rick 4003 tuning issue

[PinkTelephone]

hey guys, i play a rickenbacker 4003 in a metal band and we play in c standard tuning. the bass sounds like a god in e and even d, punchy crisp bright, i loved it. i just recently bought new strings for it to tune to c, they,re a kinda crappy band, i think there called boomers, and they are i believe .115 - .55 (maybe .50) but now the bass sounds muddy and slow. i has no attack without an amp with only treble. like it just doesnt sound good anymore. now i know the neck is only 33 1/4 inch but could i downgrade the string gauge to get more attack without the strings buzzing and hitting the frets, or am i just doomed to have a muddy rick in c tuning? i really didnt want to spend more money on anything do to me just getting all new amps for like 2000ish. any help would be great, thanks alot guys.

[Marcus]

Check the intonation, adjust the bridge, so on, so forth.

[Captain_joe6]

Agreed on the action, intonation and everything, and I might also add that you might want to look at some different strings. For me, the GHS Bass Boomers are just that, a little boomy. I've heard good things about GHS High-Beams and I personally get a lot of bite from a regular-slinky set of Ernie Balls. There's also a possibility that the heavier strings could be hitting slightly on the built-in mute in the bridge (provided this is still standard on a Ric, its been a while since I've seen one up-close and personal)

[CWK]

Look at the string change.
bill