EliasMooseblaster Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 I've already done the obvious mod on my Epiphone EB-3 - replace the stock mudbucker with a DiMarzio DP120. Later wired up a push/pull volume pot so I could switch series/parallel for a more single-coil-esque sound. So far, so good. I've been reading about the "Rick sound" and that tiny (4.7nF?) cap they have in the back pickup which acts as a bass choke. I'm wondering whether I could get a similar (obviously not identical) effect by putting one of those caps on a push/pull in the bridge tone control. Before I order parts and open up the bass again: has anyone done anything similar? Is it a great idea or a terrible one? Should I aim for a different capacitance to compensate for the (presumably) greater impedance of the EB-3 bridge HB? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted September 7, 2023 Share Posted September 7, 2023 From experience, adding a capacitor to a bridge pickup won't make it sound like a Rickenbacker, nor will it particularly change how the pickups interact with each other. A Rickenbacker pickup sounds like that regardless of the cap, that just changes the character slightly. I added a cap to the back pickup on a BC Rich and it certainly thins the tone out... at the moment it's got a push/pull for series/parallel output from the pickup but I might change this to switch the cap in and out instead. On a Rick, when both pickups are full on with the cap engaged they interact very differently, resulting in a less scooped, hollow twang like you'd get with a Jazz, for example. On my BC Rich it still has that hollow twang to the top end but still retains the mids, if that makes sense. By all means try it, you might have more luck than I did! Picture for no reason other than it's a cool looking bass! 3 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EliasMooseblaster Posted September 8, 2023 Author Share Posted September 8, 2023 It is a damn fine looking bass - can't deny I'm quite envious of the twin P-pickups, quite apart from anything else! This is why I'm in equal parts curious and doubtful: I know it won't sound like a Rick - so I need to tell myself I won't get that characteristic "clank" just by sticking an extra cap in the circuit! That said, your report of "hollow twang to the top end but still retains the mids" sounds encouraging. I like the idea of being able to some optional extra "bite" to a bass which is notoriously scant on higher frequencies. And I guess, in the worst case, I'm down maybe ten quid and half an hour of soldering for some underwhelming results. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cosmo Valdemar Posted September 8, 2023 Share Posted September 8, 2023 3 hours ago, EliasMooseblaster said: It is a damn fine looking bass - can't deny I'm quite envious of the twin P-pickups, quite apart from anything else! This is why I'm in equal parts curious and doubtful: I know it won't sound like a Rick - so I need to tell myself I won't get that characteristic "clank" just by sticking an extra cap in the circuit! That said, your report of "hollow twang to the top end but still retains the mids" sounds encouraging. I like the idea of being able to some optional extra "bite" to a bass which is notoriously scant on higher frequencies. And I guess, in the worst case, I'm down maybe ten quid and half an hour of soldering for some underwhelming results. Exactly. You've got very little to lose! My experiment didn't give me the result I'd hoped for but it still sounds interesting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.