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Anything About a Rickenbacker 4003?
- Thread starter ecj_bass
- Start date
Another Nova Scotian here , I have a 4001 I've been using for years . No negative issues with it at all . The bridge was a pain to adjust but once done has not been touched since . My Ric easily has the most stable neck I own .
It's a nice bass . I love the old thing . A friend liked mine and bought a new one , I was quite surprised to find the necks and overall feel were almost identical .
Not everyone " gets" Rics but I do hope you enjoy yours ...
It's a nice bass . I love the old thing . A friend liked mine and bought a new one , I was quite surprised to find the necks and overall feel were almost identical .
Not everyone " gets" Rics but I do hope you enjoy yours ...
According to Rob Hall (CEO of Ric), they recommend setting the neck perfectly flat. It works for me.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
Yeah, that sounded vaguely familiar, so I checked a couple sources, including Rickenbacker's website.
It says something like "Due to the precision that the dual trussrods provide, you MAY want to set your neck ALMOST perfectly straight".
I interpret that to loosely mean that Rick necks can be adjusted straighter than some others. I'm not sure how any neck can be playable perfectly straight - without high action. .001" relief is still SOME relief.
Anyway, this was a good refresher. I have read before that Rickenbacker basses do have their own set of rules regarding certain adjustments.
It says something like "Due to the precision that the dual trussrods provide, you MAY want to set your neck ALMOST perfectly straight".
I interpret that to loosely mean that Rick necks can be adjusted straighter than some others. I'm not sure how any neck can be playable perfectly straight - without high action. .001" relief is still SOME relief.
Anyway, this was a good refresher. I have read before that Rickenbacker basses do have their own set of rules regarding certain adjustments.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
Sure, but when people are complaining about "warped" necks and the like... Sounds like the bass just needs a decent setup. Some people don't understand that the neck should be perfectly flat - no relief. Also, the truss rod is biflex. When I see people complain about buzzing frets I tend to think they've tightened the truss rods too far.
This guy obviously has an axe to grind. He buys some seconds from the largest impersonal warehouse retailer in the world, and pronounces that Rickenbacker is a bad company. Sheesh. Many of his "issues" are patently ridiculous. He has several threads floating around here, all with the same complaints, same pics, same list of grievances. When an attempt is made to set him straight, he complains of "fanboys", whatever that means.
I have 4004 with an unfinished fretboard. It was converted to a 5 string by someone else. The neck is strong but it is hard to get it to flatten out completely. But it plays very nicely with a little relief. I use lighter strings and that helps. Anyway I have found the best way to keep this bass in good playing shape is to keep it in an environment where the humidity levels stay above 30%. But my 1993 4004L also converted to a 5 string has a strong flat neck and that bass can tolerate low humidity very easily.
I store my basses out of the case in a room with a humidifier. I play them all and adjust them all periodically.
I agree that Fender QC is spotty but the below is ridiculous. There's only one way to cut a nut - slotted low enough that the difficulty of pressing down the first fret is as difficult as pressing down the second with a capo on the first, and high enough that open strings don't buzz, with the top of the nut filed down so that about half the string sits above the fret so that the strings don't bind in their slots. Ask any setup guide. Cutting them intentionally high, if Ric does it, is half-finished work and ridiculously lazy, imho.
audiomitch said:
I can respect your opinion, even if I don't agree with it. I was actually making more of a point about the guy who's nitpicking about his bargain basement Ric. Everything he's complaining about can be said about Fender, and even more so about Gibson. I would guess you could make his case against any manufacturer, and not sure why he feels like he has to start 3 or 4 threads about it.
There are a number of things to look for on a new RIC, where their quality control is lacking:
These are all things that have been found wrong with modern vintage Rics. The MID threads were full of issues like this.
- Paint issues, especially around the bridge.
- Bridge tail lift: this is extremely common
- Fretwork: my first Ric had horrible fretwork. I couldn't achieve action below 7/64th of an inch and had a number of super high frets.
- Case issues: look for broken handles and broken feet.
These are all things that have been found wrong with modern vintage Rics. The MID threads were full of issues like this.
Here's a great website by a Ric knowledgeable tech -
joeysbassnotes.com
Truss Rod Adjustment (for neck relief)
Rickenbacker instruments intonate and play best when the neck is as straight as possible. I have gotten quite a few emails from Rickenbacker bass owners who are not comfortable to yet do their own set up, telling me that a certain guitar repairman insists that a Rick bass neck should have relief just like any other bass guitar. If a guitar repairman tells you this, then it should immediately tell you that this guitar repairman has little or no knowledge and experience setting up or repairing Rickenbacker basses. Take your Rick elsewhere.
But it's certainly not the "myth" as stated earlier. I can get my Ric neck pretty straight, as straight as I can get it. Under those conditions, the phrase "perfectly straight" would apply. Your position is one of semantics, the underlying concept remains valid.
These are issues with your Ric that you bought during the blow out sale from Musicians Friend. It's hardly comprehensive data that can draw a conclusion about all new Rics. Even taking every MID 4003 sold during that sale isn't enough data to make that sweeping conclusion.
Translation, you can't get is "perfectly straight", as the bass becomes unplayable. Of course it's a myth, all basses need a little relief, and the Ric is no different. They build a nice bass, but they haven't defeated the physics of a vibrating string as comments like that would lead us to believe.
With proper fretwork, any bass can achieve a NEAR straight relief. It's the foundation of a low setup. Every bass in my arsenal has the slightest bit of relief and a low setup. If they don't, the get Plek'd.
At some point, Ric fans will figure out that telling new buyers that the bass need no relief is nothing more than confusing and dishonest. Those basses, in general, simply don't have the fretwork required to go with near zero relief. They can get there, but most will need a little work from a qualified luthier.
The OP asked what he should look for. The MID threads are a great source of information, as they represent a volume of sales not normally found in the Ric brand. These types of issues were found by a number of owners. Its not to say that the OP will have these issues, but these were the prevalent issues found in a fairly large sample.
I agree. "As straight as you can get it" is not semantics. It is a fine point, which tends to be misinterpreted.
I believe even the eccentric and non-traditional Anthony Jackson snuck in "nearly" when talking about setting up a neck straight (I know - he doesn't play a Ric either. Maybe he should
)
Why do some Ric owners apparently feel threatened by the evidence presented?
There's no such thing as a perfect bass, but if the same issues keep cropping up repeatedly, wouldn't it be a good thing to keep an eye out for them?
