Rickenbacker 4003 Pickup Assembly query

logie48 · #1 01-13-2010, 04:01 AM

Hello,

I foolishly lost a spring and a washer when removing the pickup guard in my 4003, a while ago I may add. The problem is now that I want to put the pickup cover back on, and haven't a clue where one set of springs are supposed to go.

Here is the springs I have;

And here is the assembly diagram;

Now I assume the small grey springs are the 06116 parts on the diagram. Problem is, what is the black spring(s) for?

Any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks.

Tarrbot · #2 01-14-2010, 05:13 AM

I'm not sure the history of your bass but I'd think that someone put it together incorrectly in the past before you got it. I have my cover off currently but there was never 4 springs in there.

I'm not 100% sure which of those springs are the correct one but I'm guessing it's the bigger one. I'd see if you could find something similar at a hardware store and put those in it, instead.

mikeldtl · #3 01-14-2010, 03:06 PM

The springs you are looking for are the stiffer black springs on the left. The springs used to hold the bridge pickup in place are far stiffer and more rigid than any other spring on that bass, they are also larger and the only ones with a black hue. The neck pickup should have come mounted with rubber grommets but for a better range of adjustment I usually swap these for short springs instead. If you are missing the correct set of springs you can either order some up or try to rig up a close approximation of what was on there. My current bridge pickup is held in place with one spring cut in half, stretched, and stacked with a few mm of rubber washers. Whatever works, right?

logie48 · #4 01-15-2010, 02:25 AM

Thanks for the replies guys, appreciate it.

Its a 2005 ric and i've had it since new, for your information. To be honest I haven't adjusted anything on the bass apart from the bridge pickup. I just wondered why on earth there are two sets of springs, when according to the pickup assembly diagram, there should only be one. It's definately from this bass guitar, because i fired all the loose ends (springs, pickup guard/cover) in a sealable bag when I took it off.

I'll have to look for another spring similar to the black one.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeldtl

My current bridge pickup is held in place with one spring cut in half, stretched, and stacked with a few mm of rubber washers.

What are the advantages of using this setup? Does it just raise the pickup slightly higher?

mikeldtl · #5 01-17-2010, 03:07 AM

The cut springs do offer the option to raise the pickup higher. I was using the pickguardian surround at the time I clipped them and it was shallower in height, therefor necessitating less overall thickness from the spring to get me a roughly 1/8" space between pole and string. My bass does have the adjustable pole pieces (its a 2008) but the new surround was just so much closer to the body that I had to clip down the springs. I have since reverted back to the stock assembly, sans bridge cover and including the chrome trim ring off of another neck pickup to really, really look sharp. I added a small rubber spacer to make up for the lost spring length until I recently (yesterday) received a few replacements. Anyways, the part you are looking for is available at the official RIC site as no. 06116 . I think you will find that most springs do not have the diameter to fit around the height adjustment screw. But seriously, whatever works will work. I like the hardware store suggestion as its probably the easiest and I am not necessarily a stickler for spring authenticity, regardless of it being a beloved ricky...

mikeldtl · #6 01-17-2010, 03:14 AM

Mount the bridge pickup using the 06116 black springs as per the diagram and use the shorter gray springs to replace to neck pickup rubber grommets

logie48 · #7 01-20-2010, 04:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeldtl

The cut springs do offer the option to raise the pickup higher. I was using the pickguardian surround at the time I clipped them and it was shallower in height, therefor necessitating less overall thickness from the spring to get me a roughly 1/8" space between pole and string. My bass does have the adjustable pole pieces (its a 2008) but the new surround was just so much closer to the body that I had to clip down the springs. I have since reverted back to the stock assembly, sans bridge cover and including the chrome trim ring off of another neck pickup to really, really look sharp. I added a small rubber spacer to make up for the lost spring length until I recently (yesterday) received a few replacements. Anyways, the part you are looking for is available at the official RIC site as no. 06116 . I think you will find that most springs do not have the diameter to fit around the height adjustment screw. But seriously, whatever works will work. I like the hardware store suggestion as its probably the easiest and I am not necessarily a stickler for spring authenticity, regardless of it being a beloved ricky...

Yeah, I used the same pickup guard from pickguardian. I had it on for roughly two years, and then one day took at look at my ric and though, god that looks awful, totally takes the look off what should be an amazing looking bass. Don't know why it took me 2 years to notice! Plus, the plate holes were not alligned, so I had to improvise and put 2 screws to hold it in place, instead of the 4.

Quote:

Originally Posted by mikeldtl

Mount the bridge pickup using the 06116 black springs as per the diagram and use the shorter gray springs to replace to neck pickup rubber grommets

I don't know why, but I had the grey springs in the bridge pickup when I took my bridge pickup apart (just recently). So you are saying, the black ones are the original springs which should go here, and that they are part no 06116? Oh and it doesn't help when RIC say you have to spend $20 minimum, when all you need is a lousy spring at 0.50c.

I'm pretty happy with my neck pickup setup at the moment. The sooner I get the bridge pickup setup the way I like it, the sooner I can adjust the heights properly for a decent treble/bass pickup output balance.

Thank you for your help btw.

mikeldtl · #8 01-21-2010, 01:25 AM

I received the parts in mail and 06116 are the black springs, no doubt. FWIW I had the problem of aligning the screws on my Pickguardian surround - you did too! I had all four in but it wasn't right and I knew it. But anyways, I spent my money on replacement screws and a sticker to come up with a $20 order. I got backup bridge surround screws and truss cover screws, and an extra push pull 500k pot that I wanted anyhow (gonna try a series/parallel mod) and a few bridge height screws. The feeling of these when they get chewed up truly blows.. I think http://www.pickofthericks.com/store_potr/ will ship an order of any amount and they also stock the same parts by number. Cheers ~