The Last Bass Outpost

Gear Discussion Forums => Rickenbacker Basses => Topic started by: Lightyear on July 07, 2010, 09:12:57 AM

Title: 4004 pickups/sound?
Post by: Lightyear on July 07, 2010, 09:12:57 AM

Anybody have or played 4004?  The pickups are for sale at the Ric Boutique for $95, thery're the same as the 650 guitar pickups, and the size and appearance will work well for my project but I'm wondering about their tone and power.

Title: Re: 4004 pickups/sound?
Post by: gearHed289 on July 07, 2010, 04:52:07 PM

They sound great and are quiet. Well, actually they're LOUD, but you know what I mean.  ;D ;D I had a pair on my 4003S for a short while. Went back to single coils for a more traditional Ric tone, plus I already had my Les Paul which does the humbucker thing beautifully.

Title: Re: 4004 pickups/sound?
Post by: Lightyear on July 07, 2010, 05:11:36 PM

Thanks Tom!  How would you describe them - bright, middish, ultra low?  I'm going to build a single pup Ric project and these do look the part.  Do you know are they blade magnets or pole pieces? 

Hey, do you still have the set you had in your Ric? ;D

Title: Re: 4004 pickups/sound?
Post by: gearHed289 on July 08, 2010, 11:15:02 AM

I'd say they're slightly scooped in the mids with solid lows and just a touch of the Ric tone lurking in the background. Dual blade magnets. You could wire them for coil splitting if you wanted to. I sold the ones I had.

Title: Re: 4004 pickups/sound?
Post by: Lightyear on July 08, 2010, 03:24:11 PM

Thanks, that's good news.  I thought I think I'll run the coil tqap through a push pull tone pot.

Title: Re: 4004 pickups/sound?
Post by: Dave W on July 08, 2010, 09:49:13 PM

If you're worried that they'll sound too guitar-like, don't worry, they'll be fine. Sometimes the same pickup will work fine for both, but in this case IMHO they work better for bass.  I had a 650 briefly at the same time as I had my 4004, I thought it had too much low end.

Title: Re: 4004 pickups/sound?
Post by: Lightyear on July 09, 2010, 08:08:53 AM

Thanks Dave.  What did you think of the pickup overall?  My first thought was a Pitbull as I like they way they look and I can source them local at Rockin' Robin or even drive the shop over on TC Jester.  What I'm thinking is a pretty bright wood selection, though not all maple, so I want something that isn't anemic and has a bit of warmth - I'm not looking for a brittle modern type tone.

Title: Re: 4004 pickups/sound?
Post by: Dave W on July 09, 2010, 11:48:46 AM

It's not a brash pickup like the Pitbull supposedly is. Doesn't have a lot of attack. Certainly not anemic though, it's high output for a passive. It has plenty of high end but it's not overly bright, not too rounded either. Plenty of lows.

If I had kept the bass, I wouldn't have changed the pickups.