Ric 4003 NBD Letdown

[Ric5]

Originally Posted by Pbass4003

After Christmas, Chris at PotR is shipping my new fireglo with a custom setup to my specs. I can't wait. You're experience is just what I needed to hear. Any pics to quench my excitement?

Merry Christmas!

Learning to be a good bass tech and setting up your own basses is a good skill to have.

[greggster59]

Chris set my MG up with TI's. I requested low action so he filed the nut down perfectly and adjusted the neck very straight. Awesome job. You're in for a treat.

[NYCbassist]

Originally Posted by Pbass4003

Sexy! Glad you love your MG, she's definitely a looker. You know what, although I originally was GASing for MG, I'm actually glad I ended with Fireglo by default. Although it's one of the longest running Ric finishes, it seems underrepresented nowadays. Aside from Scott Pilgrim and some commercial I saw on TV yesterday, I don't see too many out in the wild. I see JG, MID, and MG in that order. Now Ruby is taking over the red-Ric spectrum, but I personally think "ketchupglo." JK Ruby owners, your Rics are awesome!

Anyways, I can't wait to see how she plays more than anything. Chris is also filing down the factory nut free of charge (which he admits is high) to accommodate the TIs. Can't wait! Also, if I ever get MG lust, I'll just creep on NYCbassist and Gadgetgirl's basses. Thanks, guys! Merry Christmas!

It sounds like you took the right approach to get a perfect Ric. I got lucky because My MG is very playable and no cosmetic issues. FireGlo's a beautiful Colour. You are gonna be a happy camper when you get it. I had a 4 hour Blues Jam on mine today through my Hartke LH1000 With Abe Reid(Somewhat of a legend in NC). What a Blast! Tons of Growl. I ended up with tone Knobs set about 7 out of 10 & Both Pickups on full.

Happy New Year,
Gerry

[Beano_z]

It's a slide bass!

[Ric5]

Originally Posted by greggster59

Chris set my MG up with TI's. I requested low action so he filed the nut down perfectly and adjusted the neck very straight.

Doing a basic setup and tweaking the nut is a basic skill that bass players should have. Then you can be your own bass tech and save yourself a lot of money and also have your basses set up well with low action for the rest of your career.

[Epitaph04]

Geeze man we get it. If this "Chris" person seems to be offering a setup before sending the bass whats so wrong with him accepting it? Sure basic set ups should be something a typical musician knows how to do, but come on, you dont have to be so passive aggressive about it.

[NYCbassist]

Originally Posted by Epitaph04

Geeze man we get it. If this "Chris" person seems to be offering a setup before sending the bass whats so wrong with him accepting it? Sure basic set ups should be something a typical musician knows how to do, but come on, you dont have to be so passive aggressive about it.

Actually, I think it's great that some people admit they can't do it. There's too many people trying to do it themselves that shouldn't be. At least without a little guidance. ie; raising & lowering the bridge under full string tension. It would seem obvious that it's a terrible Idea But......When the screws strip out that person rags on RIC for their cheap bridge. Same with stripped out truss Rods. Take the tension off the strings and neck and the truss rod nut moves effortlessly.
Too many untrained people with access to wrenches IMO.

[RobbieNuke]

The original problem of any instrument over $1,000 (MSRP) leaving the factory in less than playable condition should really not be happening for many reasons. QA is failing big time, but this also indicates the build techs are not trained properly and/or are dissatisfied with their jobs... both should be replaced immediately.

However, IMHO, I would be cautious of buying any professional grade instrument (especially bass guitars, guitars, etc) via mail order. The extra money one shells out when buying from a local dealer means (usually) an in-house set-up and/or repair from an authorized (i.e. factory trained/certified) repair tech is being provided. Hopefully, instruments with problems described in the original post would not even hit the sales floor!

I would not purchase a bass mail order unless it was some sort of very limited edition available from only a few choice dealers, a custom shop special order, or a vintage instrument.

[greggster59]

Originally Posted by Ric5

Doing a basic setup and tweaking the nut is a basic skill that bass players should have. Then you can be your own bass tech and save yourself a lot of money and also have your basses set up well with low action for the rest of your career.

Dude, I always do my own setups unless I'm unfamiliar with the components. Rics are made a bit differently than I'm used to and Chris is a Rickenbacker dealer and tech. If the price includes the initial setup it is a no brainer. For instance, I didn't previously know that a Ric neck should set straight.
But, thanks for mentioning the value of DIY.

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by greggster59

...Rics are made a bit differently than I'm used to...

Ricks have all the same stuff any other bass has, just like most cars have the same basic things needed to drive one safely.

It's all pretty simple, really.

[miles'tone]

Originally Posted by Jeff Scott

Ricks have all the same stuff any other bass has, just like most cars have the same basic things needed to drive one safely.

It's all pretty simple, really.

Except they have two trussrods to deal with. A bit disconcerting if you've never seen such a design before, especially on such an expensive instrument.

Anyway I would pay money to see the look on your face if you had to get in and drive a car with two steering wheels, one for the front wheels and one for the back.
Now just hit the freeway. It's a car, it's got pretty much what any car has.

Easy really. Lol!

[bill reed]

Originally Posted by miles'tone

Except they have two trussrods to deal with. A bit disconcerting if you've never seen such a design before, especially on such an expensive instrument.

Anyway I would pay money to see the look on your face if you had to get in and drive a car with two steering wheels, one for the front wheels and one for the back.
Now just hit the freeway. It's a car, it's got pretty much what any car has.

Easy really. Lol!

Most 5 or 6 string basses also have two truss rods, i know my 5 string Harper has two. two truss rods are use in many other makes but not so often in 4 string basses.

[thiocyclist]

Originally Posted by miles'tone

Except they have two trussrods to deal with. A bit disconcerting if you've never seen such a design before, especially on such an expensive instrument.

Anyway I would pay money to see the look on your face if you had to get in and drive a car with two steering wheels, one for the front wheels and one for the back.
Now just hit the freeway. It's a car, it's got pretty much what any car has.

Easy really. Lol!

Easy to stump you I guess. Two truss rods is nothing. Just tighten and loosen and see what happens like anything else. You are overthinking it.

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by miles'tone

Anyway I would pay money to see the look on your face if you had to get in and drive a car with two steering wheels, one for the front wheels and one for the back.
Now just hit the freeway. It's a car, it's got pretty much what any car has.

Easy really. Lol!

Okay, what car is this you are talking about? I am up to it. BTW, your analogy leaves much to be desired.

Dual truss rod instruments have been around for longer than many TBers have been alive. Rickenbacker may have been the first (I am not certain of this) but when a company as prestigious as Alembic (among others) adopts the idea that says a lot for the validity of the concept, don't you think?

[greggster59]

This thread is starting to make me wonder how many bassists it takes to change a light bulb.

Happy New Years to all in the fellowship of Bassists! 🎈🎈🍻🍻🍻🎈🎈🎸

[Jeff Scott]

Originally Posted by greggster59

This thread is starting to make me wonder how many bassists it takes to change a light bulb.

Happy New Years to all in the fellowship of Bassists! 🎈🎈🍻🍻🍻🎈🎈🎸

Now, here is a great analogy.

Happy New Years to all, and let us all try and keep an open mind and learn from one another.

[Immigrant]

My New Year resolution is to try harder to accept that not everybody possesses the same abilities, that some people aren't wired to do certain things, and not everybody can learn how to do something they aren't wired to learn. It happens. I have a buddy who I've spent nearly every Sunday with for the last 10 years playing Playstation golf, and for some reason he'll never be as good as me. I never play the game without him, so no advantage there. I'm just better at it than he is.

It's the same situation with bass setups. Some people will never be able (or even willing) to learn how. My (adult) son can do almost everything better than I can, but he can't seem to grasp string changes on a guitar.

Happy New Year

[deeptubes]

Lately, it seems like there has been an abundance of Ric threads saying "I got my new Ric today. __________, __________, and __________ were screwed up, so I sent it back." A week or two later it's "I got my replacement Ric today. This time __________, __________, and __________ are messed up. I'm sending it back." A couple of weeks later it's "I got my second replacement Ric, and it's got the exact same problems in the same places as the first one. I think they sent me back the first one. The packaging even looks identical." It almost seems like they are trying to see what they can get away with. I almost bought one during the big blowout. Glad I didn't.

If you paid for a Corvette, would you accept a Camaro with a Corvette sticker on it? Exactly.

[bassgod0dmw]

Originally Posted by deeptubes

If you paid for a Corvette, would you accept a Camaro with a Corvette sticker on it? Exactly.

You're still getting a Ric.

Paying for a new Corvette, but getting one with a scratch on it may be more appropriate.

[Tvrtko]

I hope they will send in in the future with a note: "Some assembly needed".