Maude

Our house (Madness)

Yes, I've just re read my reply and it reads a bit stroppy, it wasn't intended. The pickups are custom wound by House of Tone to 4003 specs, the neck pickup sounds like a 4003 neck pickup, but on a 4003 it's all about that bridge pickup, which the 4005 hasn't got. Well it has but it's pushed right up against the bridge and will never sound the same due to the lack of string oscilation it gets. If it was in the same position as the 4003 it would probably be loads better for the sound I wanted. For my situation I should be using my 4003, but being a vain tw@t I wanted the looks of the 4005 and had to tweak it to get the sound I want. 🙂

The pickups in mine are fine, it's the location. You have a 4003, this is a 4005. They're both a Rickenbacker design but very different basses. Neither are better or worse, just different. 🙂

I prefer the look without an extra pickup, but it's a tool so doing what you need to to get the sound you want has its place. Just adding a series switch was enough for me. Another pickup would also give issues wiring it. Standard it has a tone and volume for each pickup and the 5th knob which rolls off a bit of bottom end, (don't ask how it works, peace in the middle east will be sorted before the Rickfans will agree on how the 5th knob works), with three pickups you'll have to give it a bit of thought. Put very simply, if you want a 60s pop tone then the 4005 is great, if you want 70s punk/80s new wave then get a 4003. It's a bit like buying a Jazz but wanting a Precision tone, but the 4005 and 4003 are even further apart than that.

Hi @miles'tone, firstly I was trying to shoehorn this bass into the wrong situation. I use it in a Mod/Northern Soul/Ska band and on that scene image is everything. I previously was using my modified Variax on the 4003 setting and with a bit of pedal trickery added in had the punchiest tone I've ever had. I wanted the looks of the 4005 so bought it but wanted it to sound like a 4003, it doesn't, and never will. It sounds great but just in a different way. The neck pickup is lovely but lacks a bit of definition/punch, the bridge pickup adds in the definition but not really punch, due to its position. It really needs a pickup in the middle (like the Chinese fakers) but then it wouldn't be an authentic copy. It has a lovely warm vintage tone and sounded great for the Northern Soul and Ska stuff with the neck pickup solo's but just didn't have what I wanted for the Mod Revival stuff (The Jam, Lambrettas, Secret Affair, etc). Putting in a series switch sorted this, it would still probably be more what I wanted with a central pickup but that can't happen. With some boosted low mids in EQ it sounds as punchy as I need. Feel wise again is just personal preference. I like a thumb anchor and I like heavy stiff strings. I also like a narrow-ish string spacing. This had a wide string spacing but the strings were very close to the edge of the board, they look to be that way on the originals. This was good as it allowed me to make a new nut with a narrower string spacing without it looking odd, in fact it's better as the G had a tendancy to slip off the edge of the neck (bear in mind I play hard). The thumbrest thing couldn't be fixed, for, me, by using a pickup casing as the bridge was too near the bridge and the neck, while being fine for most, felt too floppy to me, fine on the Ska stuff but not when I dig in for The Jam and our own stuff. I made a full length ramp but only to use as a thumbrest really as the Variax has a full length thumbrest and it's a great idea. I made a full length clear ramp so it would 'dissappear' as much as possible, remember it's all about the looks. In standard form it's certainly not hard to play and sounds great, if that's what you're after. The only thing that feels different to most other basses is the height of the strings from the body. As the Rickenbacker toasters are face mounted, ie not sunk in like most pickups, the strings need to be a long way from the body to allow room for the pickups underneath them. Not a huge issue but it just felt a bit odd to me and as I like to get a bit theatrical (image remember) when I'm playing so I wanted the bass to feel as familiar as possible. It's still my gigging bass, if only we were gigging.

The Ballad Of J.J. Decay) Anti-Nowhere League)

Get out! Get out now!! There's no place for that sort of rational reasoning on the internet you know. 😉

I would give these some serious consideration, https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/233695059974 There definitely not vintage sounding if you wanted that Motown sound but for punk and a more aggressive, modern sound they're very good. Kind of like the Seymour Duncan 1/4 pounder but with more mids I feel.

Me And The Devil Blues (Robert Johnson)

This is probably why my entirely plywood Kay sustains so well. About 15 layers of alternating grained wood glued together makes for a very solid stiff body compared to a single piece of wood, probably 30 to 40 layers in the neck. Also after nearly 50 years the glue will have crystallised and the whole thing become a solid, brittle mass. Hard and resonant.

Burn (The Cure)

Bring the noise (Public Enemy)

That's why I carry Rohypnol. 🤫

It was me. I feel thoroughly ashamed and have taken a vow of silence on this thread as a result. 😉

Ruby Tuesday (Rolling Stones)

I think, vainly, it might've been my post on another thread that prompted this thread. I mentioned sustain being the holy grail of bass attributes but maybe should've used some emoji as it was intended as being tongue in cheek. I usually spend most of my playing trying shorten notes with various methods and have never needed more sustain. This thread has perfectly pointed to what my other post was about as folks tend to link sustain to a high build quality, yet my longest sustaining, most resonant bass is the cheapest, most badly built, plywood neck and body rubbish that I own.

Being boiled (Human League)

Forever in blue jeans (Neil Diamond)

The Night (Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons)

I've got say though, I've always loved the bass tone at beginning of the first verse of Rat Trap. Great song too, plenty of changes in direction without losing its way and a nice little story, like a mini opera.

Get out and stay out (The Who)

That looks so much better. Whatever Warwick used completely disguised that lovely grain. It should only get better with consecutive coats. 👌

Do they have an elastic band behind the headstock to fire things at an unruly crowd? 😁

I've given up with expensive upgrades. There's a general concensus about what should, and shouldn't, be good. Certain standard bridges that people swap for other bridges as an upgrade, certain body and neck constructions that are better than others, a pecking order of parts if you like, to achieve that holy grail of bass attributes, sustain. I recently bought an early 70s Kay bass, widely regarded as an utter piece of shite, and not without reason, a plywood neck screwed to a thin plywood body. The original bridge had been replaced with a cheap BBOT with the wrong string spacing. I fitted a Squier Bronco bridge as it had the correct spacing, these were routinely upgraded as they were considered a very poor design. I've refinished it with several thick layers of poly which should dull it's tone as well. Out of the 15-20 basses I own the Kay has the longest sustain and is the most resonant, it rings like a bell when played unplugged. This makes a mockery of all the accepted theories of bass construction and hardware.

I'm not a fan either. About twenty years ago I worked with a chap who was really into Yes and Rush, when he found out I played bass he couldn't believe I was into them. I borrowed a few of his albums and listened to them all the way through a couple of times, but nothing, just didn't like it. He couldn't understand why. I've now stopped trying to like stuff that I feel I should like. I've tried to like Stanley Clarke and the usual suspects talked about on here but I just don't like them. I like a very varied mix of styles but there's a few that do nothing for me so I've stopped feeling guilty for not liking it and just enjoy what I do like. Prog is still way above jazz-fusion in the pecking order though. 😉