Rickenbacker crooked pick ups

[Ric5]

Ric 5,
With respect, you yourself have often noted shortcomings with Ric QC and CS in your previous posts, both here and on RRF, so it's not like this is a bunch of crybabies whining about nonexistent problems. I am not in the Ric Hater Hyperbole Club, far from it, but neither do I ignore what I see with own eyes. I think an apt analogy would be buying a brand new car and seeing the chrome bumper hanging 1" lower on one side than the other. Is it an impediment to safe driving or basic function of the car? Of course not. Is it clear evidence of a lack of attention to simple QC? Of course it is. Would you expect the dealership to fix the problem on your brand new car free of charge? Of course you would.

The pickup is hidden by a cover ... then you remove the cover and you don't like what you see ...

The apt analogy is you buy a new car and you remover the hood and you don't like what it looks like with the hood off so you complain to the manufacturer about how bad your car looks with the hood removed.

 

[Ric5]

My Jazz Bass has a better neck, finish, pickups and feel. $700 less. It can even sound like a rick. I tried a new one a couple of weeks ago at Sam Ash. Not at all what they use to be like back in the late 70s early 80s. To bad really. I really liked them once. Geddy musta switched for a reason.

Then play a jazz bass by all means!!!

 

[kcole4001]

I had to dig out my 4003 and have a look, and yeah the bridge pup is a little crooked.
I never noticed and it's and easy fix (2 screws as previously noted).
It's also a good time to do the RWRP mod to reduce hum like a Jazz bass does.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

The pickup is hidden by a cover ... then you remove the cover and you don't like what you see ...

The apt analogy is you buy a new car and you remover the hood and you don't like what it looks like with the hood off so you complain to the manufacturer about how bad your car looks with the hood removed.

Ric 5,
So the 98% of Ric owners who remove the pickup cover because it interferes with access to the "sweet spot" above the bridge pup are just misguided idiots who should stop removing them so they don't have to see the crooked pickups? Interesting theory. As I understand it, the pickup cover on a 4003 Ric serves no function, since it's just a chromed piece of plastic intended to resemble the original horseshoe pickups. The hood of a car serves a specific function, namely to keep flying crap out of the engine compartment. If you are in the minority of Ric owners who like the the pickup cover as a hand rest, by all means use it, but implying that anyone who removes it should expect (randomly, apparently, depending on how the QC department felt that day) to see a crookedly mounted pickup is ridiculous.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I had to dig out my 4003 and have a look, and yeah the bridge pup is a little crooked.
I never noticed and it's and easy fix (2 screws as previously noted).
It's also a good time to do the RWRP mod to reduce hum like a Jazz bass does.

Kccole 4001
What exactly is the RWRP mod? I keep seeing that acronym, but haven't seen a link describing how it works, or how to do it. Is that like adding a dummy concealed single coil for hum canceling?

 

[tuba_samurai]

If this was a $200 Squier or another bargain guitar I could see having a slightly crooked or misaligned pickup and keeping it because it sounds awesome, but if was going to put down Ric money for a bass I would expect everything to be exactly as it should be. I have heard too many stories on here to ever consider one new.

 

[s3lggiW]

Rickenbacker is the lowest quality of the high end basses. this happens from time to time.

 

[Gilmourisgod]

Rickenbacker is the lowest quality of the high end basses. this happens from time to time.

I cant agree with you there, Ric's finish work, when they get it right, is second to none. This is what makes little stuff like this so aggravating. Why lavish so much time and attention on a flawlessly polished, immaculate finish, for which Ric is rightly famous, and then blow it in the last five minutes of assembly before putting it in the case by mounting the pickup ring or bridge crookedly?

 

[Ric5]

Ric 5,
So the 98% of Ric owners who remove the pickup cover because it interferes with access to the "sweet spot" above the bridge pup are just misguided idiots who should stop removing them so they don't have to see the crooked pickups? Interesting theory. As I understand it, the pickup cover on a 4003 Ric serves no function, since it's just a chromed piece of plastic intended to resemble the original horseshoe pickups. The hood of a car serves a specific function, namely to keep flying crap out of the engine compartment. If you are in the minority of Ric owners who like the the pickup cover as a hand rest, by all means use it, but implying that anyone who removes it should expect (randomly, apparently, depending on how the QC department felt that day) to see a crookedly mounted pickup is ridiculous.

You are putting words in my mouth that I would never say ...

What I am saying is if you want to remove the cover and use the pickup in a way it was not designed to be used ... then do you really have a valid complaint with the manufacturer? When I owned 4003 basses I removed the cover. But I didn't complain about the way it looked. I have complaints about Rickenbacker ... I don't like some things in the DESIGN.

I now have 3 Rickenbackers ... all 4004 basses ... no mechanical mute, no pickup cover, no binding ... I am very happy.

I don't like the way Rickenbacker makes basses ... so I mod them.
I don't like the way Fender makes basses ... so I mod them.
I don't like the way Gibson makes basses ... so I mod them.
I don't like the way Epiphone makes basses ... so I mod them.
I don't like the way Essex makes basses ... so I mod them.
I don't like the way Ibanez makes basses ... so I mod them.
I don't like the way Schecter makes basses ... so I mod them.

ETC ....

If you don't like what Rickenbacker makes then don't buy it. They won't change as long as what they make sells.

 

[SteveCS]

If you take off the cover and discover that it is crooked, too bad- it doesn't affect the tone or output...

Really??? It looks to me like the bass side is more than 1/4" lower than the treble side. IME, on every bass or electric guitar I have ever owned, pickup height variations such as that across the strings absolutely affect tone and output - or am I missing something 'special' about the RIC?

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I had to dig out my 4003 and have a look, and yeah the bridge pup is a little crooked.
I never noticed and it's and easy fix (2 screws as previously noted).
It's also a good time to do the RWRP mod to reduce hum like a Jazz bass does.

Kccole 4001
What exactly is the RWRP mod? I keep seeing that acronym, but haven't seen a link describing how it works, or how to do it. Is that like adding a dummy concealed single coil for hum canceling?

 

[Gilmourisgod]

You are putting words in my mouth that I would never say ...

What I am saying is if you want to remove the cover and use the pickup in a way it was not designed to be used ... then do you really have a valid complaint with the manufacturer? When I owned 4003 basses I removed the cover. But I didn't complain about the way it looked. I have complaints about Rickenbacker ... I don't like some things in the DESIGN.

I now have 3 Rickenbackers ... all 4004 basses ... no mechanical mute, no pickup cover, no binding ... I am very happy.

I don't like the way Rickenbacker makes basses ... so I mod them.
I don't like the way Fender makes basses ... so I mod them.
I don't like the way Gibson makes basses ... so I mod them.
I don't like the way Epiphone makes basses ... so I mod them.
I don't like the way Essex makes basses ... so I mod them.
I don't like the way Ibanez makes basses ... so I mod them.
I don't like the way Schecter makes basses ... so I mod them.

ETC ....

If you don't like what Rickenbacker makes then don't buy it. They won't change as long as what they make sells.

My point exactly. A crappy way to do business, but apparently that's the Ric way.

 

[Ric5]

My point exactly. A crappy way to do business, but apparently that's the Ric way.

That is the way pretty much all of the musical instrument companies do business.

 

[Ric5]

Kccole 4001
What exactly is the RWRP mod? I keep seeing that acronym, but haven't seen a link describing how it works, or how to do it. Is that like adding a dummy concealed single coil for hum canceling?

The reverse windings and reverse magnetic polarity ... like a jazz bass.

Or you can simply mount a jazz bass pickup to the Ric bridge pickup plastic plate that is already reversed wound.

 

[s3lggiW]

I cant agree with you there, Ric's finish work, when they get it right, is second to none. This is what makes little stuff like this so aggravating. Why lavish so much time and attention on a flawlessly polished, immaculate finish, for which Ric is rightly famous, and then blow it in the last five minutes of assembly before putting it in the case by mounting the pickup ring or bridge crookedly?

I can't see it. It's MSRP $2.5k isn't it? For that price, we can start to discuss Sadowsky, Alembic, MTD, ZON, and a whole wide range of basses. These designers clearly outmatch Rickenbacker on every front. You don't see any complains about any of makes. People who own them, typically only want/need one or two. With regards to finishes i personally think it's a crap shoot. The only reason i say that is because of the TB $1,300 new Midnight Blue thread that happened a little while ago (2013) where basses were coming in to many members here and they had unique blemishes all throughout the basses.

All this said, Rickenbacker has strong household appeal. No one is going to convert anyone to or away from it :/

That is the way pretty much all of the musical instrument companies do business.

How about the ones i just mentioned? (which specific regard to Alembic)

 

[scotch]

Kccole 4001
What exactly is the RWRP mod? I keep seeing that acronym, but haven't seen a link describing how it works, or how to do it. Is that like adding a dummy concealed single coil for hum canceling?

RWRP= reverse wind, reverse polarity.

By swapping the hot & ground wires and flipping the magnet over (it's just glued on) on only one of the pickups, you get the benefit of hum-cancelling when both pickups are engaged.

It's a VERY worthwhile mod!

 

[Ric5]

Really??? It looks to me like the bass side is more than 1/4" lower than the treble side. IME, on every bass or electric guitar I have ever owned, pickup height variations such as that across the strings absolutely affect tone and output - or am I missing something 'special' about the RIC?

 

[Gilmourisgod]

I can't see it. It's MSRP $2.5k isn't it? For that price, we can start to discuss Sadowsky, Alembic, MTD, ZON, and a whole wide range of basses. These designers clearly outmatch Rickenbacker on every front. You don't see any complains about any of makes. People who own them, typically only want/need one or two. With regards to finishes i personally think it's a crap shoot. The only reason i say that is because of the TB $1,300 new Midnight Blue thread that happened a little while ago (2013) where basses were coming in to many members here and they had unique blemishes all throughout the basses.

All this said, Rickenbacker has strong household appeal. No one is going to convert anyone to or away from it :/



How about the ones i just mentioned? (which specific regard to Alembic)

Actually, the average street price for a new 4003 is around $1,750, which puts it in the same price range as high-end Fenders. A custom Alembic is in the $10K range, so there isn't much comparison. The finish on Alembics is truly God-Like. My 79' Jetglo 4001 had the most flawless painted finish I've ever seen, bar none, but I've heard of some recent Ric basses being shipped with paint bubbling or chipping around the bridge, probably due to over-tightening the screws during assembly. I played two Ric 4003 basses at GC a couple months back that were flawless cosmetically, including hardware alignment, so they are clearly capable of doing everything right when they care to.

 

[blunderthumbs]

I've got a Bass Collection California Ric faker. The pickups are not crooked on that.
Owned 2 Rics. a 4001 and a 4003. Just bought a faker and don't know why I spent all that hard earned cash on a genuine Ric.. The faker is the dog's danglies. IMO

 

[Gilmourisgod]

RWRP= reverse wind, reverse polarity.

By swapping the hot & ground wires and flipping the magnet over (it's just glued on) on only one of the pickups, you get the benefit of hum-cancelling when both pickups are engaged.

It's a VERY worthwhile mod!

Has anyone seen a pictorial of the mod, or a thread dealing with how it's done? I am, to put it mildy, "electrically challenged", so I'm hoping for some pictures or wiring diagrams. I can solder pretty well, but it's strictly monkey-see/monkey-do with me. I love the sound of Ric single coils, but they tend to hum pretty badly, be great to fix that.