I enjoy the sound of my bass but need to replace my pickups. The stock pickups are giving me problems with cutting in/out and they are a little noisy. Any good suggestions? I play funk blues rock and jam music.
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Pickup ideas for a '79 Rickenbacker 4001
- Thread starter UglyBassPlayer4
- Start date
Most likely the switch.
Probably needs cleaning. It can be finicky if it gets bent out of shape slightly, so care needs to exercised when handling it.
You can bend the contacts back into place if necessary. They commonly get slightly out of position, especially if you leave the switch in other than the middle position for lengthy periods.
If you do need pickups, RIC sells them as well as several of their dealers.
Pick of the Ricks is one of the best for anything RIC related.
The current 4003 pups are quite a bit hotter than 1970s pups, but are the same dimensionally.
I've tried SD replacements, and didn't like 'em much.
I hear good reports on Barts.
Both of these brands will fit right in.
Probably needs cleaning. It can be finicky if it gets bent out of shape slightly, so care needs to exercised when handling it.
You can bend the contacts back into place if necessary. They commonly get slightly out of position, especially if you leave the switch in other than the middle position for lengthy periods.
If you do need pickups, RIC sells them as well as several of their dealers.
Pick of the Ricks is one of the best for anything RIC related.
The current 4003 pups are quite a bit hotter than 1970s pups, but are the same dimensionally.
I've tried SD replacements, and didn't like 'em much.
I hear good reports on Barts.
Both of these brands will fit right in.
+1, check the switch and wiring. Leave those pups alone. Worst case, get Ric replacement pups, Higain for the bridge, Toaster for the neck.
I've got these old humbuckers in my Ibanez Rick-copy - sounds better than Rick PU's IMO. Super hot, super thumpy. Good stuff!
I'm about to put Ric humbuckers in my 4003 because I couldn't stand the noise and they seemed like the best choice. Probably end up sounding half-way between a 4003 and 4004, but that might not be a bad thing.
Will post here if it turns out to suck too badly.
Will post here if it turns out to suck too badly.
Ric HB-1s (humbuckers) sound incredible. They aren't very different from Hi-Gains in the resultant tone, just a bit cleaner and clearer.
I don't know, my 4004Cii has HB-1's, and it sounds alot different to me. Much deeper, throatier. Definately quieter, no hum or whatever. But in a 4003, I really like the neck Toaster, for a smooth warm tone.
