterwound by itself might get buried by the hot horse, but I do need to get a new guard cut to the same radius as the HS plate, the gap kinda bugs me, as well as a finger rest installed.
Nah, we're stealing some back too. Mine came out of Montreal back to the states.
Thanks for the kind words. Your v63 has a killer flame. Gorgeous! I couldn't agree more about the sound. This bass is hot! Last night I played Astral Traveller, Starship Trooper (with a bit of distortion and tremolo), Yours is no Disgrace, Roundabout, South Side of the Sky and Heart of the Sunrise. I've never heard them sound better. I can't wait to get to Relayer, tonight!!
Let us turn to page 118 of our hymnals. The C64 ran from 2002 (after the v63 stopped), to 2011. It had Gotoh tuners with reversed gears (which would make me crazy), smaller ferrules on the front of the headstock, new tailpiece mount (3 screws under the bridge) and a 0.0047uf capacitor in line with the Horseshoe. The C64S knocked down the sharp corners of the "cresting wave" body horns and applied a clear, silky smooth satin finish to look like Sir Pauls Wings bass. @PaulBoyer will hopefully correct any mistakes I've made. It's a great book, if you want to know more about Rickenbacker bass history. Definitely worth the Jackson (or Queen Elizabeth, if you're a Canuck!).
SirMjac28
Patiently Waiting For The Next British Invasion
I'm going to grab that book from Amazon thanks for the tip.
If you buy it from Amazon, please leave a review of the book there once you've looked/read through it. Thanks in advance!
SirMjac28
Patiently Waiting For The Next British Invasion
I sure will Paul the book is exactly what I'm looking for congrats on a job well done it looked like a ton of work.
Jeff, beautiful basses, as always. Just One question for you. What is a scatterwound pup, and what makes it tonally different than a conventionally wound version? I've seen the term used a fair amount in the Rickenbacker Club thread, and I'm always looking to further my knowledge in Rics. Thanks for any info.
To the OP: congrats on a beautiful addition to your Ric collection! I've been reading your refinish thread, and I agree with your choice to keep it as-is. It's definitely unique, and it tells your story during your years with it.
Thanks for the replyMine was gigged quite a lot by me but it still looked virtually brand new when I sold it after many years of use.
When I first got mine in 2005 it was still kind of pinkish but over time it warmed up; perhaps all the gigging I did with it helped with that?
The 2030GF I had was imported by me from Montreal! Brought that one back to the states, and it now resides in the RIC museum.
The toaster pickup was wound pretty hot, around 12K and with a uniform winding method, for many years and tended towards the muddy/ not as clear as the old toasters were. When RIC redid the pickup they lowered the DCR down to more like '60s specs for a clearer tone and came up with a winding method so that the windings are more like the old hand wound pickups that were, for lack of a better description, more haphazard/ not even layered to allow for a more vintage tone.
I just put 3 hours on mine (a little Yes, a little Rush....astounding tone and action). Now I'm spending 1/2 hour polishing
, then back to it's case.I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car
A brilliant red Barchetta
From a better vanished time
I fire up the willing engine
Responding with a roar
Tires spitting gravel
I commit my weekly crime
Drive like the wind
Straining the limits of machine and man
Laughing out loud with fear and hope
I've got a desperate plan
At the one-lane bridge
I leave the giants stranded at the riverside
Race back to the farm
To dream with my uncle at the fireside
Actually, I was done in 15 min. I use one of these soft cloths. It shines up real niceWhat's polishing?
! I do the fingerboard and strings with a separate cloth.
I just put 3 hours on mine (a little Yes, a little Rush....astounding tone and action). Now I'm spending 1/2 hour polishing
I strip away the old debris
That hides a shining car
A brilliant red Barchetta
From a better vanished time
I fire up the willing engine
Responding with a roar
Tires spitting gravel
I commit my weekly crime
Drive like the wind
Straining the limits of machine and man
Laughing out loud with fear and hope
I've got a desperate plan
At the one-lane bridge
I leave the giants stranded at the riverside
Race back to the farm
To dream with my uncle at the fireside
You know, you're not helping my gas! (pun intended)
You're so baaaaaad!Ah, from down under; must be sheep skin.
I've heard that 70% of wool comes from Australia. The rest come from sheep.
- Jun 30, 2010
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- musician/artist/owner - Gildaxe
Guess what I'm off to play?
Back L8R!!
[EDIT]- Wow! My strap locks for it just came in the mail! Too cool!!
Really great performance/song. The bass sounds awesome. Enjoy yours!
