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Rickenbacker problem

R

Rebecky

Dec 27, 2010
120
2
35
Bristol, UK
www.facebook.com
#1
Sorry if this has been posted before, I did do a little search beforehand but couldn't find anything quite the same...

I'm having troubles with the pickup cover on my rickenbacker. I absolutely adore the look of its bulky silvery shiny-ness and can't bring myself to remove it but I can't seem to get the strings in the right position.

First the strings would occasionally hit the cover when I was playing so I got the thing set up by a guy who was reccommended to me by some of my tutors and it all seemed fine for a little while but now the strings are hitting the pickup itself and making some horrible sounds! Am I playing too hard? Has anyone else had these issues? Did the guy just not do a particuarly good job? I did want a low action but these clippy noises just ain't cool.

I'm also too chicken to try to fiddle about with anything myself.


Also, didn't see any existing threads about it... But this "rick-o-sound" output thing - has anyone used it, what does it really do and how does it sound?
 
#2
adjusting the pickup so the strings won't hit it is super simple. just turn the two large screws counterclockwise to lower the pickup a little bit so the strings can't touch it.

a clear picture would also help.

the ric-o-sound is just a stereo jack that has an output for each pickup seperately, so you can run it to two amps or two channels of a single amp.
 
#6
OPBASSMAN1994 said:
The cover only inhibits your playing.
Click to expand...

Oh come on. I don't play with it but surely there are people out there who have gotten used to it and made it part of their technique. I know Lemmy Kilmister actually had one needlessly installed on his 4004 for that reason.

Marcus Miller can slap a Jazz Bass with the neck pickup covered--that is even closer to the area where he slaps than this cover would be. If someone wants to leave it on there power to them! I think I'm going to slap mine back on just out of spite one of these days. For the first year I left it on, it never bothered me, but I took it off due to comments like this and now I'm not sure it even mattered.
 
#7
That cool-looking plastic dingus arching over the bridge pickup is grounded, I suspect for a good reason. I believe that it's part of the shielding for the single-coil pickup.
When I did the RPRW mod on my 2010 4003, I was uber careful about adjusting the p/u height just right so the cover dingus ended up at the right height. There doesn't appear to be a lot of tolerance built into the design to allow a huge amount of adjustment.

I had to re-do the adjustment twice to get it just right. When it's done right, it's amazing how right-on the whole thing is.

My advice, if you're concerned, find a tech WHO IS FAMILIAR WITH RICS.
 
#12
billoetjen said:
The cover is plastic, plated with copper(?) or some other conductor to provide shielding. That's why it's grounded. I wouldn't remove it.
Take the patience to adjust it properly.
Click to expand...

it's not gounded, the pickup surround is. the plastic cover is not conductive and was never meant to used for shielding. it was meant to cover the pickup. the early rics had a steel 'horeshoe' that wrapped over the pickup that did conduct magnetism and was part of the pickup (just like their vintage steel guitar type). the later horseshoe pickup, like on my v63 has a metal horseshoe, but it's not necessary to even have that type on it. i took mine off and the bridge pickup sounds the same, with or without it.

4003-V63-1.jpg


rickyv63-1-w.jpg
 
#17
cassius987 said:
Oh come on. I don't play with it but surely there are people out there who have gotten used to it and made it part of their technique. I know Lemmy Kilmister actually had one needlessly installed on his 4004 for that reason.

Marcus Miller can slap a Jazz Bass with the neck pickup covered--that is even closer to the area where he slaps than this cover would be. If someone wants to leave it on there power to them! I think I'm going to slap mine back on just out of spite one of these days. For the first year I left it on, it never bothered me, but I took it off due to comments like this and now I'm not sure it even mattered.
Click to expand...

Yes ... some pick players use it as a hand rest ...

For many years I played the holy grail of Rickenbackers ... a 60s 4001 with the horseshoe and toaster pickups ... a bass that many Rickenbacker owners would love to own. Well I grew really tired of the horseshoe pickup cover, but I couldn't remove it without ruining the pickup. So when I finally moved on to more modern Rickenbackers the joy I derived from removing the pickup covers was wonderful!

These days I play more modern Rickenbackers without pickup covers and without machanical mutes and without Ric-o-sound.

b%20078.jpg


b%20167.jpg
 
#18
I'd love to take apart a Ric someday and see what all that metal surrounding the rear pickup is for... it's like 20+ square inches of chrome plated shiny bumper metal, and I have no idea what function it serves.

I've seen Rics without it (Cheyennes?) so I'm not sure what all that metal is about.
 
#19
M.R. Ogle said:
I'd love to take apart a Ric someday and see what all that metal surrounding the rear pickup is for... it's like 20+ square inches of chrome plated shiny bumper metal, and I have no idea what function it serves.

I've seen Rics without it (Cheyennes?) so I'm not sure what all that metal is about.
Click to expand...

it's for looks man! ;)
 

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