Advice on '73 Rick requested, please

[Denis]

"Would you point the bass-cap out for me, please?"
  The .0047 cap is the LITTLE light yellow cap kind of under the larger light yellow .047 caps. I believe it runs from the 2nd pot to the switch. Go to the rick forum or Joey's bass notes to find out how to do the bypass. It's pretty easy and well worth the mod in my opinion.

Thanks, I see it! In the photo above it's sitting at an angle to the left of the two larger parallel ones. If removal of that allows the bridge up to fully function I wonder why they put it in there n the first place.

Are there decent production numbers for Ricks? It would be cool to know how many 4001s they made in '76.

[ilan]

If removal of that allows the bridge up to fully function I wonder why they put it in there n the first place.

No need to remove it, just bypass it. And if you remove the cap replace it with a piece of wire.

Why did they put it there in the first place? That's still a mystery. It was there from day one of the 4001 until about 1985. I have heard theories about trying to avoid blowing up your amp with that powerful horseshoe pickup, but single-pickup 4000's didn't have the cap (obviously), and no amps that I know of were hurt.

Back in the day I replaced the bridge pickup in my '73 Ric not once but twice, spent a lot of money on that, and still could not fix the problem. How could I guess someone put a bass-cut capacitor in a bass guitar? This is totally illogical. I ended up selling the bass and switching to Fenders, which had all their bass frequencies. It took me many years to understand what the problem really was.

[chromium]

Thanks! I think the electronics need a good cleaning and I suspect the output jacks need tightening.

Deoxit works really good for cleaning pots and jacks:  http://www.redco.com/shopexd.asp?id=716.  In some cases the noisy output jacks are just due to oxidation.

Ilan's right, just solder a short wire to both exposed ends of that cap and it will be like its not even there.  If you really want to get fancy, swap one of the pots with a push/pull to open and close that bypass connection.  I've been wanting to try the bypass on mine too just to see what it sounds like.

That is an awesome score, BTW.  I'm jealous of the jetglo- my favorite color on Rics!

[Highlander]

Beautiful... beautiful... beautiful...

(Jealousy from the shed  )

[Lightyear]

Deoxit works really good for cleaning pots and jacks:  http://www.redco.com/shopexd.asp?id=716.  In some cases the noisy output jacks are just due to oxidation.

Ilan's right, just solder a short wire to both exposed ends of that cap and it will be like its not even there.  If you really want to get fancy, swap one of the pots with a push/pull to open and close that bypass connection.  I've been wanting to try the bypass on mine too just to see what it sounds like.

That is an awesome score, BTW.  I'm jealous of the jetglo- my favorite color on Rics!

Yep, I've used Deoxit for years - in my line of work it has saved my bacon ( sorry Kenny ) over and over again.

The D5 spray can has a selectable spray nozzle, L-M-H, and is designed for a flushing action.  Think of it as a high powered electronics douche  

Oh, and a killer bass at a killer price! 

[Highlander]

No problemo, Buzz... this little piggie just ain't in the market...

[Denis]

Well, dang. I ran it over to the shop and it turns out the bridge pickup is dead and the selector switch had been wired so that the neck up was always on. Also, the neck has a weird twist in it down near the body, something any truss rod adjustment won't cure. So, those last couple of frets are pretty much useless, especially on G. But uses plays those anyway, right?

[Dave W]

Well, dang. I ran it over to the shop and it turns out the bridge pickup is dead and the selector switch had been wired so that the neck up was always on. Also, the neck has a weird twist in it down near the body, something any truss rod adjustment won't cure. So, those last couple of frets are pretty much useless, especially on G. But uses plays those anyway, right?

STOP!

Never, never let anybody touch those truss rods unless they're completely familiar with the old style Rickenbacker rods and how to adjust them.

Are you sure about the pickups? Are you familiar with Rick-O-Sound, and if not, are you sure you're plugging into the normal input and not the Rick-O-Sound? From your description, it sounds like they may not understand Rick wiring.

[Denis]

Doh! Okay, I'll shut up and listen. 
What can you tell me about the truss rods on these old ones, and how the pups operate with the Ric-o-Sound. Does the bridge pup work mostly in conjunction with the Ric-o-Sound?
The guy who looked at it for me works on one of the in-house bass teacher's Rics, and knew all about the bass cap and the push/pull switch which Ric sells as a replacement so I figured he knew what was going on.
I'm all ears...

[Dave W]

It's been several years since I owned a Rick, but IIRC if you plug into the Rick-O-Sound jack, you'll only get the neck pickup. ROS only works with a ROS box or equivalent. Plug only into the lower jack and see if you have both pickups.

I'll let Ilan or someone else with a 4001 explain about the TR adjustment procedure, but I know you should not just crank the rods.

[patman]

What Dave says...

My RIC was the only bass I never adjusted the rods on myself.  On mine, once it was set, it never moved.  No spring loosen, autumn tighten...it was a fine instrument once you got it professionally set up.

Both pups only work if you use the "normal" output jack.  There is a huge difference in the sound between neck and bridge.  On mine I could use the bridge alone, and it sounded very Jacoish, or even Musicmanish. (With the cap bypassed). I cranked the neck toaster into the body to facilitate slapping (not a lot of presence in the toaster), and it was an awe inspiring sound.  Deep with lots of crunch.

I think either Alembic or Bartolini makes a bridge pickup that is a drop-in replacement, if needed.

Well worth a few bucks to get a pro to help...

[dminer]

Here's a link to the rick forum "anatomy of a bass" thread describing the old style truss rods adjustment procedure. If you follow the guide you can easily adjust and tweek them yourself.


http://www.rickresource.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=387829

[Denis]

Dminer, that link is great, thanks!
Dave and Patman, now I really hope the shop didn't undo something which really was working fine.  Patman, your post especially makes me think an error was made with the electronics.
I don't mind sending the Ric to someone who knows what they are doing with it because that link leads me to believe that the neck might not be done for after all.
It looks like the Ric website lists dealers but no service shops. Anyone know a reputable one in the southeast US? If not, I'll ship it off...
Now I'm really sweating this.
Many thanks everyone, I really appreciate it!

[patman]

At least on mine, after you got rid of the cap, the bridge pup was pretty strong.  I kept it raised as high as it would go without farting (happens when strings are too close to pickup), and rested my thumb on it.  That's probably where the Jacoish tone came from (playing back by the bridge).

Before I got rid of the tone cap, I hated the bass...it was all neck toaster with poor definition. I bought my old one at "Wills Pawn Shop" in Cinti for $300 on a Friday afternoon, played it Friday night, and was ready to get rid of it. A friend in the air force who knew electronics looked at it, and saw the 2 caps--got out a little wire, and jumped one, and the rest was history.  Played it Saturday night and it was awesome.

They are odd beasts, but sound great once you adapt to them.

YMMV

[Denis]

What Dave says...
My RIC was the only bass I never adjusted the rods on myself.  On mine, once it was set, it never moved.  No spring loosen, autumn tighten...it was a fine instrument once you got it professionally set up.
Both pups only work if you use the "normal" output jack.
I think either Alembic or Bartolini makes a bridge pickup that is a drop-in replacement, if needed.
Well worth a few bucks to get a pro to help...

Oh man, then the bridge pup might NOT be toasted and it could just be he had the cable in the stereo jack? So, to use the Ric-o-sound feature properly do you have to have to separate bass rigs and a box or something?

From that link....
"Proper Technique For Both Styles.
The idea here is to take the load off of the rods BEFORE turning the nuts. There are two basic ways to do this. If your bass has the old style rods and your tech does not do what I am about to describe to you. Grab your bass and RUN don't walk to the nearest exit and never go back. The factory suggests placing the instrument on its back on a bench and securing the tail end. With the end secured, press down on the headstock to flex the neck backwards. Push until the strings lie flat on the frets. Don't be shy, you won't break it. You can actually feel and hear when the rods are loose inside the neck. While the neck is flexed, give each rod 1/8 of a turn clockwise to add back bow and counter clockwise to remove back bow and release. Check the tuning then the relief and repeat if necessary. Go slowly. Sometimes it takes a day or two for the adjustment to fully set in. On healthy necks the rods should be more or less equal in tension. "

Yeesh, I don't want to try this on my own!