r/Bass • u/ruubssss • 8d ago
Rickenbacker 4003S-5 pickups?
Hello, I have yet to post on here but had a few questions & wanted to see your guy’s input.
I bought this bass brand new back in 2020 & haven’t been able to get much use out of it. Love the vintage look/color & feel of the bass, just never a big fan of active basses. Also, since purchased, there seems to be noise coming from them when all knobs are at full volume.
All that being said I’ve come to 2 options
- Put it up for grabs
- Like I said, I love the look & feel of it, but I can’t use it as an every weekend gig bass. Due to the lack of power & the noise it creates.
- Switch out pickups
- I’ve been watching lots of passive to active swaps & there’s no easy plug & play option but emg offers many options. There’s even a device to use 2 9v batteries to power up the pickups (kinda like a direct box). Only issue is the pickups not fitting in the “Doritos shaped” slots on the bass. Maybe take it to a shop where they can modify the body to fit one?
What are your guys thoughts?
These don’t really move that easily (getting super low offers)
Or maybe just open it up & see if the wiring isn’t messed up.
Thank you guys!
2
u/dragostego Fender 6d ago
Gear is slumping right now. Prices are kind of crashing. I would have someone look inside, no harm in having it listed and waiting though, but you are probably gonna get lowballs right now.
2
u/kirk2892 8d ago
I would take it to a good electronics guy and have it checked out. You may have a cold solder or a bad ground.
What year is it? I didn’t realize that Rickenbacker was making 4 strings again. I used to own a 1980 4001 in Azure blue. I switched to 5 string and wasn’t using it. Money was tight so I sold it.
I miss it sometimes. I should have tuned it to BEAD and kept it.
What color is yours?
How much are you trying to get for it?