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Played a rick for the first time today
- Thread starter drewphishesp
- Start date
Such over reaction to a bridge...only in the world of forums.
I have a RIC and never gave the bridge a second thought, or a treble bezel.
Bought the 4003s new over a year ago.
Never had to touch the bridge, so it must be doing its job. The only thing I have done is add a zero mod thumbrest. And if you don't take the cover off,
you don't need to screw with modding anything.
I have a 4003 which is my main bass, but I would really like to get 4003SW or WS or 4003Carrot
I have a trebel bezel on mine and will never have another Ric without it. The bridge? I had my tech adjust it once and havent touched it since. If it needed constant adjustment, I would swap it out for a Hipshot but Ive gigged it a ton and havent had an issue
I have the Hipshot on one of my Rickenbackers.
Although it is nice for adjustment, it needs it way more often, since the saddles are held up by set screws that gradually drift. I'm considering replacing it with a stock bridge, actually. True, the stock bridge is more difficult to adjust, but I have a tech for that, and ever since he set up my 4003S (in BEAD tuning), it has needed no adjustments whatsoever, and that was a couple years ago now.
Dunno what RWRP is but I agree with this rest. Add in an included truss rod tool, too.
Jazz bass style wiring so that if you have both pickups up all the way, they hum cancel. Only works if you have both pickups turned up all the way, though.
RWRP = Reverse Wiring Reverse Polarity(magnetic). It offers hum cancelling when both pups are wide open. It is the common way two pickup sets (except Ric) are made. The neck pickup is standard, and the bridge pup is made RWRP right from the manufacturer. Some single pups are RWRP all by themselves like the split P pup, and some bridge pups in PJ sets (such as the EMG Geezer Butler PJ set).
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If I didn't take the cover off, I'd not be able to play the bass in a manner that's comfortable to me. I'm not alone. As far as the bridge/tailpiece is concerned, it's functional, but when I play with a pick, it's a bit of an ergonomic nightmare when it comes to my technique. The mute gets in the way of where I rest my hand, and the mute screws are right in the path of where my right hand travels. Scrape city. Other than the relative pain of having to remove the bridge to set intonation, it functions as designed.
Oh, and people have been complaining about/replacing the Ric bridge well before the internet. Leo Quan? It's not a user friendly design, it's functionality to give the strings their proper radius and intonation notwithstanding.
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
I remember buying a 1968 4001 in 1973 for $150
Ric5
Inactive
- Jan 29, 2008
- 29,772
- 30,452
- Disclosures
- I like 5, 8, 10, and 12 string basses
They're nice basses, but they are not all that Ric like other than the shape.
Sadly, I agree. The 4004 is a nice sounding bass, but it just doesn't sound like a Ric to me, and why would I buy a Ric that doesn't sound like a Ric?
Pretty sure the bass pickup is in a different location between the 4004 and 4003, and they are humbuckers vs. single-coil, and the 4004 doesn't have the "Ric-tone" high-pass filter on the bridge pickup. Very different sounding.
Lots of great basses out there, but only Ric 4003's and 4001's sound like that. And the Ric 4004 DOESN'T sound like that.
