Dull e-string on Rickenbacker

[Robert Sjea]

I've got a 4001 and I've never been happy with the relative dullness of the E string compared with the others, which have that classic Rickenbacker clang and punch. It's been professionally setup and is in great shape. Can someone provide some insight as to what might be the problem, or perhaps this is "normal" to some degree? Thanks,
bob
1973 4001 Rickenbacker

 

[JFace]

Have you tried to adjust the bridge pickup closer to the E string? Sometimes I get uneven volumes with the G, and a quick adjustment fixes it. A few other things to look at would be the nut and saddle groove (make sure they aren't too wide), and check the height of the E string as well. Good luck.

 

[deekay911]

My 4003 came from the factory like this. Fortunately it's the new model with the adjustable pole pieces on each pup, so I was able to adjust it higher just for the E, and it did the trick. Can you raise one side of the pup's on the 4001? That would definitely help.

 

[takeout]

My 4003 came from the factory like this. Fortunately it's the new model with the adjustable pole pieces on each pup, so I was able to adjust it higher just for the E, and it did the trick. Can you raise one side of the pup's on the 4001? That would definitely help.

Indeed. John Hall will never admit it, but tons of people complain about this. I blame the non-adjustable pickups, which had their poles set at a wildly different radius than what the strings were set to. As a result, my A and D strings were a lot hotter than the E and G.

Then they came out with adjustable poles, while still not admitting that this was the reason. I swapped my pickups out for the adjustables, and it made a world of difference - to the E, and to a lesser extent the G as well.

 

[12stringbassist]

I have had this problem and have remedied it with a slightly heavier gauge string.

 

[Robert Sjea]

Indeed. John Hall will never admit it, but tons of people complain about this. I blame the non-adjustable pickups, which had their poles set at a wildly different radius than what the strings were set to. As a result, my A and D strings were a lot hotter than the E and G.

Then they came out with adjustable poles, while still not admitting that this was the reason. I swapped my pickups out for the adjustables, and it made a world of difference - to the E, and to a lesser extent the G as well.

I currently have a replacement vintage bridge pickup - is it adjustable? Or is it enough to raise the neck pickup?

I'm using light strings - how heavy would you go to attempt remedy this? I'm thinking about trying out some flats as well. Comments please? I appreciate all the help.