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Rickenbacker output adjustment

B

Bassdude66

Feb 23, 2026
46
67
#1
Hello,

I have a 2021 4003 Ric. It seems like I’m not getting enough output even at full volume. I’ve read that adjusting the pickups closer to the strings is a solution for this. Anyone else have other suggestions, or is this the common solution? Wanting to make sure it’s not a common problem with Rics that can’t be fixed. Thanks all.
 
#3
Jeff Scott said:
What is your reference for "enough" output?
Click to expand...
One of my references is that I’ve played it at church and they’ve struggled to get enough of a signal from it. I’ll have the volume cranked and getting that through the system is a struggle, where other basses of mine are fine.

Also even playing it here at home with the volume cranked it also seems like it should be louder.
 
#6
Question: Is the output low on each pickup, or just one of them? I think I might remember something about a few people around 2022ish saying they had low volume and raising the pickup took care of it. It's easy to do. Even I was able to do it on a new 4003 last year. Here is a pdf from Ric showing how the treble pickup goes together. I'd give this a try. More Ric diagrams can be found here: www.rickenbacker.com/parts-diagrams/
 

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#8
(1) raise pickups;
(2) raise polepieces, which also brightens the tone of the stock overwound Hi-Gains;
(3) press in the "vintage" switch to boost the volume and bottom of the bridge pickup;
(4) I've found that changing the neck pickup to a Toaster helps with the volume and clarity on my 2008 Ric, compared with the stock Hi-Gains with too weak magnets and too much windings.
(5) change to high-output strings such as B52 or Cobalt? I used to have a bad batch of strings on my Ric that made it extremely quiet, and a string change took care of that.
 
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#9
Remember that Rickenbacker bass pickups are in the region of 8 to 10 kohms' worth of wire, and 44AWG at that which has higher resistance than the typical 42AWG that P-bass and J-bass pickups are wound with. Despite the RIC name for them, they are NOT "high gain" in the contemporary sense. Crank your preamp knob on your amplifier a number or two.
 
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#10
What's your signal chain like? I can imagine a compressor (either by you or at the board) would solve this pretty easily. Made sure they don't have an input pad or something activated on the DI box or amp you're using? Most mixing boards can introduce a sizeable amount of gain per channel, maybe they don't want to tweak too much 🤔
 
#11
Bassdude66 said:
Hello,

I have a 2021 4003 Ric. It seems like I’m not getting enough output even at full volume. I’ve read that adjusting the pickups closer to the strings is a solution for this. Anyone else have other suggestions, or is this the common solution? Wanting to make sure it’s not a common problem with Rics that can’t be fixed. Thanks all.
Click to expand...
Are they still using the .0047 capacitor on their front pick-ups? There are videos on how to disable it.
 
#12
Rickenbacker pickups, despite being named "Hi Gain", are notably lower in output than may other pickups out there, so you're probably not imagining things. One common complaint is the volume of the neck pickup relative to the bridge pickup; I have a 2024 model and I noticed this on mine. You can boost the signal from your pickup by sticking a magnet on the back - here's a post where I go into detail about doing that with some cheap neodymium magnets I got off Amazon.

Raising the pickups to be closer to the strings will also increase output, as the magnetic field gets stronger the closer you are. Don't get too close though, or the pull of the magnet can actually affect the vibration of the strings.

Both of these are relatively easy and cheap fixes to implement. You don't mention anything about your rig here, are you using any sort of preamp? If so, you can also use that to boost your signal.

Another thing to check if your bass is a 4003 with binding and dual outputs (not a 4003S) - which output are you plugging the cord into? The one closer to the neck that's labeled Ric-O-Sound is meant for a stereo cord, if you're plugging a normal guitar cable into that you're only getting one pickup. Plug into the rear output unless you are using the stereo output with the right kind of cable.

Casual Bassist said:
Are they still using the .0047 capacitor on their front pick-ups? There are videos on how to disable it.
Click to expand...
The cap is on the bridge pickup, and on newer models it's on a push/pull pot so you can just switch it off easily.
 
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#13
Isaac_James said:
Rickenbacker pickups, despite being named "Hi Gain", are notably lower in output than may other pickups out there, so you're probably not imagining things. One common complaint is the volume of the neck pickup relative to the bridge pickup; I have a 2024 model and I noticed this on mine. You can boost the signal from your pickup by sticking a magnet on the back - here's a post where I go into detail about doing that with some cheap neodymium magnets I got off Amazon.

Raising the pickups to be closer to the strings will also increase output, as the magnetic field gets stronger the closer you are. Don't get too close though, or the pull of the magnet can actually affect the vibration of the strings.

Both of these are relatively easy and cheap fixes to implement. You don't mention anything about your rig here, are you using any sort of preamp? If so, you can also use that to boost your signal.

Another thing to check if your bass is a 4003 with binding and dual outputs (not a 4003S) - which output are you plugging the cord into? The one closer to the neck that's labeled Ric-O-Sound is meant for a stereo cord, if you're plugging a normal guitar cable into that you're only getting one pickup. Plug into the rear output unless you are using the stereo output with the right kind of cable.


The cap is on the bridge pickup, and on newer models it's on a push/pull pot so you can just switch it off easily.
Click to expand...
Right, bridge, my bad.
 

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#16
Bassdude66 said:
Hello,

I have a 2021 4003 Ric. It seems like I’m not getting enough output even at full volume. I’ve read that adjusting the pickups closer to the strings is a solution for this. Anyone else have other suggestions, or is this the common solution? Wanting to make sure it’s not a common problem with Rics that can’t be fixed. Thanks all.
Click to expand...
I found with both of my 4003s that the neck pickup was much quieter than the bridge. I had to raise the neck pickups as high as they’d go and it solved the sound imbalance.
 
#18
Personally I balance my neck pickup volume as in-between as "modern" bridge and "vintage" bridge, since I actually use the Ric-O-Sound a lot and make use of both bridge pickup sounds.
Isaac_James said:
I'm pretty sure that the hardwired capacitor hasn't been used in years, it was a feature of the 4001 but @Bassdude66 said that his bass was a 2021 4003.
Click to expand...
I believe it's now on a push-pull switch since the early 00s, with the "vintage" cap sound in the "out" position. Default is "modern" without cap.
Root 5 said:
It won’t make any difference if the tone is at ‘10’
Click to expand...
It will, since it's an inline high-pass and not a grounded low-pass as found in tone knobs.
 
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#19
Iristone said:
Personally I balance my neck pickup volume as in-between as "modern" bridge and "vintage" bridge, since I actually use the Ric-O-Sound a lot and make use of both bridge pickup sounds.

I believe it's now on a push-pull switch since the early 00s, with the "vintage" cap sound in the "out" position. Default is "modern" without cap.
Click to expand...
I can't speak to the timeline, but on my 2024 bass that's the way it works. I also use the Ric-O-Sound output when I jam, but rarely do I use the vintage setting
 
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#20
Isaac_James said:
I can't speak to the timeline, but on my 2024 bass that's the way it works. I also use the Ric-O-Sound output when I jam, but rarely do I use the vintage setting
Click to expand...
Wondering if you can clear something up for me….the Ric-O-Sound output - I thought it could only be used when you’re directing output to two different places. Does it in some way sound different when you use the Ric-O-Sound output by itself, as opposed to the standard one?
 

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