ric hum

[talcoserve]

got a new Ric 4003 and the pick up hum is very loud.Hands on will reduce it,but it makes more noise than most--suggestions?

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Ric provides no shielding on 4003 basses with single-coil pickups, so they hum. You can improve the noise level by shielding the control cavity and back of pickguard with conductive paint or copper foil, but you will never get it entirely silent, which is kind of inherent with single-coils. There is a mod called "RWRP" (reverse wound/reverse polarity?) that supposedly improves the noise level, but it requires re-wiring the pickup leads. Here's a link to a TB tutorial on how to do it:
[Rickenbacker 4003] RWRP Bridge Pickup Mod Tutorial | TalkBass.com

 

[iiipopes]

Just remember, like on a J-bass, if you do the RWRP mod, it only works well when both pickups are at the same volume level, and gets progressively worse as you roll off one pickup volume.

If you want near-Rick tone with no noise, Barden makes direct retrofit humbuckers, which use your own mounting covers and bases. Or you can use two of RIC's own HB-1's, which are also designed as direct retrofit when you order the bass version housing.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Just remember, like on a J-bass, if you do the RWRP mod, it only works well when both pickups are at the same volume level, and gets progressively worse as you roll off one pickup volume.

If you want near-Rick tone with no noise, Barden makes direct retrofit humbuckers, which use your own mounting covers and bases. Or you can use two of RIC's own HB-1's, which are also designed as direct retrofit when you order the bass version housing.

iiipopes
Have you used these? I've read mixed reviews on the Bardens, some people say they don't sound too "Ric-ish", but I have no experience with them. People swear by the Classic Amplification pups too, though I don't know how they are hum-wise, supposedly and improvement over stock. The HB-1's are said to sound quite different too, not as much "growl", but again, I haven't played them. Hoefully somebody with more knowledge than me on this can weigh-in.
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[iiipopes]

iiipopes
Have you used these? I've read mixed reviews on the Bardens, some people say they don't sound too "Ric-ish", but I have no experience with them. People swear by the Classic Amplification pups too, though I don't know how they are hum-wise, supposedly and improvement over stock. The HB-1's are said to sound quite different too, not as much "growl", but again, I haven't played them. Hoefully somebody with more knowledge than me on this can weigh-in.
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I have an HB-1 in my custom half-fanned P/J. Does it make the bass sound like a Rickenbacker? No. It makes it sound like a P-bass with attitude. Yes, it does take some top end off and add mids, compared to a current high-gain, as it has between 14 and 15 kohms' worth of wire on it, and the coils are wired in traditional series humbucker.

I have not personally tried the Bardens, but those who have tried them have reported on the rickresource.com forum that they have a good top end and are about 85% of the Rick high gain tone. Again, a tad more mids because it is a series humbucker. If I did not already have a 4002 with stock end-to-end or split-coil humbuckers, I would consider the Bardens, as I cannot abide any noise on stage.

 

[gadgetgirl]

I have Bardens on my 4003 and they sound wonderful.

 

[FunkHead]

I would have to say something is wrong with your bass. I have had many many Rics and they hum way less than most J-Basses. I would double check the grounding system. Or possibly you are standing way too close to your amp??

 

[DiabolusInMusic]

Your bass is getting RF interference, give your bass some shielding to reduce the noise. The fact the hum stops when you touch metal/strings/bridge indicates this. If your ground was off that noise would get louder when you touch metal. You can greatly reduce RF interference on a Rick but with the exposed pickups I think you'd have a hard time totally removing it.

Barden's sound close to real Rick pickups to my ears, a helluva lot closer than Bart's. Barden's are humbuckers, they allow you to solo a pickup without getting 60hz hum, but they will not address RF interference.

 

[jallenbass]

People swear by the Classic Amplification pups too, though I don't know how they are hum-wise, supposedly and improvement over stock.

I have Classic Amplification pickups in my recent build and they do indeed hum and I did copper shield the cavities. I'm not well versed in all things Rickenbacker so I don't know if they are an improvement in that regard or not. They sound very good but I have yet to compare them to OEM.