Rickenbacker Issues

[smur89]

Hey guys,

Hoping some of ye can shed some light on some problems ive been having with my rickenbacker 4003.

When i bought it (second hand) the Treble pickup didnt work. I had this rewound, and it now works. however, when all knobs are turned to 100%, the bass sounds really thin and weak, i turn the treble tone (could be volume, i think the knobs are either on the wrong pots or the pots are wired wrong, having this fixed tomorrow) back to about 85%, it bass jumps in. as in, not gradually, you just hit a certain point and there's bass there. (phase problem?)... This is all going to be looked at tomorrow by a vintage guitar specialist i bring all my stuff to.

Another thing is the volume. Are all rickys quieter than other basses? (comparing it to a fender jazz through the same amp, and a 1982 yamaha bass through the same amp.) the ricky is hardly even audible with the rest of the band playing. and this is going through an Ampeg 4x10 HLF and an Ampeg SVT-4 Mono bridged... so basically i can pump the 4x10 with the full 500watts it can handle and then some. whats going on here? My jazz sounds amazing through this setup. but not the ricky. and as i said, ditto for my friends yamaha..

Any insight here would be greatly appreciated!

 

[Jaymi]

Sounds like it needs a rewiring and check to see if by chance, someone put the cap back in for the tone circuit. I have a nice ric and it is just as loud as my other basses. it is all wiring. I don't know where in the country you are to recommend a repair dude or help you fix it myself. look online for a wiring spot
joeysbassnotes.com

check there. it may help you.. if not, PM me and I will try to talk you through.

 

[thedude77md]

^ what he said.

Rics seem to be a little inconsistent volume-wise but they are generally pretty loud.

 

[2nd Wind]

Sounds like a phasing problem. Swap the two wires from the rewound bridge coil and see if that improves things.

 

[smur89]

Hey guys thanks for your replies.
As lazy as this sounds, i dont actually have time to fix this thing myself. In 2 bands at the moment usually means 5 or 6 rehearsals a week. so, its usually work - rehearse - sleep - work.
Im in Ireland, so i doubt youd be able to recommend me somewhere to take it. i had to send the pickup to wales to get it rewound. But i have a guy who said hed have a look at it, hes not too up on rickenbackers, says the stereo in them makes them a bit weird to him.. Im dropping it in at lunch time today (4 hours from now) and that website is blocked on my computer here, so, ill just give the guy in the shop the link and hopefully have my rick working beautifully for the first time!

 

[Jools4001]

You can find the wiring diagrams on the Rickenbacker website. They're not THAT weird. Much the same as any other bass. You may prefer the sound without the extra cap on the treble pup...I know I do

 

[Korladis]

Usually Rickenbackers are notably loud for passive basses. Something is wrong.

If it's an old 4001 it might have a cap that cuts out lows on the bridge pickup. Many people bypass this. If it's a 4003, it probably wouldn't have that.

Also, when you're playing, the closest two knobs to you control the volume and the tone of the bridge pickup, the farther two control the neck pickups. Or at least they should.

 

[smur89]

Im not sure if its a 4001 or 4003. how can you tell the difference? It has white binding on it, which i thought 4001's didnt have...

not sure if pics will help. this is the only pic i have of my ric at the moment. (it was just to show someone my setup.)

I think ill print off this thread before i bring it down to the guy at lunch.
thanks for everything

 

[smur89]

also, the knob im adjusting to get the bass back into the mix (though even then, its not booming how i would like it to) is (with the bass around your neck looking down at it.) the farthest away on the right hand side... so, if its wired correctly, this is the bridge tone, as i thought?

 

[Korladis]

When was your bass made? That's the easiest way of telling the difference, as 4001's stopped being made shortly after 4003's started being made in the early 80's. Very early 4003's have two piece pickguards, but aside from that, a jetglo (black) 4003 looks very similar to a jetglo 4001, the differences being mostly hidden (new truss rod system, higher output pickups, no capacitor cutting lows from the bridge pickup were the major changes that appeared in the 4003... also, the absence of the 70's 4001 "skunk stripe" running down the neck, but that wouldn't have been visible on a jetglo bass).

4001's and 4003's have all come standard with binding, so that's not an indicator. You can find out when your bass was made from the serial number on the jackplate. Ric's site says somewhere what the numbers and letters mean. If your bass was made after the early 80's, it's a 4003.

 

[smur89]

oh ok, its deffo a 4003 then. its a '93. thanks for that sartori

 

[smur89]

well, while i was in the shop, we tried the reversing the phase on the pickup. its not that!

When i was there, it was hard to notice the things that were really obvious through my bass amp... Anyway. i left it with him, and ill have it back on friday. will update you guys then.

 

[smur89]

Ok, i have it back now. He couldnt find anything wrong with it. im going to try just raise the pickup.. (easier said than done as the mounting hole where the left screw goes in needs to be filled and re-drilled) and see if that helps things volume-wise...

Ill have a look at it tonight. anyone have any other ideas to fix this volume problem?

The wiring inside is all done correctly. so im running out of ideas here...

 

[Korladis]

Nvm.

Raising the pickups should help. Rickenbackers aren't generally known for being quiet.

 

[RickenBoogie]

+1, in fact, for a passive bass, they're kinda on the loud side. Raise the pups. Also, when both volume controls are maxed, back off one or the other for more volume. Doesn't make sense, but I've found that backing off the neck volume, just a tad, actually increase3s the volume. My treble tone is usually maxed, bass midway.

 

[syciprider]

Both brand new in the box Ricks I owned had weak outputs IMO. Especially the neck pups.

 

[Korladis]

+1, in fact, for a passive bass, they're kinda on the loud side. Raise the pups. Also, when both volume controls are maxed, back off one or the other for more volume. Doesn't make sense, but I've found that backing off the neck volume, just a tad, actually increase3s the volume. My treble tone is usually maxed, bass midway.

I usually use only one pickup at a time. Bridge for loud, mean bass sounds, neck for mellow, gentle bass sounds.

 

[smur89]

Well, ive hired up the bridge pickup now, so ill try it out in my amp when i get a chance to get down to the studio.

i noticed a little bit of a difference in my little practice amp, but wont know til i try it in my real amp

 

[petersland]

Both brand new in the box Ricks I owned had weak outputs IMO. Especially the neck pups.

+1 to what he said.
I hope I don't upset the purists here, but...
My 2008 4003 had a very weak neck pup.
Both were very noisy also.
After trying all that I could, my solution was to replace the neck pup with a mini humbucker (similar to a beatle bass).
Wow! what a difference. I then ordered another for the bridge position.
Added a hipshot bridge.
I am now in heaven.
This is THE best sounding Ric (IMHO) I've heard.
Cheers, Pete

PS, The wiring isn't that difficult. If you don't like the stereo connection, then disconnect it.

 

[smur89]

hmmm... i dont really want to change the pickups. i want the original ricky sound.. im heading to the studio tonight so ill see what hiring the bridge pickup did.