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Yes it does provide some shielding as, IIRC, there is a copper layer in there, too.
In fact, if you remove the horseshoe "covers" on those old pickups you won't get much sound, as those are actually the magnets that are needed to make a sound! They are not just decorative in this case.
Cool!
I definitely remember reading all about this original Horseshoe version a long time ago, and that the cover was part of the system.
I've never actually compared the two bass models side by side, but does the original 4001 from the 60s have the bridge pickup set back further on the body towards the tailpiece than later versions?
Was just wondering since Chris Squire uses a pick on his bass of course and I was wondering how he could get around having the cover smack dab in the area of the strings you would normally rest your hand and mute the strings while playing.
On my 4003, it would only need to be set back towards the bridge maybe a half inch or so from where it is now and it wouldn't have been a problem for me.
CS obviously couldn't take his covers off on his! I saw a recent gear interview with him where he mentions that the bridge pickup on that 64 he has always used has always had something wrong with it! He said it had very low output and not a lot of bottom end, but he never did anything about getting it fixed.
He said himself on camera, probably much to the chagrin of the folks at Rickenbacker that his CS signature model doesn't sound anything like his original 64 does! LOL!
He said they came to his house and too measurements and stuff, and measured the output of that 64, but apparently, whatever is wrong with that bridge pickup has a lot to do with creating that unique sound he gets, to the point that even Rickenbacker has been unable to duplicate the sound of that one bass!
Something to think about the next time one of your guitars doesn't sound normal, but not in a bad way! My little Gretsch G2224 comes to mind.
I don't know where I read it. I think it was on here somewhere. Might not have even been this Ric thread. But someone had taken the thing off and someone else was going on about how it was a vital part of the bridge pickup's sound or something to that effect.
The original guitars did have those Horseshoe style ones on there like the bass Chris Squire has ans I believe that those covers do play a roll, but since they changed the style, it has never had anything to do with the pickups electronics and what not.
I was just saying that now that they are using chromed plastic covers, it should lay that whole silly argument to rest.
I always chalked the argument up to people confusing the old Rickenbacker 4001s to these new ones.
The cover looks cool and I would have loved to keep it on there, but I play with a pick and I palm mute my strings exactly in the spot where that cover is, so that forced me to play further up towards the neck, and the tone gets all square wavy when you pick the strings that far up.
I use that for effect on mandolin sometimes, but it doesn't work that great for bass! lol!
P.S. I use the WINK emoticon all the time, interchangeably with the smily face, so pay it no mind. I meant nothing by it.
I play with a pick often, depending on what band I'm playing with and what the song calls for, but usually I use the pickup cover as a sort of hand rest, and pick between it and the neck.
Different right hand technique preferences, I guess.
Watch this. Squire usually rests his pick hand on the horseshoe and picks over the neck pickup, but sometimes he picks down near the bridge side as well.
I like the way my bass looks with the cover on but I took it off and put in a treble bezel "cove" and am much more comfortable with it now.
It would be cool to have a cover that pops on or off easily in case you change your mind lol.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
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- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I've never actually compared the two bass models side by side, but does the original 4001 from the 60s have the bridge pickup set back further on the body towards the tailpiece than later versions?
The bridge pickup is ALWAYS in the exact same position. (except for the 4002 and a few 4004 basses)
CS obviously couldn't take his covers off on his!
That is because the "cover" was actually the magnetized part of the old horseshoe pickup from the 1930s design. Remove the cover and the pickup would be dead.
I saw a recent gear interview with him where he mentions that the bridge pickup on that 64 he has always used has always had something wrong with it! He said it had very low output and not a lot of bottom end, but he never did anything about getting it fixed.
That is a typical horseshoe pickup. magnetized steel is very prone to degaussing and that makes the underwound pickup even weaker.
He said himself on camera, probably much to the chagrin of the folks at Rickenbacker that his CS signature model doesn't sound anything like his original 64 does! LOL!
He said they came to his house and too measurements and stuff, and measured the output of that 64, but apparently, whatever is wrong with that bridge pickup has a lot to do with creating that unique sound he gets, to the point that even Rickenbacker has been unable to duplicate the sound of that one bass!
Actually they could have duplicated that bass but then they would send it out with a neck so weak that it would have trouble standing up to a normal set of strings and with a pickup that would degauss in just a few years. That would have been a customer service nightmare.
I used to own a 60s 4001 and I played it for 35 years. I grew very tired of playing that weak necked bass with weak pickups, and I got tired of pickup covers and the stupid machanical mute, and the Rick bridge/tailpiece assembley. I now play modern Ricks ... modified 4004s.
Try a 4004 you might like it.
The bridge pickup is ALWAYS in the exact same position. (except for the 4002 and a few 4004 basses)
CS obviously couldn't take his covers off on his!
That is because the "cover" was actually the magnetized part of the old horseshoe pickup from the 1930s design. Remove the cover and the pickup would be dead.
I saw a recent gear interview with him where he mentions that the bridge pickup on that 64 he has always used has always had something wrong with it! He said it had very low output and not a lot of bottom end, but he never did anything about getting it fixed.
That is a typical horseshoe pickup. magnetized steel is very prone to degaussing and that makes the underwound pickup even weaker.
He said himself on camera, probably much to the chagrin of the folks at Rickenbacker that his CS signature model doesn't sound anything like his original 64 does! LOL!
He said they came to his house and too measurements and stuff, and measured the output of that 64, but apparently, whatever is wrong with that bridge pickup has a lot to do with creating that unique sound he gets, to the point that even Rickenbacker has been unable to duplicate the sound of that one bass!
Actually they could have duplicated that bass but then they would send it out with a neck so weak that it would have trouble standing up to a normal set of strings and with a pickup that would degauss in just a few years. That would have been a customer service nightmare.
I used to own a 60s 4001 and I played it for 35 years. I grew very tired of playing that weak necked bass with weak pickups, and I got tired of pickup covers and the stupid machanical mute, and the Rick bridge/tailpiece assembley. I now play modern Ricks ... modified 4004s.
Try a 4004 you might like it.
Cool! I've seen that whole concert where that came from before. Really good show!
Interesting where he is picking most of the time, and you can really hear the tone get very square wave sounding when he moves from the back of the body up to the neck pickup area.
As I said, I also play Octave Mandolin and on some of my last band's original material, I played my riffs up there to get a real square wave bell like tone. Very different tone than what you get further back, which is more of a sawtooth waveform.
I assume you guys know what I am talking about with the wave form mentions? I also own and play a vintage minimoog analog synthesizer, so waveforms have always been a big part of my descriptions of various tonal characters in instruments. I bought that thing brand new in 1976. Definitely dates me, but there you are!
For those who may not know... A square wave tone is like a Clarinet, and a sawtooth wave is more like a saxophone.
I like that square wave tone sometimes, but I actually think the best Rickenbacker tone is right in the area where the pickup cover is, at least when using a pick. You guys with your pickup covers in the way, will never hear that sound! Neener Neener!
lol! Here is that interview with Squire and Howe on their gear I was referring to earlier. Its really funny to see the contrast between the two of them when it comes to knowing all the details about their instruments and amps etc.
Pretty obvious which one of them is the gear head! lol!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsGjl6kP0SI&feature=em-subs_digest-vrecs
Pretty obvious which one of them is the gear head! lol!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bsGjl6kP0SI&feature=em-subs_digest-vrecs
Cool! I've seen that whole concert where that came from before. Really good show!
Interesting where he is picking most of the time, and you can really hear the tone get very square wave sounding when he moves from the back of the body up to the neck pickup area.
As I said, I also play Octave Mandolin and on some of my last band's original material, I played my riffs up there to get a real square wave bell like tone. Very different tone than what you get further back, which is more of a sawtooth waveform.
I assume you guys know what I am talking about with the wave form mentions? I also own and play a vintage minimoog analog synthesizer, so waveforms have always been a big part of my descriptions of various tonal characters in instruments. I bought that thing brand new in 1976. Definitely dates me, but there you are!
For those who may not know... A square wave tone is like a Clarinet, and a sawtooth wave is more like a saxophone.
I like that square wave tone sometimes, but I actually think the best Rickenbacker tone is right in the area where the pickup cover is, at least when using a pick. You guys with your pickup covers in the way, will never hear that sound! Neener Neener!
I've played Rics that didn't have the pickup cover. The sound right over the pickup wasn't important enough to me to have access to.
I don't know, maybe that's because when I play a Rickenbacker, unless I'm playing a really soft part of a song or trying to sound vaguely like an upright bass, I generally play with just the bridge pickup on.
I was mainly kidding about the sound at the pickup location, but it does have a slightly better tone in that area than in front or behind it. Subtle but I can hear it. I think most of the difference is what gets picked up by the neck pickup, so if you don't use that one much, you would not notice this nearly as much.
I doubt you would notice this with finger playing. The pick brings out a lot more detail on the top end.
I'm a songwriter first and foremost, so bass is just one of the 11 different instruments I learned how to play at my studio back in the late 70s early 80s long before the days of affordable and realistic sounding samplers and other stuff that can mimic the sound of the real thing. Bass guitar is by far one of my favorite instruments for writing music on. Some of my best stuff has come out of a bass line I came up with while screwing around on bass.
Most of what I do these days is studio oriented since I retired from live performances in 2000, so tone is a big part of what I focus on, and in the case of the 4003, I find the best tone when using a pick comes from picking the strings right over the bridge pickup location.
And now I can palm mute the strings the same way I do on my other basses.
He still can't.
I have one on my March '73 4001 that sounds awesome, even with the cap bypassed as it currently is.
Image © Jeffrey P. Scott 2013 All rights reserved.
Very nice! And checked binding to boot!
Great combo with that original pickup and that binding!
My 72 4001 in JetGlo had that binding and it looked so cool and retro to me. Too bad they haven't been able to more cost effectively duplicate that binding so they could offer it as an option.
I would buy another 4003 tomorrow if I could get one with that checked binding on it.
edmidlifecrisis
Registered mediocre bass player
Jeff, read what Chris's friend Vincent with a LOT of 60s basses says about the neck on Chris's RM.
Invalid Link Removed
I think it can sound a zillion times better in stereo. You have more tone control. Each pickup seperately.
Yes. Ricks sound way better in stereo.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I don't have a login for that site ... The wonderful people who run that site have banned me ...
Vincent bought my old 68 4001 ...
UPS dropped this off today....Yowza....
I'm guessing you're having an awesome day... like a kid on Christmas.
Cheers, buddy!
I was mainly kidding about the sound at the pickup location, but it does have a slightly better tone in that area than in front or behind it. Subtle but I can hear it. I think most of the difference is what gets picked up by the neck pickup, so if you don't use that one much, you would not notice this nearly as much.
I doubt you would notice this with finger playing. The pick brings out a lot more detail on the top end.
I'm a songwriter first and foremost, so bass is just one of the 11 different instruments I learned how to play at my studio back in the late 70s early 80s long before the days of affordable and realistic sounding samplers and other stuff that can mimic the sound of the real thing. Bass guitar is by far one of my favorite instruments for writing music on. Some of my best stuff has come out of a bass line I came up with while screwing around on bass.
Most of what I do these days is studio oriented since I retired from live performances in 2000, so tone is a big part of what I focus on, and in the case of the 4003, I find the best tone when using a pick comes from picking the strings right over the bridge pickup location.
I guess part of it, too, is that I don't palm mute, even in the band I play mainly with a pick in.
I like having a bass with two pickups, but not so I can use them together, which I almost never do. Usually what I use the two pickups for is being able to go to a completely different sound with the flick of a switch. This works especially well because of the volume mismatch between my high gain bridge pickup and the toaster neck pickup.
I also have my amp a bit overdriven, and playing between the bridge pickup and the neck I can get it to overdrive more.
I play a bit of guitar, too, especially for recording, but I agree, bass is just more fun.
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