Rickenbacker

[Mark Steel]

Re: the bridge pickup cover. I ordered one for my #4001 in the mid 70s and at that time it was "chrome colored" plastic.


[Edited by double dad on 12-20-2000 at 02:49 PM]

 

[Thornton Davis]

Here's the best place to get one. Just give them the serial number of your bass and they'll send you out the right one.

Invalid Link Removed

Regarding RIC's 4003/S5 string bass, this is a very nice and unique bass! The interesting part is that they use a 1/16" wider neck than the standard 4003 33 1/4" scale neck and cram 5 strings onto it. String spacing is a little tight but not overly tight. RIC use a 115 gauge string for the low B, (most 5-string manufacturers use a 130-135 gauge B string) The 115 gauge string is tight and doesn't flop, and produces a excellent low B on this bass. Standard RIC string gauge on the bass are; 45,55,75,105,115 which make this bass sound great. Combine these strings with the 6-pole toaster neck p/u and 5 pole bridge p/u wired in mono (no third capacitor here) and this bass sings.
If your a Rickenbacker owner and in the market for a 5-string bass, check out a 4003/S5. You won't be sorry.
Cheers

 

[Funkster]

My 84 has a plastic cover, As for pups I love the stock ones but if I was to replace them and stock ones were not availible I would go with the Bartolinis

[Edited by Funkster on 12-26-2000 at 09:45 PM]

 

[Jennifer]

Boy, I could swear mine is chrome, I'll have to go take a closer look.

 

[Brian Gordon]

Originally posted by barroso
what kind of pick ups do you suggest for replacement?
thanks
marco

Bartolini!

 

[throbbinnut]

Mine's chromed plastic, and it is presently in place, where it should be.

Chris

 

[nil]

(apart from the horseshoe, they're all plastic) my 4003 is chromed plastic and taken off, the 4008 is black plastic and taken off. too much chance of string rattle against them and sometimes they get in the way if you're trying to palm/finger mute. but they do look nicer with them on!

 

[Syncop8r]

I couldn't wait to throw my pickup cover away.
I too wanted more clearance for the strings to vibrate, more room for my hand... so I took off the whole pup cover outfit and those square-sided scratch-plates as well, and made my own curvy ones that cover all ( one for both pups, one for controls ) and they follow the bass's shape nicely.
It does look a bit Fenderized ( apologies ) but its a lot better to play.

 

[nanook]

So far, I've never seen anybody leave the pickup cover on. It is a throw away item.

 

[Slaphappy]

When I owned a 4003, I removed the pu cover and dropped an Alembic in the bridge PU slot...sounded killer! My brother owns that bass, now, so it's still in the family...just three states away

Now I have a 4001V63, which has the horseshoe pu design, of course. I find it doesn't bother me in the least...and that PU kicks ass; better than the Alembic replacement. Of course, the V63s don't have the capacitor issues mentioned several pages back, so they have a really hot output. I have to turn the gain way down on my Bassman 400 when I plug the Ric in cuz she's such a load Ahhh...she's THE best sounding Ric I've played!

 

[Moe Hickey]

My midnight blue with black trim 86 4003, purchased last week on EBAY is on the way. Can't wait! Maybe I could do the by-pass surgery live on the net like when Carney Wilson had liposuction. Funkster, I may be emailing you for a consultation.

 

[nanook]

Congratulations Max. If it is a good one (odds are in your favor) you are going to be one happy bassist.

 

[LiquidMidnight]

Ric's are awesome, My old man has a 4001. I was wondering if anyone here has played one of the new Cheyenne models. What are they like?

 

[Funkster]

Howdy Max, whenever your ready to do surgery I'll do my best to help you out. I seen the one you bought and you got a nice bass coming to you, Great deal! Congrats!

 

[NukeBass]

I broke down and did the cap surgery last week on my 79 Rick. This is what I did. I soldered a piece of wire in parallel with the capacitor going from the treble volume control to the selector switch. The good news is the guitar still plays (which for me is a rare occassion after working on something). The bad news is that I don't hear much difference between the treble and bass pickups. I expected a large tone difference but instead I have essentially two of the same pickup. Is this normal? I've never tried the reissue bass (and don't know how that sounds). Should I have removed the cap completely?

thanks

 

[nil]

Yup, you should replace the capacitor with the shunt. Leaving the cap there would cause signal to still go through it, thereby not bypassing it.

There shouldn't be much difference in the actual sound of the p/u after surgery, just more gain from the bridge p/u. Of course, Rics with a toaster in the neck position will have a different sound to the "reissue" (not a reissue, more of an advancement) models with a standard neck p/u.

 

[throbbinnut]

If you are soldering in a piece of wire across a cap to short around it, there is no need to remove the cap. Trust me, all those electrons are gonna go through the wire, not the cap.

Chris

 

[SantasCabanaBoy]

I have a Ric 4003, and it has some small, rough, little scratches on the body, and a couple scrapes in the finish. Is there any way to touch up or eliminate these imperfections in the finish. Does Rickenbacker repiant, or do any matinence of the finish if I were to send it to them.

I would appreciate a response Via E-mail, but a posted reply will be fine if that is what you are willing to do.

 

[Funkster]

NukeBass The same thing happened to me and once I took out the cap I had the volume from the bridge pup.

 

[Thornton Davis]

SantaCabanaBoy, Rickenbacker does not refinish older RIC guitars or basses as a rule. However, every once in awhile they will accept a RIC back for a refinish job. This happens very rarely as they do not have the time to spend on refinishing older RIC's. Their production is at capacity now which leaves no time for these types of projects.

As for the best polish that i've ever found to work on any guitar or bass it is Novus #2.
You can do a search on the web and find a dealer for it. This is amazing stuff, I personally highly recommend it.
Cheers