They have the Utah Slab Kit, which has all the same parts as this, but you also would need to cut out the body as well. I might give it a go, as I've really wanted a 4003s style bass for a while.
If swapping the polarity only improves things slightly, there's a chance one of the magnets (the one easier to take apart from its shell) needs to be remagnetized in the opposite direction. This would then make the pickups fully humbucking by being truly RWRP (reverse-wired, reverse-polarized).
+John Jarboe that would probably fix it, but I was just reviewing the kit as is. If I still have the phasing issue with replacement pickups I’ll try flipping polarity
The question is are they meant to be humbucking. As he said it was wired as a jazz/jag set wouldve been which as far as i know isnt humbucking just dialing in two pickups simultaneously on seperate pots. I'm all ears to learn, but it seems the issuse is that that it isn't wired simply to Vol/tone-vol/tone. Lol idk it seems maybe that one of the pickups needs to be re magnetized or turned over so polarity is in cancellation, but then again I just argued that it wasnt. hmmm. One thing ill say is my first bass i ever owned is a 50 dollar purple pbass copy chopy from china, and despite wiring being weak recently (buzzing on input) the split single in that not i still bangs out 11 yrs later. Time for a trial replacement from my Samek Greg Bennet design pj bass thats got perfect electronics and hardware except somehow the drunk young woman who gave it to me for free somehow snapped the neck truss intact albeit. hehehe whatever guess I'm off to there
There are two components to getting a true humbucking tone with both coils in phase - reverse winding/wiring and reverse (magnetic) polarity. Standard P-bass pickup halves are always made RWRP, so are MM pickups (internally) and J-bass pickups (externally, if you look at both pickups turned on completely). If your pickups aren't RW, they will sound somewhat thin and buzzy, if the pickups aren't RP it gets worse. Finally, if the pickups are neither RW nor RP, turning both on gives pretty much a mess of a tone with no bass or low mids. Real Ric basses are actually made non-RW for some reason - seems to be a factory trait, and a lot of people have done the RW modification just by switching the start wire and the end wire (after making sure the ground wire goes separate from the pickup plate on the bottom, if there is one).
Ricks are unusual beasts that most people don't understand. The shorter scale length, clanky chrome hardware and pick up positioning give it a scooped sound with tremendous low end and brightness. This bass sounded more like a fender/musicman with only the slightest of rick characteristics
You need to shut the fuck up, brand snob. You can spend $600-800 on a guitar, drop a couple $100 more in pickups and it be a better than a $2k guitar. This has already been proven, and I too have gone this route. If you pay more than $1k for a stock guitar, it better be for vintage gear. Otherwise you're just a pompous ass snob with fake bragging rights. Plus, you better be spending the bulk of the money on the amp (& cab), or modeler (Axe Fx, Kemper, 11R, ect.)
MrJohnny56789 poor and lazy? Lol more like smart and savvy. I spend my money on actual tone. Not some fantasy of ‘magic brand tone.’ Ibanez, Yamaha, Jackson, ESP, etc. all have models better than Rickenbacker, Gibson, Fender, etc.
Will do sir. I posted one of the box right after I opened it the other day. Finished pic should be coming soon. Having to do a few mods to get the set up I want
I feel what you're saying about the 4001s. The bit about them repurposing guitar pickups makes sense to me as to why they sound so thin, even though the pickups are placed way up higher toward the neck than on most basses. I guess they needed a wider string amplitude to compensate. The old 4001s also had very soft frets because they had a higher brass content, so they'd wear quickly. Glad they eventually remedied those issue with the 4003's hotter pickups and frets with more nickel content, but why they still have such an awkward truss rod system when other neck through basses don't, I'll never know, especially when, if you mess up too badly, you scrap your $2k bass. All this on a fully bound neck with a tailpiece that would bend upward from the tension of the strings that was a bitch to adjust even with the strings slackened, and then Les Paul style electronics with 2 output jacks on top of it. Those 4001s were a guitar repair man's nightmare, but goddamn do they look cool. I just ordered an Electra Japanese copy from the 70s with hot humbuckers, a slightly longer scale length, a more compact rear pickup mount, a bolt on neck with one truss rod and standard nickel frets, and a slightly thicker body with a replacement bridge the previous owner added to reduce the lift they're known for. I saw all that stuff and my first thought was, "You mean the way it came stock fixed all the issues I had with it, you upgraded the bridge, and you're letting me have it for a third of the price of a real one?" Screw the brand name and the made in USA sticker; gimmie. Doesn't have the 2 outputs but I could never justify carrying around 2 different amps or 2 separate pedal chains with 2 cables coming out of my bass to utilize that feature, especially when I have a bass DI preamp with a blend function anyway for a similar bi-amping effect. Great review! Was wondering if I made the right choice or not by not going this route.
That's so cool man, can't wait to see it all done. And i'm really glad that your chanel is growing :) I've been following you since that strat video and i loved it! Best wishes to you from Serbia! :D
Sucks that this is no longer available. Apparently Rickenbacker has a long history of issuing Cease & Desist orders, stopping companies from making copies of their instruments. They don't seem to be going after Thomann though for their Harley Benton Ric 4003 copy.
Again another excellent video, thank you so much for taking the time to do these, I apologize I did not see your reply to my comment on the 51P Bass therefore you got this up before I could send you pictures of my finished MOD Bass, I do not have a Facebook account but will set one up just to send you the pictures of what I ended up with. My Mod came out fantastic with a Wudtone Columbian finish antiqued i had some wiring issues as you did, my 51P is fully finished in seafoam Nitro with a few upgrades Gotoh Bridge and GFS MM pro pickup, plays and sounds like a monster fully gig ready. my next build on the bench is the BYO Stingray double humbucker, I appreciate all the videos you have done please keep up the great work, i would love to see you doing some basic soldering on Bass pots or guitar pots may seem like a small thing but I've talked to a couple other first time builders and I'm not the only one running into issues on to what goes where properly, I still have issues with that and would like to see how easy you can make it as everything you do seems easy. that and your hell of a player as well, so thank you so much for taking the time I will keep pushing subscribers your way
+Brian Cutts can’t wait to see those pics man! I plan to do a primer vid on the basics of guitar/bass soldering. Might include or make a separate video primer on how pots and switches work. Sounds like what you might be looking for
My Dad Plays Bass And Uses 3 Jazz Basses. His #1 Is A 70's Reissue With Replaced neck (The Original Neck Was Warped) With A Hip Shot Tuner With A Switch that Allows Him To Go From Drop D To E Standard And EMG Active Pickups. The Next 2 Basses Are A Fretless Standard Jazz Bass With Active EMG'S, And A Geddy Lee Jazz Bass With The Same Hipshot Tuner As His #1 Bass. They Are All AMAZING Sounding.
I have been following this bass kit on The FretWire since December 2017. I signed-up to "Get an alert when the product is in stock." They have posted "SOLD OUT - More Expected February 2018" and "SOLD OUT - More Expected March 2018." I log-in every couple of days to check. Now today, the 22nd of March 2018, I see that although they are still "SOLD OUT" in the last week of March 2018, The Fret Wire has rai$ed the price of the kit to $195.00 USD, which pretty much neutralises the $10 GUNSNGTRS discount.
Pitbull doesn't have them on their site anymore which is weird, guess Ric caught wind and shut the production down on those, it sucks, cause I wanted one
My kit just got delivered and I can wait to build it but still waiting for paint because if I’ve learned from you I’m not painting after gluing the neck but I am super happy
Thats a very cool looking kit!, high end build season its approaching and its going to be awesome! great vid as always, can you try adding a rotary switch or make a rotary switch tutorial by it self?, there arent many decent tutorials about that and you are by far my favorite luthier channel, cheers
I got one of these!!! Have had it sitting away in storage for a year and a half ish, and now I’m finally getting around to making one! I’ll let you guys know how it goes
Had an original Rick 4001 in the 80ies. Traded for a Squire J bass. Some time ago I found a Rocktile Rick copy for 170. What I got: A very ugly instrument. Anazing good wood, the same PUs as on your copy. Good tone. Neck through body construction, tuners, bridge as on your bass. First I painted it in a dark purple (😎😎😎). Amazing. But, how is the sound in comparison to the original? Some weeks ago I took it to the next music store. Asked if I could compare it to the new Rick at their store. - yes, of course. One of the mentioned, it's a good looking instrument. As you did I checked every setting, two bars the original, two bars the copy. I couldn't hardly believe. These two basses sounded absolutely the same. The same deep, fat, full BOUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMM. Paired with a brilliance that's astonishing. I couldn't believe it. That isn't possible. One more time the whole test. Sorry, sorry, sorry Rick, your ceap copy sounds the same as your original. Wow.
Was hoping you'd review one of these. Needless to say, I'm glad I saved the $1.5K for mine, but cool to see something similar for the working musician on a budget who also loves DIY stuff. Great video as always!
+Vincent Morelli thanks! I’ve always thought about buying a ric and just replacing the pickups so I can get the sound I would want out of it, but with these kits available now, no need spend so much. If I was a fan of ric tone I for sure would’ve had one by now. It’s just not my cup of tea. I’m sure I’ll get flack for that...whatever
To each their own. If I had the experience and courage I'd maybe get one of these in the future just to compare them. I do agree to an extent that the pickups in the kit and the longer scale length make it better suited in a modern context. I just came across a Ric one day after being a P Bass guy for years and had to get it, but like I said it makes me happy to see things like this available as a cool alternative, plus you have more options with finishing it instead of the standard 4 colors Rickenbacker offers.
Dan, how about building and reviewing the Fretwire 5 string bass? Also a video about finishing raw wood kits. Both how to apply a solid color paint finish and a stain finish including the application of Tung Oil. Thanks.
If you change the polarity of one of the pickups you can fix the phasing issue no problems. I had to do this when I was wiring my Jazz bass' pickups in because there was a phasing issue.
I got a real Ric... the newer ones have updated electronics with a thicker sound... and a pull knob for the "traditional" sound. It kicks more butt than Chuck Norris.....almost. Sounds like you need to flip the phase on one of your pickups.
I just bought the Utah kit from the Fretwire. Basically downloaded an image of the bass I wanted to copy and put it on my TV screen with a HDMI hookup. Then I just simply taped paper on the TV and traced it on the screen making a template. I am considering the neck plate but haven’t decided yet. Only finished the headstock and fret edging/leveling/crowing.
Going by visuals, the bridge pickup on your kit bass appears closer to the bridge than on a Ric. The best way to identify precise pickup location is to identify a pinch harmonic and where it occurs over an original pickup then move your copy pickup to occupy the same precise position relative to that same harmonic overtone. Cool videos!
+Guns and Guitars You could maybe get away with a bit of routing because the pickup cover will hide it. Even small shifts make a difference in tone especially on a two pickup bass and I'd at least try to replicate authentic Ric positioning. You haven't seen my favourite bass with a big trough (still there) after I shifted the bridge pickup further and further forward in search of the sweet spot! Afterwards I just painted inside the hole to match the body. Sounds great now even with a hole lol
i actually have this kit and this was really helpful heads up if you gonna laquer the thing be extra carefull with the neck joint as it some times gets air trapped in the little step between the neck and the body and the laquer will crack no matter how many times you patch it, i have to refinish mine because of this issue
i looked into this kit for quite sometime,until i went down to my local music shop and picked up the real thing on payments.really glad i didn't grab this kit.set up my 4003s and threw on some rotos,ran it threw an old ss yorkie head paired up with 2 115 cabs and the tone is just monstrous. defiantly worth the 2gs!
Guns and Guitars thanks! I honestly think the whole "too expensive for just anyone to buy" thing when it comes to buying a ric isn't a problem anymore. Anyone can walk into a Long and McQuade (given you're in Canada) and pick any high end bass up for a small monthly payment, i work a shit minimum wage job and after 4 months of payments i now own my bass. Unless you are unemployed or a young kid there isn't anything stopping you from buying a higher end guitar. Haha i thought for so long that a rickenbacker was out of reach, was i ever wrong 🤔😏
My Dream Setup At The Moment Is My 1998 Standard Mexican Stratocaster But With Noiseless Single Coil Pickups And Locking Tuners, With LifeLine Cables Going Through The Compression Unit My Dad Uses Which Goes into My Dream Amp Setup,Which IS The Hughes And Kettener (I Call Them H and K's) TubeMeister 18 Head Plugged Into A Marshall Or Randall Cab The BOSS TU-3 Tuner Pedal, The BOSS OS-2 Drive/Distortion Pedal, The MXR Analog Chorus Pedal, The MXR Phase 95 Pedal, Thhe Boss DD-5 Plus The Fs-5U Tap Tempo, The Morely Optical Wah/Volume Pedal, And The SKB 8 Port Powered Pedal Board. See How Much THAT Cost's.
The phasing issue with the pickups is easily resolved by reversing the wiring on one of the pickups, I often have this issue when wiring a humbucker with a p90, they are usually opposite polarity
+Paul Jones yeah I’m sure switching polarity would’ve helped. But I just built the kit as is for the sake of the review. If the new pickups I put in have the same issue, I’ll flip the polarity.
I think a proper EB -0 in the neck with a music man pup in the bridge, usual splitting/series/parallel on the MM, with the stereo circuit, so you can send the EB-0 separate to the MM,
I would want to dump the Jazz bass pickup and put in a stacked one so I could rig up the 3 way switch to go between pickups and have a push/pull select for splitting the pickups.
+James Lewis that would be cool! I have a dimarzio model j pickup that is a stacked humbucker. I currently have it in another bass, but I think the duncan quarter pound pickup I bought for this build may be a little too hot to balance with the neck pickup, if that’s the case I may try your idea with the dimarzio.
Yeah. The 4003 has been one of my absolute favorite shapes for a bass but I never liked it's basic sound. I Really wanna build this. Especially for the price. Too bad I am a lefty.
Guns and Guitars thank you. Just emailed them. One more thing, I saw the vid of the finished product. Do you have any tutorials for the wiring because I would love to install a blend and balance pot like you did. Also, thanks for the inspiration. This is a really cool bass guitar.
Good video, glad to see you got rid of the silly bits. The price is too high for a project kit. I'd rather buy a used Squier and tweak it. Not that I need either.
Thanks for the well produced informative review! (warning the below is too much info unless you are a real bass geek) I did a review video on the fully assembled in China - sold out from China copy Rics. It appears this kit has some of the "eccentricities" (issues) as those basses. The Music Man bridge is a better choice than the other bridge commonly found on these - even though it is well made that ones geometry is wrong. The pickups are problematic and I am not looking to argue some of the other expert opinions posted here but will offer a different perspective. They source these pickups without regard to whether they were ever made to work together! (neck/bridge) All the ones I have seen the polarity needs to be reversed on one to get proper tone/output in middle position. Even the fully assembled basses. Seems the Chinese like " out of phase" sound? Another issue is the fretboard geometry - wrong for a Ric. Seems they made these by kind of mixing in ideas from wherever (Music Man bridge, Fender style fingerboard, Jazz bass bridge pickup but Ric style neck pickup) The field aperture (magnetic reach) of that neck pickup is weak on the E and G as it was designed for a narrower string spacing. Ric boards do not fan out as they go up the neck the way Fender basses do. I found the best solution to be installing a wider across - neck pickup. (I did a video just on these pickups as well) Question ??? Do these kits also have the "wrong scale" like many (not all) Chinese copies? Rics are 33 1/4 inch scale and the majority of these I have seen are 34 inch (Fender) scale. On such a long necked bass it effects the feel for balance and playing in the first position.
In fairness I will say I have seen some of the China ones with "neck thru" construction and Ric scale. But even then they still put the bridge pickup (always a Jazz pickup) too far to the bridge. Which is a problem if you are looking for as much of a Ric sound as possible.
+Zero-Mod yes you’re definitely right about a lot of things, and yes this kit does have a 34” scale (I mentioned that in the video). I’d prefer this kit over the China copy’s just because it’s not a blatant counterfeit. Those China copies literally say “rickenbacker made in USA” that doesn’t sit right with me.
Roger that. Which is why in my video the TRC is covered up... Had to hammer a recent commenter to get him to see the difference between "copy" and "counterfeit". Missed your scale comment in the video (sorry) . Your kit is definitely a better way to go. The Chinese ones I have examined have glaring QC issues (like the incorrect radius bridge and poor wiring/nut cut/finish blems) All fixable but all more easily prevented if they cared. The print on the TRC of the Chinese ones wipes off with a dab of lacquer thinner! I rebadged the one I reviewed before passing it on. Keep up the excellent work with your videos.
The thin sound with both pickups - is probably because they are in parallel rather than series (which was how it came wired when before you changed it). Similar to that of the middle position of a Tele or a Les Paul/SG. The middle positions are "thinner" and lower output because the pickups are in parallel. I bet if you kept the wiring in series you wouldn't have that problem. As for the "thin" sound traditionally on Ric basses - I don't necessarily agree with that. Classic Ric Bass tones for me are Paul McCartney, Geddy Lee, Chris Squire - who all had a punch and hi-end attack to their sound (especially Geddy and Chris).
+Nick Cutroneo that punch and high end attack is what I call hunky/clangy. By thin I mean less bass than a bass should have. Also, I misspoke. The pickups were wired in parallel, like a jazz bass (I said series on accident) with the signal traveling through both volumes/tones, and only one signal chain to the pickup selector switch (making it useless, you can’t use it to select pickups, wired like a jazz bass you use the volumes to select your pickups). The thin sound is a phasing issue that could probably be fixed, or at least made a little better, by reversing polarity of one of the pickups.
I put a clone of a Ricky Bass on mine, but because of this to get my 34 inch from Nut to Bridge, I had to set neck in about 10 millimeters back from body
6:34 Check your bridge on that, it might have dropped. Happened to my Ibanez SDGR bass a couple weeks back, it's a common problem. Just tighten the screws and it'll hold. The pickups are magnetic, causing the bridge to pull the string with it, and the string rattles against the pickup. Or it's just fretbuzz. This goes to everyone who has this problem.
Good stuff. 1) You are a VERY talented bassist. The kits sounds GREAT. I have a real rick and one from China. Your bass sounds more like a Ric than my Chic!!! Im gonna get one of these. Thanks!!!!!!!
Hi Dan, Ian from Australia! I can't afford a Ricky either! I have a 72 Fender Fretless P Bass with Active Seymour Duncan EQ PJ setup with 2 tone controls, no volume (You plug it, it is on full volume) and a 3 way switch! Mainly use a mono cable through my Fender Bassman 250/4x10 cabinet, but sometimes use a mono to stereo cable and add my Fender FM212 and run high freq through that and low freq through the Bassman! Great sound, but not the real deal, not that the punters would know! Sometimes I run my backup bass (A standard Cort T74) the same way! My question is: I was wondering if the set up in this video would work with Active P/U's? I am looking at Seymour Duncan's ASB-BO-4s and a Schaller BB-0318-010 Bridge Mainly for austhetic reasons! Do you think it would work? Your response would be appreciated! BTW Love your Vids
Are you asking if you can install active pickups in this kit? If so, yes you can install whatever pickups you want. And there should be plenty of room in the electronics cavity for batteries too.
Interesting that you say you hate the tone but like the styling, as I'm exactly the opposite. I hate how blocky it is and how the fretboard is lacquered, but I am in love with the tone
I got no more options that"s why maibe. I got a warwick streamer jazzman, and whant to plug a tone capsule. Never found a good diagram to plug in a stack pot vol/blend+ push pull. That knob is hard to find and is my main problem. If you can find a solutuon it will be very nice. Only 4 holes so need that stack pot
I would totally do this, except shitcan the wiring and bridge pup. Get a rick aftermarket bridge from GFS or allparts. Then do a nitro finish in jet black
Love to have one but Pitbull don't have the kit in the UK . So build one with your own styling . I was wondering if you ask them nicely , they may throw in an MM Nordie HB style pup instead of the Jazz style for you guys across the Pond .
Very cool, Dan! Been wondering if this kit was worth buying. Any chance you can review Pitbull Guitars' Telecaster-shaped bass (fretless if possible)? Would love to hear about that'n. Thanks again for this and all your other great videos.
Wow, an actual slappable Rick bass...I am actually interested. With a fret job, better electronics, and some paint it yould be a gem. I always liked Rick basses for their looks but they were always too expencive and lacked versatility. They have a rocking pick tone and looks to kill but that is just about it for a 2000$ bass...
I want one. Kind of 'iffy' before, but I fell in love with the tone--not quite a Ric, but better in the right ways--especially not that stupid "Rickenbacker sound" feedback thing. Just shield the #$@& pickups, Rickenbacker!!
nothing wrong with this bass, sounds good to me. also, you can switch pickups, work with the wiring and get the tone you want.
It's not available _anywhere_
Kill me
KHANNNN !
They have the Utah Slab Kit, which has all the same parts as this, but you also would need to cut out the body as well.
I might give it a go, as I've really wanted a 4003s style bass for a while.
@@matt.fromtheinternet wow, damn.
Thanks dude
this can only be the work of..... dinkelberg!
Everytime I see a Rickenbacher or a clone I always think of Lemmy. Thanks for the upload. That clone sounds very nice.
+Krimson Phantom yeah not bad right!
heard that lemmy used gibson thunderird pick up for the rick bridge
I always think Paul McCartney
Try swapping the polarity on one of the pickups. That would fix the phase issue on the middle position.
If swapping the polarity only improves things slightly, there's a chance one of the magnets (the one easier to take apart from its shell) needs to be remagnetized in the opposite direction. This would then make the pickups fully humbucking by being truly RWRP (reverse-wired, reverse-polarized).
Boris Matešin
thx Boris. I'm gonna check that out.
+John Jarboe that would probably fix it, but I was just reviewing the kit as is. If I still have the phasing issue with replacement pickups I’ll try flipping polarity
The question is are they meant to be humbucking. As he said it was wired as a jazz/jag set wouldve been which as far as i know isnt humbucking just dialing in two pickups simultaneously on seperate pots. I'm all ears to learn, but it seems the issuse is that that it isn't wired simply to Vol/tone-vol/tone. Lol idk it seems maybe that one of the pickups needs to be re magnetized or turned over so polarity is in cancellation, but then again I just argued that it wasnt. hmmm. One thing ill say is my first bass i ever owned is a 50 dollar purple pbass copy chopy from china, and despite wiring being weak recently (buzzing on input) the split single in that not i still bangs out 11 yrs later. Time for a trial replacement from my Samek Greg Bennet design pj bass thats got perfect electronics and hardware except somehow the drunk young woman who gave it to me for free somehow snapped the neck truss intact albeit. hehehe whatever guess I'm off to there
There are two components to getting a true humbucking tone with both coils in phase - reverse winding/wiring and reverse (magnetic) polarity. Standard P-bass pickup halves are always made RWRP, so are MM pickups (internally) and J-bass pickups (externally, if you look at both pickups turned on completely). If your pickups aren't RW, they will sound somewhat thin and buzzy, if the pickups aren't RP it gets worse. Finally, if the pickups are neither RW nor RP, turning both on gives pretty much a mess of a tone with no bass or low mids.
Real Ric basses are actually made non-RW for some reason - seems to be a factory trait, and a lot of people have done the RW modification just by switching the start wire and the end wire (after making sure the ground wire goes separate from the pickup plate on the bottom, if there is one).
Ricks are unusual beasts that most people don't understand. The shorter scale length, clanky chrome hardware and pick up positioning give it a scooped sound with tremendous low end and brightness. This bass sounded more like a fender/musicman with only the slightest of rick characteristics
The Ric 4000 only had one pickup. Drop a Nordstrand or MusicMan pup in that bridge position and you would have something like a Tobias Growler.
A rick in look only
"Which is the reason why I never felt the need to drop two grand on one..."
I lol'd. Agreed.
+Craig James right?
Just wanted to say that the 4003 rickenbackers do not have a thin sound ;D.
Only if you pull the treble tonepot to activate the vintage tone circuit.
"yOu GeT wHaT YoU pAY fOR..."
No shit, Sherlock.
You need to shut the fuck up, brand snob. You can spend $600-800 on a guitar, drop a couple $100 more in pickups and it be a better than a $2k guitar. This has already been proven, and I too have gone this route. If you pay more than $1k for a stock guitar, it better be for vintage gear. Otherwise you're just a pompous ass snob with fake bragging rights.
Plus, you better be spending the bulk of the money on the amp (& cab), or modeler (Axe Fx, Kemper, 11R, ect.)
MrJohnny56789 poor and lazy? Lol more like smart and savvy. I spend my money on actual tone. Not some fantasy of ‘magic brand tone.’
Ibanez, Yamaha, Jackson, ESP, etc. all have models better than Rickenbacker, Gibson, Fender, etc.
Man I’m sitting here working on my tele kit and thinking about your channel, and then get a notification for a new video. Almost like destiny!
cool! I wanna see pics of that tele when it's done. Post them on my Facebook!
Will do sir. I posted one of the box right after I opened it the other day. Finished pic should be coming soon. Having to do a few mods to get the set up I want
Your videos are much better now with out all the snapchat filters.
+Hamish penrose thanks for the feedback!
I feel what you're saying about the 4001s. The bit about them repurposing guitar pickups makes sense to me as to why they sound so thin, even though the pickups are placed way up higher toward the neck than on most basses. I guess they needed a wider string amplitude to compensate. The old 4001s also had very soft frets because they had a higher brass content, so they'd wear quickly. Glad they eventually remedied those issue with the 4003's hotter pickups and frets with more nickel content, but why they still have such an awkward truss rod system when other neck through basses don't, I'll never know, especially when, if you mess up too badly, you scrap your $2k bass. All this on a fully bound neck with a tailpiece that would bend upward from the tension of the strings that was a bitch to adjust even with the strings slackened, and then Les Paul style electronics with 2 output jacks on top of it. Those 4001s were a guitar repair man's nightmare, but goddamn do they look cool.
I just ordered an Electra Japanese copy from the 70s with hot humbuckers, a slightly longer scale length, a more compact rear pickup mount, a bolt on neck with one truss rod and standard nickel frets, and a slightly thicker body with a replacement bridge the previous owner added to reduce the lift they're known for. I saw all that stuff and my first thought was, "You mean the way it came stock fixed all the issues I had with it, you upgraded the bridge, and you're letting me have it for a third of the price of a real one?" Screw the brand name and the made in USA sticker; gimmie. Doesn't have the 2 outputs but I could never justify carrying around 2 different amps or 2 separate pedal chains with 2 cables coming out of my bass to utilize that feature, especially when I have a bass DI preamp with a blend function anyway for a similar bi-amping effect. Great review! Was wondering if I made the right choice or not by not going this route.
Can't wait to see you turn this thing into a beast.
That's so cool man, can't wait to see it all done. And i'm really glad that your chanel is growing :)
I've been following you since that strat video and i loved it!
Best wishes to you from Serbia! :D
+Nikola Resanovic thanks for the support!
Sucks that this is no longer available. Apparently Rickenbacker has a long history of issuing Cease & Desist orders, stopping companies from making copies of their instruments. They don't seem to be going after Thomann though for their Harley Benton Ric 4003 copy.
Just ordered this kit. Can’t wait to build along with you
+dwight langwell cool! You should post pics on my Facebook of your progress, I’ll do the same!
Again another excellent video, thank you so much for taking the time to do these, I apologize I did not see your reply to my comment on the 51P Bass therefore you got this up before I could send you pictures of my finished MOD Bass, I do not have a Facebook account but will set one up just to send you the pictures of what I ended up with. My Mod came out fantastic with a Wudtone Columbian finish antiqued i had some wiring issues as you did, my 51P is fully finished in seafoam Nitro with a few upgrades Gotoh Bridge and GFS MM pro pickup, plays and sounds like a monster fully gig ready. my next build on the bench is the BYO Stingray double humbucker, I appreciate all the videos you have done please keep up the great work, i would love to see you doing some basic soldering on Bass pots or guitar pots may seem like a small thing but I've talked to a couple other first time builders and I'm not the only one running into issues on to what goes where properly, I still have issues with that and would like to see how easy you can make it as everything you do seems easy. that and your hell of a player as well, so thank you so much for taking the time I will keep pushing subscribers your way
+Brian Cutts can’t wait to see those pics man! I plan to do a primer vid on the basics of guitar/bass soldering. Might include or make a separate video primer on how pots and switches work. Sounds like what you might be looking for
My Dad Plays Bass And Uses 3 Jazz Basses. His #1 Is A 70's Reissue With Replaced neck (The Original Neck Was Warped) With A Hip Shot Tuner With A Switch that Allows Him To Go From Drop D To E Standard And EMG Active Pickups. The Next 2 Basses Are A Fretless Standard Jazz Bass With Active EMG'S, And A Geddy Lee Jazz Bass With The Same Hipshot Tuner As His #1 Bass. They Are All AMAZING Sounding.
I bet, they sound awesome!
This is the most American channel I have ever seen in my life
Keep the videos coming. They are all great. Binge watching them now!
Thanks!
I have been following this bass kit on The FretWire since December 2017. I signed-up to "Get an alert when the product is in stock." They have posted "SOLD OUT - More Expected February 2018" and "SOLD OUT - More Expected March 2018." I log-in every couple of days to check. Now today, the 22nd of March 2018, I see that although they are still "SOLD OUT" in the last week of March 2018, The Fret Wire has rai$ed the price of the kit to $195.00 USD, which pretty much neutralises the $10 GUNSNGTRS discount.
Pitbull doesn't have them on their site anymore which is weird, guess Ric caught wind and shut the production down on those, it sucks, cause I wanted one
My kit just got delivered and I can wait to build it but still waiting for paint because if I’ve learned from you I’m not painting after gluing the neck but I am super happy
Thats a very cool looking kit!, high end build season its approaching and its going to be awesome!
great vid as always, can you try adding a rotary switch or make a rotary switch tutorial by it self?, there arent many decent tutorials about that and you are by far my favorite luthier channel, cheers
+mateo bozzini hey man, thanks for the compliments. I’ll look in to doing a rotary switch here in the future. Thanks for the suggestion!
Now I have to have one of these.
Dayum you got me so excited about getting a budget rick that i popped over and that kit is on preorder! sold out, def wanna build one!
You might want to preorder one, sam tells me there are a lot preordered already for Christmas, so that shipment may sell out before it even arrives
I got one of these!!! Have had it sitting away in storage for a year and a half ish, and now I’m finally getting around to making one! I’ll let you guys know how it goes
1:04 One shot of Jack Daniels for Lemmy
This is my new favorite guitar channel! keep up the good work!!
+EQUATIC thank you! Will do!
Your channel is quickly becoming my favorite.
+Mariano Aguirre thanks!
Subscribed! I've been waiting for a kit of one of these! Can't wait to get one.
Thanks for your sub!
Had an original Rick 4001 in the 80ies. Traded for a Squire J bass.
Some time ago I found a Rocktile Rick copy for 170.
What I got:
A very ugly instrument. Anazing good wood, the same PUs as on your copy. Good tone. Neck through body construction, tuners, bridge as on your bass.
First I painted it in a dark purple (😎😎😎). Amazing.
But, how is the sound in comparison to the original?
Some weeks ago I took it to the next music store. Asked if I could compare it to the new Rick at their store. - yes, of course. One of the mentioned, it's a good looking instrument.
As you did I checked every setting, two bars the original, two bars the copy. I couldn't hardly believe. These two basses sounded absolutely the same. The same deep, fat, full BOUUUUUUMMMMMMMMMM. Paired with a brilliance that's astonishing.
I couldn't believe it.
That isn't possible.
One more time the whole test.
Sorry, sorry, sorry Rick, your ceap copy sounds the same as your original.
Wow.
That’s so awesome I love the rickenbacker body shape but never had the money for one. I might even buy one of these for myself!
+Anonymous Prime go for it man! Same here, that’s why I was so excited about this kit. Don’t forget to use my coupon code to save $10
Just ordered one, thx for the coupon code. Every little bit helps.
+Frank De Mascio awesome! Good luck with the project!
Amazing! I can't wait to get myself sorted with a permanent accommodation and I will build my dream bass too.
Was hoping you'd review one of these. Needless to say, I'm glad I saved the $1.5K for mine, but cool to see something similar for the working musician on a budget who also loves DIY stuff. Great video as always!
+Vincent Morelli thanks! I’ve always thought about buying a ric and just replacing the pickups so I can get the sound I would want out of it, but with these kits available now, no need spend so much. If I was a fan of ric tone I for sure would’ve had one by now. It’s just not my cup of tea. I’m sure I’ll get flack for that...whatever
To each their own. If I had the experience and courage I'd maybe get one of these in the future just to compare them. I do agree to an extent that the pickups in the kit and the longer scale length make it better suited in a modern context. I just came across a Ric one day after being a P Bass guy for years and had to get it, but like I said it makes me happy to see things like this available as a cool alternative, plus you have more options with finishing it instead of the standard 4 colors Rickenbacker offers.
Oh my god, oh my god! Will you demo the Fearsome Lemmy Overdrive tone after the upgrade?
haha we'll see what happens
A player did it, they played "Keep us on the road" though his amp settings I don't think were quite right
Dan, how about building and reviewing the Fretwire 5 string bass? Also a video about finishing raw wood kits. Both how to apply a solid color paint finish and a stain finish including the application of Tung Oil. Thanks.
Cool shape. I made a 65$ kit but I think it sounds decent.I mean the paint job is insane.
+Braden Sheldon I’d love to see it. Can you post a pic on my Facebook?
Before installation, I would convert that set neck to a bolt-on. Then the high mass bridge and fret job.
I loved the tone of the individual pickups.
+hotshot927able me too!
Sucks the The Fret Wire discontinued the kit. They will not be restocking according to the website. Sad Boi Hours.....
Rock On Dude !!!
I'm not even a bass player but your playing sound freaking great!!!
If you change the polarity of one of the pickups you can fix the phasing issue no problems. I had to do this when I was wiring my Jazz bass' pickups in because there was a phasing issue.
+ThEcRaZ3dGaM3R yeah I know that would’ve fixed the issue, but I was just reviewing it as is out of the box
I got a real Ric... the newer ones have updated electronics with a thicker sound... and a pull knob for the "traditional" sound. It kicks more butt than Chuck Norris.....almost. Sounds like you need to flip the phase on one of your pickups.
yeah that would've fixed it, but I was just reviewing it out of the box
I just bought the Utah kit from the Fretwire. Basically downloaded an image of the bass I wanted to copy and put it on my TV screen with a HDMI hookup. Then I just simply taped paper on the TV and traced it on the screen making a template. I am considering the neck plate but haven’t decided yet. Only finished the headstock and fret edging/leveling/crowing.
How did it go? Im thinking of doing that as well
Turned out fantastic. Put a hipshot style bridge on it. The pickups are very hot.
Going by visuals, the bridge pickup on your kit bass appears closer to the bridge than on a Ric. The best way to identify precise pickup location is to identify a pinch harmonic and where it occurs over an original pickup then move your copy pickup to occupy the same precise position relative to that same harmonic overtone. Cool videos!
+Martin Heath that’d be cool, if the body wasn’t already routed for the pickup in that spot.
+Guns and Guitars You could maybe get away with a bit of routing because the pickup cover will hide it. Even small shifts make a difference in tone especially on a two pickup bass and I'd at least try to replicate authentic Ric positioning. You haven't seen my favourite bass with a big trough (still there) after I shifted the bridge pickup further and further forward in search of the sweet spot! Afterwards I just painted inside the hole to match the body. Sounds great now even with a hole lol
this is really well done - good job dude. I might pick one up
+Roy Shantzis cool man! Thanks
i actually have this kit and this was really helpful heads up if you gonna laquer the thing be extra carefull with the neck joint as it some times gets air trapped in the little step between the neck and the body and the laquer will crack no matter how many times you patch it, i have to refinish mine because of this issue
I think its safe to say that we all think of Lemmy when we se a Rickenbacker Bass
Geddy Lee, Chris Squire, Lemmy - in that order (for me anyway)
Cliff burton
paul
Chris squire
god dammit, that bassline is permanently printed in my mind... so groovy :D
Rickenbacker’s make me think of lemmy and cliff, rip!
Cant find these kits anymore. Rick copy kits seem to have disappeared. Sucks. AWESOME VID BROTHA!!!🤘
i looked into this kit for quite sometime,until i went down to my local music shop and picked up the real thing on payments.really glad i didn't grab this kit.set up my 4003s and threw on some rotos,ran it threw an old ss yorkie head paired up with 2 115 cabs and the tone is just monstrous. defiantly worth the 2gs!
+nash jesso good! Glad you love it!
Guns and Guitars thanks! I honestly think the whole "too expensive for just anyone to buy" thing when it comes to buying a ric isn't a problem anymore. Anyone can walk into a Long and McQuade (given you're in Canada) and pick any high end bass up for a small monthly payment, i work a shit minimum wage job and after 4 months of payments i now own my bass. Unless you are unemployed or a young kid there isn't anything stopping you from buying a higher end guitar. Haha i thought for so long that a rickenbacker was out of reach, was i ever wrong 🤔😏
+nash jesso I’m glad I didn’t live near that store when I was in college! I would’ve had 200 guitars and still be making payments 30 years later...
Oh man I want one of these so bad, but no one has them, and finding a lefty will be even harder.
My Dream Setup At The Moment Is My 1998 Standard Mexican Stratocaster But With Noiseless Single Coil Pickups And Locking Tuners, With LifeLine Cables Going Through The Compression Unit My Dad Uses Which Goes into My Dream Amp Setup,Which IS The Hughes And Kettener (I Call Them H and K's) TubeMeister 18 Head Plugged Into A Marshall Or Randall Cab The BOSS TU-3 Tuner Pedal, The BOSS OS-2 Drive/Distortion Pedal, The MXR Analog Chorus Pedal, The MXR Phase 95 Pedal, Thhe Boss DD-5 Plus The Fs-5U Tap Tempo, The Morely Optical Wah/Volume Pedal, And The SKB 8 Port Powered Pedal Board. See How Much THAT Cost's.
The phasing issue with the pickups is easily resolved by reversing the wiring on one of the pickups, I often have this issue when wiring a humbucker with a p90, they are usually opposite polarity
+Paul Jones yeah I’m sure switching polarity would’ve helped. But I just built the kit as is for the sake of the review. If the new pickups I put in have the same issue, I’ll flip the polarity.
Looking forward to seeing what you do with it, I've been looking at getting this same kit from Pitbull guitars
Pretty snazzy playin' there. I always liked the looks of the Rick bass.
+pedraw thanks! And I agree, the looks are what makes it
Sounds better than i have expected!
I think a proper EB -0 in the neck with a music man pup in the bridge, usual splitting/series/parallel on the MM, with the stereo circuit, so you can send the EB-0 separate to the MM,
I would want to dump the Jazz bass pickup and put in a stacked one so I could rig up the 3 way switch to go between pickups and have a push/pull select for splitting the pickups.
+James Lewis that would be cool! I have a dimarzio model j pickup that is a stacked humbucker. I currently have it in another bass, but I think the duncan quarter pound pickup I bought for this build may be a little too hot to balance with the neck pickup, if that’s the case I may try your idea with the dimarzio.
Yeah. The 4003 has been one of my absolute favorite shapes for a bass but I never liked it's basic sound. I Really wanna build this. Especially for the price. Too bad I am a lefty.
You can order the same kit left handed from pitbull Guitars. I think it might be a special order though.
Guns and Guitars thank you. Just emailed them. One more thing, I saw the vid of the finished product. Do you have any tutorials for the wiring because I would love to install a blend and balance pot like you did. Also, thanks for the inspiration. This is a really cool bass guitar.
I 99.100% need to get this kit.
That is some awesome funky playing! Spankin'!!!
+Mraybeck I like my funky playing like I like my wife...
That's sofa king cool. I was considering Pit Bull Guitar's version of this.
Thanks!
+Sherman Wilson yeah pit bull has a cool ash version that I’d love to have. But being in the US it’s more cost effective to buy from the fretwire.
Wow, great vid. Nothing better than guns n guitars ! Wonder if they make a lefty, I know I'm awkward!
Good video, glad to see you got rid of the silly bits. The price is too high for a project kit. I'd rather buy a used Squier and tweak it. Not that I need either.
Thanks for the well produced informative review! (warning the below is too much info unless you are a real bass geek)
I did a review video on the fully assembled in China - sold out from China
copy Rics. It appears this kit has some of the "eccentricities" (issues) as those
basses. The Music Man bridge is a better choice than the other bridge commonly found on these - even though it is well made that ones geometry is wrong.
The pickups are problematic and I am not looking to argue some of the other expert opinions posted here but will offer a different perspective. They source these pickups without regard to whether they were ever made to work together! (neck/bridge) All the ones I have seen the polarity needs to be reversed on one to get proper tone/output in middle position. Even the fully assembled basses. Seems the Chinese like " out of phase" sound? Another issue is the fretboard geometry - wrong for a Ric. Seems they made these by kind of mixing in ideas from wherever (Music Man bridge, Fender style fingerboard, Jazz bass bridge pickup but Ric style neck pickup) The field aperture (magnetic reach) of that neck pickup is weak on the E and G as it was designed for a narrower string spacing. Ric boards do not fan out as they go up the neck the way Fender basses do. I found the best solution to be installing a wider across - neck pickup. (I did a video just on these pickups as well) Question ??? Do these kits also have the "wrong scale" like many (not all) Chinese copies? Rics are 33 1/4 inch scale and the majority of these I have seen are 34 inch (Fender) scale. On such a long necked bass it effects the feel for balance and playing in the first position.
In fairness I will say I have seen some of the China ones with "neck thru" construction and Ric scale. But even then they still put the bridge pickup (always a Jazz pickup) too far to the bridge. Which is a problem if you are looking for as much of a Ric sound as possible.
+Zero-Mod yes you’re definitely right about a lot of things, and yes this kit does have a 34” scale (I mentioned that in the video). I’d prefer this kit over the China copy’s just because it’s not a blatant counterfeit. Those China copies literally say “rickenbacker made in USA” that doesn’t sit right with me.
Roger that. Which is why in my video the TRC is covered up... Had to hammer a recent commenter to get him to see
the difference between "copy" and "counterfeit".
Missed your scale comment in the video (sorry) . Your kit is definitely a better way to go.
The Chinese ones I have examined have glaring QC issues (like the incorrect radius bridge and poor wiring/nut cut/finish blems) All fixable but all more easily prevented if they cared. The print on the TRC of the Chinese ones wipes off with a dab of lacquer thinner! I rebadged the one I reviewed before passing it on.
Keep up the excellent work with your videos.
I think you wired these 2 pickups out of phase with each other.
SWEET BASS SOUND...SWEET LOOKS...SWEET PLAYING, BRO.
+bullitt foruu thanks!
my pleasure
The thin sound with both pickups - is probably because they are in parallel rather than series (which was how it came wired when before you changed it). Similar to that of the middle position of a Tele or a Les Paul/SG. The middle positions are "thinner" and lower output because the pickups are in parallel. I bet if you kept the wiring in series you wouldn't have that problem. As for the "thin" sound traditionally on Ric basses - I don't necessarily agree with that. Classic Ric Bass tones for me are Paul McCartney, Geddy Lee, Chris Squire - who all had a punch and hi-end attack to their sound (especially Geddy and Chris).
+Nick Cutroneo that punch and high end attack is what I call hunky/clangy. By thin I mean less bass than a bass should have. Also, I misspoke. The pickups were wired in parallel, like a jazz bass (I said series on accident) with the signal traveling through both volumes/tones, and only one signal chain to the pickup selector switch (making it useless, you can’t use it to select pickups, wired like a jazz bass you use the volumes to select your pickups). The thin sound is a phasing issue that could probably be fixed, or at least made a little better, by reversing polarity of one of the pickups.
I put a clone of a Ricky Bass on mine, but because of this to get my 34 inch from Nut to Bridge, I had to set neck in about 10 millimeters back from body
Bout time someone took advantage of the rickenbacker 6.*great work dude 👍
+Tom Goldsmith guitar thanks!
6:34 Check your bridge on that, it might have dropped. Happened to my Ibanez SDGR bass a couple weeks back, it's a common problem. Just tighten the screws and it'll hold. The pickups are magnetic, causing the bridge to pull the string with it, and the string rattles against the pickup. Or it's just fretbuzz. This goes to everyone who has this problem.
+iTz_Matt [The Music] thanks for the tip, the bridge was fine, it was uneven frets causing it
That sounds so much better than the actual thing
+I Do Not Care For Y2 haha my thoughts exactly
Nice review and really good playing!
Looks like I'm going to be adding another bass to my collection in the near future
+Chad Hodge go for it!
Good stuff. 1) You are a VERY talented bassist. The kits sounds GREAT. I have a real rick and one from China. Your bass sounds more like a Ric than my Chic!!! Im gonna get one of these.
Thanks!!!!!!!
+Glen Kersul cool! The China-backer haha
Dude I jusf found this channel. I absolutely love the shirt. I will get one when I am not totally broke.
+JackstandJohnny haha cool man! When I’m not totally broke...wait...I’m always broke.
Hi Dan, Ian from Australia! I can't afford a Ricky either! I have a 72 Fender Fretless P Bass with Active Seymour Duncan EQ PJ setup with 2 tone controls, no volume (You plug it, it is on full volume) and a 3 way switch! Mainly use a mono cable through my Fender Bassman 250/4x10 cabinet, but sometimes use a mono to stereo cable and add my Fender FM212 and run high freq through that and low freq through the Bassman! Great sound, but not the real deal, not that the punters would know! Sometimes I run my backup bass (A standard Cort T74) the same way! My question is: I was wondering if the set up in this video would work with Active P/U's? I am looking at Seymour Duncan's ASB-BO-4s and a Schaller BB-0318-010 Bridge Mainly for austhetic reasons! Do you think it would work? Your response would be appreciated! BTW Love your Vids
Are you asking if you can install active pickups in this kit? If so, yes you can install whatever pickups you want. And there should be plenty of room in the electronics cavity for batteries too.
If it can sound like Chris Squire, I'm sold.
Interesting that you say you hate the tone but like the styling, as I'm exactly the opposite. I hate how blocky it is and how the fretboard is lacquered, but I am in love with the tone
I got my 4003 for $1500. It was the first bass I ever bought, and I think it was worth every penny.
+Nick Riggin awesome! They are beautiful instruments. I always wanted one as a kid
Love your builds man, keep it up!
+BC Bell thanks!
Excellent video bro, can you do a video showing all basses do you have?
+Francisco Sánchez my bass collection is revolving, I never have more than two or three at a time, so it’d be a short vid lol.
Sick playing, man!
+Shua thank you!
i kinda want to custom one like McCartneys from Hello Goodbye
I got no more options that"s why maibe. I got a warwick streamer jazzman, and whant to plug a tone capsule. Never found a good diagram to plug in a stack pot vol/blend+ push pull. That knob is hard to find and is my main problem. If you can find a solutuon it will be very nice. Only 4 holes so need that stack pot
Hello, buddy. Where do I get that ricken kit? I love your videos. You give me inspiration to make my own bass
Some nice groovy bassline you got there 😎🎸
Just ordered my Rick clone! Thanks for the coupon!
I would totally do this, except shitcan the wiring and bridge pup. Get a rick aftermarket bridge from GFS or allparts. Then do a nitro finish in jet black
+Kevin Bresnahan go for it man!
Always a Great Review! - Thanks!
Love to have one but Pitbull don't have the kit in the UK . So build one with your own styling . I was wondering if you ask them nicely , they may throw in an MM Nordie HB style pup instead of the Jazz style for you guys across the Pond .
I still want one because of the price
Thanks for sharing
+Mark Red Wing the price is a win. Use my coupon code to save $10 too!
Very cool, Dan! Been wondering if this kit was worth buying. Any chance you can review Pitbull Guitars' Telecaster-shaped bass (fretless if possible)? Would love to hear about that'n.
Thanks again for this and all your other great videos.
Nice to see a Ricardo ;-) Best bass ever invented.
Just ordered one,thanks Dude,coupon worked too.....
+harleyriderade awesome glad it worked for you!
Good stuff. Thanks for the info!
I keep telling myself that I need to buy a guitar kit and mod it...
+linearconcepts that’s weird. I keep telling you that. Just do it already. I’m here to help
Just... a great video. As always. Keep going! ;)
Wow, an actual slappable Rick bass...I am actually interested. With a fret job, better electronics, and some paint it yould be a gem. I always liked Rick basses for their looks but they were always too expencive and lacked versatility. They have a rocking pick tone and looks to kill but that is just about it for a 2000$ bass...
+TheKille22 I agree with you 110%
I want one. Kind of 'iffy' before, but I fell in love with the tone--not quite a Ric, but better in the right ways--especially not that stupid "Rickenbacker sound" feedback thing.
Just shield the #$@& pickups, Rickenbacker!!
+wolf guy haha, yeah I’m in the same boat. Love rics but don’t care for the “ric sound”
sounds really good dude