Rickenbacker 4003 tailpiece mod, picture tutorial

[Btone]

Hi, RIC owners.
This is a fairly easy mod to a design flaw in the RIC tailpiece, well described elsewhere on the web: http://www.rickresource.com/forum/vi...p?f=2&t=378383
I thought I'd take some pics of the whole process and post it here.

Problem: No contact between tailpiece and body where the three front screws go - causing a possible tailpiece lift and, in theory, decreased sustain.

Remedy:



Loosen strings, remove bridge and loosen tailpiece screws, there's five of them on a modern 4003.

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Carefully lift tailpiece off the body and put a small amount of playdough or similar stuff right beside one of the screw holes. The point is to determine the thickness of the washer to use between tailpiece and body.

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Now, gently put the tailpiece back in its place, and press lightly. The playdough will stick to the tailpiece, and you will be able to measure the thickness, and find the right washer for the job, you will of course need three of them. The thickness needed may vary from bass to bass, that's why you have to go through this process.. My 4003 needed aprox. 2 mm washers.

[IMG][/IMG]

Like this:

[IMG][/IMG]

Or like this, if you're really rich, like me:

[IMG][/IMG]

For a rainy day..
Those coins had the excact right thickness

Now you're ready to put the thing back together again, make sure the ground wire doesn't get in the way:

[IMG][/IMG]

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And you're good to go!

Good luck, hope some of you found this helpful.

[deekay911]

Nice Job BTone - will certainly help some to have the pics!!! I did this myself a while back but didn't use the playdough trick - just had to try a few different thicknesses until I thought the space was taken up. This is a much more scientific method. Thanks!!

[Al Heeley]

Very neat strategic use of playdough, and I think the extra sustain you gain from using the higher density nickel alloy in the Norwegian Krone will help to emphasise sustain in the lower mid range frequencies far better than a mild steel washer. I think.

[Bongolation]

Odd business!

What is the theory behind the original design? It's such a glaring structural lapse, there must have been some point to it otherwise.

[walterw]

that might be optimistic, rics have all kinds of questionable design features.

[Scott in Dallas]

Isn't the idea of a gap in the three screws so that you can run it down and improve contact between the bridge and the rest of the body? I don't really see a downside to the original design.