Perfect! Anything under 9lb is good, haven’t tried weighing mine, but it feels like that ballpark. How’s it playing? I’m still chasing a high fret somewhere in the 12-17 range, it’s subtle but annoying.
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- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,007
- 1
- 31,705
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- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
Action came in surprisingly good for having not done any fret leveling. Theoretically, a perfectly flat fretboard with perfectly installed frets should be perfect. Reality less so, but still playable. 
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,007
- 1
- 31,705
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
And a "family photo" with her sibling, the 4620. 
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,007
- 1
- 31,705
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
Thank you!
No dead spots have presented themselves yet, although I actually haven’t spent too many hours playing it. Life intervenes, you know, and because I don’t have a dedicated music room, it’s a bit of an effort to set up the big rig and make big noise. But through the practice amp, everything seems hunky-dory.
My understanding of dead spots is that they are caused by a resonance in the neck at the pitch that is perceived as “dead”. Apparently one-piece coughFendercough necks are most susceptible, and this makes sense, as multi-laminate necks tend to reduce resonances through the use of, well, multi-laminates. I don’t expect any problems out of this five-piece neck.
Yes, deadspots are devoid of any low fundamentals and sustain...I miss the 4001 I had back in the mid-70s that I traded in on a BC Rich Mockingbird (that has a deadspot).
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,007
- 1
- 31,705
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,007
- 1
- 31,705
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
I finally replaced the neck pickup with one that has two properly working coils. I didn’t mind the single-coil of the old one too much, but there was a bit of hum, so I wanted to address that.
Now I have the shell of a Rickenbacker pickup just begging to have something interesting installed in it...
Now I have the shell of a Rickenbacker pickup just begging to have something interesting installed in it...
Sounds like a great wind-your-own pickup project to me...
- Apr 18, 2008
- 16,007
- 1
- 31,705
- Disclosures
- I'm highly opinionated and extremely self-assured
Coming up on this bass’ fifth birthday! I still absolutely love it for any four-string work.
But I recently made a couple of significant changes.
First, pickups. I love the tone of the Rickenbacker HB1. But I had a third one die on me recently. Just no sound for no apparent reason. Measures infinite resistance. Dead.
So after reading about Gemini Pickups in the UK, I contacted them about options for this bass. I knew I wanted their humbucker Rogue Wave neck and bridge pickups, and Mike recommended a Firedrake to go in my bridge position.
The other major change is the addition of a John East BTB-01 two-band preamp. I’ve raved about these in other threads, having installed them in a number of my other basses. Just a fantastic little unit: compact, powerful, flexible, and durable. John makes great stuff!
While I had the bass disassembled, I also rolled the fretboard edges, something that I didn’t know I needed to do five years ago…
I have only auditioned this new setup at home, but first impressions are quite positive. Plenty of fullness down low, and plenty of bite up top. I was glad that the midrange complexity didn’t change with the Gemini pickups. Our last couple of band rehearsals were canceled, but hopefully soon I can run it through its paces with the group!
But I recently made a couple of significant changes.
First, pickups. I love the tone of the Rickenbacker HB1. But I had a third one die on me recently. Just no sound for no apparent reason. Measures infinite resistance. Dead.
So after reading about Gemini Pickups in the UK, I contacted them about options for this bass. I knew I wanted their humbucker Rogue Wave neck and bridge pickups, and Mike recommended a Firedrake to go in my bridge position.
The other major change is the addition of a John East BTB-01 two-band preamp. I’ve raved about these in other threads, having installed them in a number of my other basses. Just a fantastic little unit: compact, powerful, flexible, and durable. John makes great stuff!
While I had the bass disassembled, I also rolled the fretboard edges, something that I didn’t know I needed to do five years ago…
I have only auditioned this new setup at home, but first impressions are quite positive. Plenty of fullness down low, and plenty of bite up top. I was glad that the midrange complexity didn’t change with the Gemini pickups. Our last couple of band rehearsals were canceled, but hopefully soon I can run it through its paces with the group!
