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Rickenbacker crooked pick ups

#22
Fit and Finish is a funny thing, especially in this price range.
Nobody minds if everything on a bass is dead-nuts perfect, even the folks who don't care are happy.
FWIW, that crooked pick-up wouldn't bother me. If anyone asked about it I'd tell them it was meant to covered and they sometimes dial them in to center the poles under the strings. They would probably believe me because every note I played sounded like thunder.
 
#23
Both of the 4003s that I've owned had crooked pickups - it's something a lot of people simply come to expect from RIC. Took a couple of minutes to remove it and straighten the bobbin on the plate. No biggie, but I agree that RIC often doesn't apply the care and attention to detail that their prices should warrant.
 
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#25
bassline52 said:
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?
Click to expand...

Put on the cover ...

2011%204003%20007.jpg


Or buy a jazz bass.
 
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#28
Why does this even persist? This is a easy fix for Rickenbacker. Geeze how unresponsive can a company be? The first thing I do with any Rickenbacker I buy is take off that dam cover, most do. They must know this. How hard can it be to mount a pickup square? No excuse for this. For the record I have owned numerous Rics over the years and and am a owner of a new Mapleglo 4003s.......................with a crocked pickup. As someone else pointed out it's a easy fix.
 
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#29
I love Ricks, but let's face it, their QC sucks. There are too many basses floating around with slightly Mis-aligned bridges, pickup rings, pickups, etc. It's perfectly true that none of this affects playability, but at boutique price range levels, this simply should not occur. If I take the chrome pickup cover off a fender Jazz (as nearly everyone does with Jazz and Rics), I will not find a misaligned pickup. I chalk it up to simple behavioral science, without any consequence in decreased sales for poor QC, Ric has no incentive to devote the extra 2 minutes per bass required to fix these minor problems. The QC problems would be forgivable on Rics part if they cheerfully offered to fix them free of charges, including shipping. Instead they choose to stonewall and claim such problems are unimportant or don't exist, which is simply disrespectful to the buyers. I am hopeful that market forces will eventually convince them that this Is a bad long term business model.
 
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#30
I agree pickups should be straight, but that said, I also agree that the pickup could be "nudged" into straightness; especially if you install a bezel to replace the pickup cover. Still, it seems like a fairly trivial bit of QC on Ric's end that should have been addressed.
 
#31
awilkie84 said:
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?
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I've seen a few complaints about the finishes on some of the newer models (post 2010).

Seriously, though, their marketing and PR is horrible. As evidenced by their HTML3-era website. And customer support. And saying that some of them simply come with a crooked pickup, so "deal with it". If that's supposed to be a NEW 4003s, I'd recommend the OP return it pronto, and ask for one of the other 2. Mediocrity shouldn't be encouraged or accepted. When you dish out more than a bill on a bass, you should heighten your threshold of acceptance. :|
 
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#36
I'm guessing here, that the O.P. paid close to $2k CAD for that bass. I don't care one bit what the apologists say, at that price point, the bass should be perfect.
I saw no evidence or instructions in my case candy, when I purchased two RICs, on how to properly align the p/u. They tell you how to do a basic setup, truss rods etc... but don't mention how to fix a mis-aligned p/u.
(Both RIC's I purchased new and sent back had this, among other problems.)
I feel for yah O.P.! I'd love to own one, but at the price point here, there is just not enough value to justify the cost! Couple that with a complete lack of support from the company and well, you all know, move on, nothing to see here.
Fishheadjoe
 
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#37
ssabass said:
.....RIC would point out that it is hidden under the pickup cover.....Your custom modification of removing the cover is the problem.....
Click to expand...

John Hall obviously knows people do it, and facilitates its removal by posting instructions on their website on how to easily remove it w/o cracking it.

But it is another testament to their lack of QC and shoddy workmanship. Just get 'em out the door is their mantra.

Remember General Motors? Their philosophy was to keep cheapening the product until someone noticed. Well, John Hall adopted this philosophy, but people DO notice, DO complain, but he continues on his present course.

It's a poor reflection not only on American made instruments, but all American made goods, and American management style, period.
 
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#39
Ric5 said:
Momma says Rickenbacker is the Devil ...

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Ric 5,
With respect, you yourself have often noted shortcomings with Ric QC and CS in your previous posts, both here and on RRF, so it's not like this is a bunch of crybabies whining about nonexistent problems. I am not in the Ric Hater Hyperbole Club, far from it, but neither do I ignore what I see with own eyes. I think an apt analogy would be buying a brand new car and seeing the chrome bumper hanging 1" lower on one side than the other. Is it an impediment to safe driving or basic function of the car? Of course not. Is it clear evidence of a lack of attention to simple QC? Of course it is. Would you expect the dealership to fix the problem on your brand new car free of charge? Of course you would.
 
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#40
My Jazz Bass has a better neck, finish, pickups and feel. $700 less. It can even sound like a rick. I tried a new one a couple of weeks ago at Sam Ash. Not at all what they use to be like back in the late 70s early 80s. To bad really. I really liked them once. Geddy musta switched for a reason.
 

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