Rickenbacker crooked pick ups

[bassline52]

I was really pumped when I heard Rickenbacker is reissuing the 4003s model.
I was excited to learn that my local music store received shipment of 4 of these basses.
I bought the jetglo one they had, it sounded killer in the store!
I brought it home and proceeded to do what I do to all my Ric basses--take the pick up cover off . When I assembled everything back to the way it should. I was aware of something that disturbed me....the pick up they installed in bass was crooked! (see photo)
I brought it back to the store, they told me Rickenbacker says sometimes they come like that. That's pretty beat in my opinion! If you buy something of that value you would hope the everything should be the way it should. Besides, how would I be able to sell a bass with a flaw like that down the road if I had to get rid of it. So I brought it back to the store and got my money back. If Rickenbacker said they would ship a replacement pick up to solve the issue I might have kept it. I posted pictures of my other Ric basses where the pick ups are the way they should be, straight. Any one out there have this problem with Ric basses?

 

[Marko 1]

they told me Rickenbacker says sometimes they come like that

lol...

 

[RBrownBass]

I was really pumped when I heard Rickenbacker is reissuing the 4003s model.
I was excited to learn that my local music store received shipment of 4 of these basses.
I bought the jetglo one they had, it sounded killer in the store!
I brought it home and proceeded to do what I do to all my Ric basses--take the pick up cover off . When I assembled everything back to the way it should. I was aware of something that disturbed me....the pick up they installed in bass was crooked! (see photo)
I brought it back to the store, they told me Rickenbacker says sometimes they come like that. That's pretty beat in my opinion! If you buy something of that value you would hope the everything should be the way it should. Besides, how would I be able to sell a bass with a flaw like that down the road if I had to get rid of it. So I brought it back to the store and got my money back. If Rickenbacker said they would ship a replacement pick up to solve the issue I might have kept it. I posted pictures of my other Ric basses where the pick ups are the way they should be, straight. Any one out there have this problem with Ric basses?

Return it and pick out one that isn't flawed.

 

[Garret Graves]

This is a very common subject here about RICs. Mine is a little crooked too. RIC would point out that it is hidden under the pickup cover. If you take off the cover and discover that it is crooked, too bad- it doesn't affect the tone or output. Your custom modification of removing the cover is the problem. That is in a nutshell, their take on it. I agree with you though- should be straight, no excuses.

 

[Dash Lashes]

ugly duckling? i would have kept it as a 'special tone one'... you said it "sounded killer"

 

[jeff62]

a) it doesn't affect the sound (unless it's extremely mis-positioned)
b) it's under a cover so no one cares
c) it's tougher to find a bass that plays well -- that's what makes it a keeper. If it doesn't play well or you're having buyer's remorse by all means return it. But don't blame it on a crooked pickup. Lots of guitars have crooked pickups.

 

[brotondo]

Gives it character, and could possibly be why it sounds"killer".

 

[Paul Boyer]

I don't know why, but some are that way. I've had literally dozens of Rick basses pass through here over the last decade. Some have had slightly crooked mounting to the baseplate. Matters not a bit. No effect on the performance or the playability of the instrument whatsoever. I'll bet that 90% of the people who own Ricks with crooked pickups have never noticed it until someone else points it out. Never bothered me, and I'm fairly OCD. You can probably straighten them out if it bothers you. Just have to loosen some screws of the pickup to the baseplate and "urge" the pickup a little straighter. It's kind of a hassle just to get it to look a skosh better. Nobody in your audience is going to stop dancing if they see it.

 

[254 stringer]

I'm with Ric on this one it's supposed to have a cover. It's like taking the mirror down in the bathroom and getting mad cause the contractor didn't paint the wall behind it.

 

[Dash Lashes]

I'm with Ric on this one it's supposed to have a cover. It's like taking the mirror down in the bathroom and getting mad cause the contractor didn't paint the wall behind it.

 

[Dash Lashes]

... another one of "these" threads

lol

 

[Marko 1]

It's poor craftsmanship and poor quality control. Period.

 

[Marko 1]

I'm with Ric on this one it's supposed to have a cover. It's like taking the mirror down in the bathroom and getting mad cause the contractor didn't paint the wall behind it.

lolwut

 

[mr.mow]

theres two screws on the bottom (unless they've changed them), loosen them, straighten magnet and pickup on base (it moves around a bit).. move on..

 

[Jaco Taco]

It's poor craftsmanship and poor quality control. Period.

Correct. I love Rics to death but the quality control at the company is abysmal. You really have to carefully inspect any Ric you are going to buy before buying it because you can be damn sure that the people at Ric didn't inspect it before shipping it out.

 

[jeff62]

It's poor craftsmanship and poor quality control. Period.

Always good for a laugh, eh? It's a mass produced instrument, it's not a Fodora (or whatever them things are ). Thus, things are misaligned, or frets need to be dressed, or truss rods adjusted. Deal with it because it matters naught. Or pay the price for "craftsmanship".

Or whine.

 

[Marko 1]

Always good for a laugh, eh? It's a mass produced instrument, it's not a Fodora (or whatever them things are ). Thus, things are misaligned, or frets need to be dressed, or truss rods adjusted. Deal with it because it matters naught. Or pay the price for "craftsmanship".

Or whine.

I’m not whining, my $300 Squier VM from Indonesia has none of those issues. Zero.


At what price do you think one should come to expect quality craftsmanship?

 

[MrBKerth]

I’m not whining, my $300 Squier VM from Indonesia has none of those issues. Zero.


At what price do you think one should come to expect quality craftsmanship?

This is an interesting point. See, getting a pickup aligned straight doesn't seem to be an issue for other production level instruments. It's not Fodera level quality to have things aligned properly. I'm very forgiving about lots of things coming from production basses. I expect to need fret work, setup work, and possibly even tuning up/swapping out parts to get what I want. It doesn't really matter about whether there is a cover over the pickup. If you look at an instrument at that price point, and it looks like an integral part of it was installed as if it were a second thought then that'd cause me to seriously doubt my purchase. At my old job we had a specific motto, "measure twice, cut once".

 

[jeff62]

Congrats, you got a good one. Doesn't change the fact that most instruments have minor issues that are part and parcel of being mass produced.

Find one that plays well and move on, or vote with your hard earned dollars and buy something different. It's just wood, or graphite, or aluminum, and electronics. Definitely not rocket science.

Play or complain.

 

[awilkie84]

My 2 cents on this. If Rickenbacker can't be bothered to ensure their pickups are straight, what else are they skimping on when it comes to QC?