iiipopes

If it still drops when you have both on together, it could be an impedance drop problem. This is common with all J-style basses. Assuming you have sorted out the wiring to make sure they are in phase, then the next cure is to put a .01 mfd capacitor in line between the hot lead of the bridge pickup and the wiper of the bridge volume control. Overall volume of the bridge pickup may drop slightly, but there should be no additional drop when both pickups are on together.

The folks at the factory forum at rickenbacker.com or the enthusiasts' website rickresource.com can help you. In the meantime, If you take the hot lead of the pickup loose from the selector switch, you can multimeter the pickup to get a dc resistance reading to earth that will tell you if the pickup is good or bad. Assuming the pickup is good, a few years ago RIC had to change from the traditional lead & tin alloy solder to a different alloy to comply with California environmental regulations. In the transition, some of the solder joints didn't connect properly due to having to reevaluate compatable soldering irons and technique. Even Mr. JH admits there are a few "cold soldered" joints on some instruments that need to be resoldered: heat up the iron, put a small bit of flux on each joint, and heat each joint until the solder flows and resets shiny. If the OP is not confident doing that, then any good shop can do it reasonably.

Yes!!! About twenty years ago, I had a friend who had a bass with a similar knot in the neck of a bass from a different manufacturer. I helped him write a letter to the manufacturer and include pictures and claimed warranty from day one and that it had to be replaced. Yes, this knot is causing the grief, just like it caused the same grief to my friend. Do the same thing: contact the Fender custom shop, send pictures, explain what is happening, and demand a new neck.

Rotosound Monel 77's are very stiff strings. Too stiff, in my view. What tone do you want? If you want Macca tone with some flexibility, as the above post, then the TI flats. They are rather "floppy" compared to other sets. Also in this category are the new Optima flats, which are supposedly as close to the original '60's Maxima flats as possible. If you want Early Fender tone ('50's & early '60's), then LaBella. If you want R&B, then D'Addario Chromes. If you want some growl and major flexibility for most styles, the new Fender flats 9050CL set in 45-105. If you want straight forward round tone, some of the other brands will do.

A 500 kohm pot on a standard Jazz bass pickup will raise the upper mids just a hair compared to the standard 250 kohm pot. As far as the tone capacitor, a .047 microfarad is the standard. I prefer a .033 microfarad capacitor so more mids are retained when I turn down the tone pot. For dub, a lot of folks use a .1 microfarad capacitor, turning the tone control down, sometimes all the way. If you like the tone overall, I would leave the bass as stock wired and values of the components.

HOLD ON! Is it the strap bolt, or the sleeve in the wood that is loose? On current production RIC basses, the strap bolt is screwed into a sleeve, and can be unscrewed so it can be withdrawn and strap locks fitted. If it is just the bolt, contact RIC customer service, tell them the strap bolt is loose, and see if they will exchange with you. If it is the sleeve that is loose in the wood, then you do have a much more significant issue, which a good luthier will need to look at to determine the appropriate remedy or repair.

Having played bass since 1976, I have generally found GHS strings to be more compatable with Gibson instruments and D'Addario strings to be more compatible with Fender instruments. Boomers are a good string. I played them for years, until I switched to Progressives for my 4002 and flats for my custom P-J-style bass. They come in short scale as a stock set in light and medium gauges, they are relatively inexpensive, have a reasonable life, and a versatile tone that does not sound "scooped" or, after settling in, not too twangy, to me. YMMV. (And the red silk coordinates well with Gibson's cherry red mahogany finish.)

On Bronco and Musicmaster basses, most folks I know swap out the stock pickup for a "rails" type pickup, like a Seymour Duncan "Cool Rails" neck pickup, to get a good clear tone that is also noise cancelling. Pair it with 250kohm controls and a .047 tone capacitor, and it sounds great. Don't get one that is overwound, like a "hot" or "bridge" version, unless you want midrange thickness that can turn muddy.

+1 on a 4-ohm speaker. The output MOS-FET units on these little amps are usually rated to handle the 4-ohm load. After consulting the engineering "white paper" on the output unit of my Vox Pathfinder guitar amp to see that it can handle 4-ohm, I bridged the either/or extension speaker jack so I could use the internal 8-ohm speaker with another 8-ohm extension cabinet in parallel. Much better tone, a tad more headroom, and never a problem. Can't guarantee it, and your mileage may vary, but I'd do it if it were my amp.

Mains wiring. There's nothing wrong with your bass. I used to have a '75 Jazz bass in the early '80's. All single coil instruments will hum or buzz slightly when you are not touching them with the volume turned up. If it buzzes a lot, it is usually because of flourescent lighting, computer monitors, or other devices causing electrostatic noise that the bass is picking up, or an insufficiently filtered mains supply. That's why the bridge is connected to the sleeve of the jack: when you play the bass, the electrostatic noise is conducted to earth instead of being sent through the amp as noise or buzz. Now hum is a function of the AC mains as well, which on a Jazz bass is attenuated by having both volume knobs at about the same level because the pickups are RWRP.

Years before Sheldon developed his Super P and Super J, he fretted a custom "half-fanned" neck for my custom P-J bass which I posted a thread about on this forum. Sheldon is the best. His basses are in the rarefied top eschelon of instruments.

Late to the game, I admit, but regarding the relative positioning of the segments: Leo knew [i]exactly[/i] what he was doing. Look at the prior state of the art looking forward: Leo invisioned octaves played by the thumb on the bass on flatwounds derived from double bass strings. So with the octave being two frets up two strings up, the G-D segment is still more proportionately in a similar position to the fretted octave compared to the A-E segment. That, combined with older technology amps and speakers having more difficulty reproducing the lowest fundamentals, the A-E segment needed to be more upstream to get more fundamental out of the tone so it would sound even across the strings for the technology of the day. All the above comments are looking at the current state of the art looking backwards, not from where it was looking forwards.

A capo would have been less expensive.

Lindy is one of the best. Congratulations on your acquisition.

[quote name='lowlandtrees' timestamp='1361291389' post='1984036'] Looking at all this great feedback I think that I will go back to the EADG strings, punt something and get a dedicated 5 string. The Ric has toaster pups. Did not realise that these are guitar pups and prob don't pick up the low notes. As said , the neck is also kinda thin looking. The B rattles like .... as well. I play mainly the lower 3 strings and don't use the G much so I thought that I could get rid of the G and add a B. I would not attempt any re wiring.... too clumsy. I love the sound of the instrument as it is but we were doing some stuff that needed a low notes so I thought........cheap solution...but there never is. Can also just drop tune. Also have an MM SUB but don't suppose that would work either. Do fancy a Precision 5 string. How many instruments is too many? Don't need to answer that[/quote] Yes, it is good to keep the instrument in stock playing condition. As far as a 5-string, I did not have much cash, and I purchased an Ibanez SRA-305 on a closeout for @US$300 that I use to gig with: straight forward controls, V-V-T, then into the Ibanez version of the EMG EXB which I can bypass if the battery on it goes dead.

You can find all your answers at either Joey's bass notes or at Rickresource.com Regarding the split fingerboard mentioned above: There is a definite proper procedure for the "old style" rods. I had a '76 4001 and it was perfect until I wore the frets out, and at the time lived in an area that there were no competent luthiers to replace them, and so I sold it for a '81 4002 which also has the "old style" rods. Never a problem with the rods when the proper procedure was used. If properly set up, a 4001 is the best. But it is like a thoroughbred horse: if you don't treat it properly, it will disintegrate, like it did for the poster above. Now, finally, most commercial speaker cabinets are made to roll off at @ 50 Hz so that driver excursion is truncated resulting in less warranty claims. Low B fundamental is @ 31 Hz. Has the OP checked to see if other 5-string basses sound even on the lower notes of the B string through the rig?

If you want to know how the heavier 50-110 strings will feel, tune your bass with the current 45-105 strings up a half step, or one fret, to F-Bb-Eb-Ab. This will show you about how much your neck will need to be adjusted, if any, and if you care for how the added tension feels under your fingers.

I have custom-ordered GHS Progressives in 45-60-80-105 for over 20 years for my Rickenbacker 4002. When I used Rotosound Swingbass on my custom fanned fret bass, I custom ordered the same gauges. And finally Fender came out with those same gauges in a flat wound set they call the 9050CL (for custom light) which have converted me from a roundwound player to a flatwound player. So it's good to see a mainstream company like D'Addario finally get on with it! As far as volume drop: if you have a fairly flat crown radius or staggered or adjustible poles on your pickups, you won't notice it. And it will feel much, much better. As far as setup, raise the A string a hair and the E string two hairs to flatten out their effective radius, and possibly a slight pickup adjustment, and it will be fine. If you have a well-cut nut with a proper "witness point" and backslope to the tuners, there will not be a problem switching from a 65 D or 85 A string.

Capo. Yes, I said capo. If you're alternating between Eb and E tuning, a capo on the first fret is the way to go to keep the bass steady. I am required to play a horn version of "Boot Scootin' Boogie" in the dance band I play with, along with the standards, latin and pop repertoire. The original song is in E. The horn arrangement is in Eb. To keep the relative feel of the 1 - b3-3 5 - 6-5 bass line, I capo a fret and play it on the D string on my 4-string bass, or capo on the 4th fret of my 5-string bass to get the low Eb as an open note. I'll be [email="&@##%&"]&@##%&[/email] if I'm going to try to play that bass line on odd frets!

[quote name='cushymac' timestamp='1360840040' post='1977145']Anyone had any experience of Armstrong Pickups?[/quote] Aaron is the third generation of the Armstrong family to make pickups: Dan, then Kent, now Aaron. The family is one of the best in the business.

As a last resort, before I could get to my local music store to purchase a fresh block, and since I where I live does not have radiators anymore, I have been known to put the block in the microwave oven for about 5 seconds, maybe only a couple more, to soften it. It got me through a couple of days until I could get to the store for a new one.

Yes, and Yes. Great job!

[quote name='MiltyG565' timestamp='1360579016' post='1972466'] Isn't distortion kind of what EMG's are known for/supposed to do?[/quote] No. 1) EMG pickups are known for being so clean as to almost be sterile in tone. They get the distortion reputation from, among other models of their pickups, their 81 guitar pickup having a high output that easily overdrives amplifiers. 2) Because they use onboard preamps to set the output level of the pickups, the magnets they use are actually much "softer" in their magnetic pull than conventional Hi-Z pickups.

It's no different than a P/J combination a J/MM combination, or an EMG soapbar (or comparable) combination, or even any other two pickup configuration. Even Fender has had on and off through the last twenty or so years a variant with a double-wide Jazz-bass derived double coil pickup at the bridge. A bridge double-wide humbucker can be split and series/parallelled wired. It expands the tonal palette. The pickups used and their positioning will affect details of the overall tone, but will not change the fundamental characteristic of the instrument. It will still be a P with some added tone coloring. [url="http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.zikinf.com/_gfx/matos/dyn/large/fender-american-deluxe-precision-bass.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.harmonycentral.com/t5/Bass-Forum/show-me-your-p-basses-with-full-size-humbuckers/td-p/31070412&h=1250&w=348&sz=63&tbnid=PPf8A5iuiwDSWM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=25&zoom=1&usg=__XG2O5wglYwefJ6JQ_21-IoEFJec=&docid=jN5CTm8sL0mP9M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IvcUUb6mL8T9ygHZxoCABQ&ved=0CIwBEPUBMAQ"]http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.zikinf.com/_gfx/matos/dyn/large/fender-american-deluxe-precision-bass.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.harmonycentral.com/t5/Bass-Forum/show-me-your-p-basses-with-full-size-humbuckers/td-p/31070412&h=1250&w=348&sz=63&tbnid=PPf8A5iuiwDSWM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=25&zoom=1&usg=__XG2O5wglYwefJ6JQ_21-IoEFJec=&docid=jN5CTm8sL0mP9M&hl=en&sa=X&ei=IvcUUb6mL8T9ygHZxoCABQ&ved=0CIwBEPUBMAQ[/url]

[quote name='BILL POSTERS' timestamp='1360185828' post='1966474'] 18 swg Ersin Savbit multicore. used to be the norm, and was it Resin cored, or Rosin cored - come to that, whats the difference ? [/quote] "Resin" or "Rosin" is merely regional spelling difference.