In the 34 years I owned my 4001, it required no trust rod adjustments and zero need to to do anything with the bridge.
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Rickenbacker 4003: The Struggle is Real
- Thread starter JPbass77
- Start date
In the 34 years I owned my 4001, it required no trust rod adjustments and zero need to to do anything with the bridge.
My previous post notwithstanding, I wil say that I can play some pieces of music far more easily on my Ric than on some of my other basses. Weird.
Most of the classic gripes have been addressed within the past 2 years of current production.
For instance.
New Single Truss rods which are buttery smooth and super simple to dial in.
Necks now again feel like the old 4001's.
new improved bridge which is a 2 piece design making tail lift impossible as there is now a solid steel block that holds the ball ends, That is screwed to the body and the rest of the bridge goes over that.
For instance.
New Single Truss rods which are buttery smooth and super simple to dial in.
Necks now again feel like the old 4001's.
new improved bridge which is a 2 piece design making tail lift impossible as there is now a solid steel block that holds the ball ends, That is screwed to the body and the rest of the bridge goes over that.
I agree that you may have to adapt more to a Rick. If the binding is uncomfortable, shift the bass a bit. I find angling the headstock upwards is effective in keeping the binding from digging into my forearm.
Then there's the tone. If you're lucky enough to find your perfect tone on a Rick, you'll never want to put it down.
I think some people expect to sound like Chris Squier(or other Rick player) immediately. Then when they don't, they just give up on Rickenbackers. I am running flats on my basses and the 4003 really comes to life with them. I literally wake up wanting to play each morning.
It's silly to buy a used one these days for way more money that's for sure, the prices on reverb are bonkers when the new ones are so good with the improvements.
If you indulge me for a second, I'll opine here on my Rickenbacker guitars - But since this is a Rickenbacker bass thread, I'll make this as short as possible. It might make some sense though, regarding some of the other comments about Rickenbacker inconsistencies..
I've got a Ric 360/6 and a Ric 360/12 - both are 2014 models... Both have the Fireglo finish. They look virtually alike, made in the same year - other than one is a 6-string and the other is a 12-string.
So - - My tech told me this particular 360/12 of mine is absolutely the best Rickenbacker 12-string he has ever worked on or played.. Yet he told me this particular Rickenbacker 360/6 of mine is the absolute worst 360/6 he's ever worked on or played...
And I tend to agree..
True story.
Go figure...
I've got a Ric 360/6 and a Ric 360/12 - both are 2014 models... Both have the Fireglo finish. They look virtually alike, made in the same year - other than one is a 6-string and the other is a 12-string.
So - - My tech told me this particular 360/12 of mine is absolutely the best Rickenbacker 12-string he has ever worked on or played.. Yet he told me this particular Rickenbacker 360/6 of mine is the absolute worst 360/6 he's ever worked on or played...
And I tend to agree..
True story.
Go figure...
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My Rick is an '83. Had it for maybe a decade. My #1.
Originally had it setup up in E-standard. Different band, changed to C-standard. Now back to E-standard.
Yeah the original bridge is a time-consuming pain for intonation, but it's stable once set, so there's that.
Originally had it setup up in E-standard. Different band, changed to C-standard. Now back to E-standard.
Yeah the original bridge is a time-consuming pain for intonation, but it's stable once set, so there's that.
Didnt vote, no option.
Have a 4003s. Never an issue. Havent needed to touch truss or bridge going on 6 yrs now.
Have a 4003s. Never an issue. Havent needed to touch truss or bridge going on 6 yrs now.
Well, you've gone about things in a bit of a strange way, but each to their own.
- The stock bridge/tailpiece assembly is fine as-is and I don't particularly regard the Hipshot as an upgrade and a couple of mine have made their way onto copies. (Amusing complaining about the Gnd wire being soldered, though.
) - Schallers are the standard Straplocks, aren't they? I think the Ric ones are made by Schaller (as are the tuners).The bolts came about because the original strap buttons used are the very same part as the original tailpiece mute height adjusters. Interestingly, after RIC swapped to Straplock ones, Schaller converted their general ones to single-piece ones too. I have Schaller ones on my other guitars & basses, except for a couple of Warwicks which have inset straplocks.
- I too remove the Treble pickup cover - I don't see the point of it (other than on one I have with a horseshoe magnet pickup). Though I have them on a couple of Rics I can take or leave the bezels; I don't particularly notice them and I thought about buying one I saw on eBay but when I checked the bass it already had one!
Yep - the most amusing one was the 4004 RIC replaced/revised all of the things people complained about, including bridge, binding, and pickups and produce a rather nice bass.
People just carried on buying the 4003.
I don't quite get the Babicz bridge - it is only the bridge part, so doesn't solve tail-life and the saddles are higher so you can't palm-mute.
I have a '64, no tail-lift.
I tend to buy used and would tend to play before buying; I wouldn't pay the asking price for a new one.
That "standard" word - there was no standard when the 4001 appeared; the Rics got a bit of bad press because folks wanted to adjust them like Fenders but they aren't Fenders.
The best advice to folks who complain that Rics aren't like Fenders is to go and buy a Fender then!
I don't rate the the Hipshot bridge:
- They're a pain to fit and on occasion I've spent time looking for the spring that pinged out across the roon whilst I was trying to put the E saddle back on as I had to removed it to screw in the fixing screws.
- The E saddle tends to sit on one of the fixing screws, which hampers its intonation.
- There isn't much travel in the saddles because the intonation screw holes don't go right through like on a Fender bridge (see, I did the "Fender" thing!); however, you can cut them to size.
- I think they ruin the aesthetic of the Ric; they are a bit bland sat there.
- Height-wise, the stock Ric bridge is curved to match the fretboard, so setting their relative string height with a file should be a once-only thing.
- The brass Hipshot bridge is quite heavy.
The great thing about Ric truss-rods is they are field replaceable.
However, for folks who are worries about snapping them, here's a link to someone who knows describing how to (and not to!) adjust a truss rod; he's demonstrating it on a Fender, so it's not peculiar to Rics.
The "not to" is don't use the truss rod(s) to adjust the neck, but rather use gentle force against the neck to bend it to position and use the rods to lock it in place. Older Ric manuals suggest doing this over your knee.
However, there is one thing in the video you should not do on a Ric and that is put pressure on the headstock: if you look at the truss-rod adjusters bay there, that's taken out a lot of wood, so any pressure should be against the fingerboard.
I would do it for ease of intonation - I agree that it wouldn't fix a tail lift problem.
They have mainly because John Hall retired and his son Ben took over as CEO in 2022. That's also why they finally updated their website for the first time in about 25 years, reissued the 4005, and retired the 4003/S5.
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The 4003/S5 is the only Ric I've sold; it didn't feel like a Ric and I found I was reaching for my Warwick 5-er when I wanted the extra string.
Over 45 years, 1 adjustment (went to lighter guage strings), and no other problems except I've lost the inlay to one of the tone knobs.
D
When someone asks, or talks about any brand of guitar besides Rickenbacker: Why is it always prefaced with some form of apology, or dislike for them? Then something positive is said.
It seems like when talking about someone "Take him or leave him" then throw in a compliment.
It seems like when talking about someone "Take him or leave him" then throw in a compliment.
I've never owned one let alone seen one in person. I've also heard mixed reviews about it on TB and YouTube.
