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The Rickenbacker Club Part Eight

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#561
Is anyone using a Hipshot bridge on their Ric? I've been researching them and I wondered what the Pros and Cons were. I have a Hipshot on my Gibson SG Bass and it's great. It added mass and provides very easy adjustment. I just wondered about the Hipshot made for a Ric Bass.
 
#563
subbasshz said:
OK so no0b question.

how come you almost never see modded rics? like P/J pick ups slammed in there? or a Gibson mudbucker?
Click to expand...

Because there are tons of basses with P/J pickups, but very few with Ric-like pickups in the Rickenbacker pickup positions.

You do see them occasionally, though. Sometimes people stick J pickups where the normal bridge pickup is, but that tends not to show as much.
 
#565
hsech said:
That's what I wanted to hear about the easy to adjust. I'm seriously considering a Hipshot. I have a couple of "Memory Foam" mutes that are covered with a soft fabric to use when I need that sound.
Click to expand...

Some of the Hipshot bridges have wobbly saddles due to the break angle being too shallow across the saddles. In the newer ones they've lowered the string holes at the back of the 'tailpiece' part to increase this angle. Seems to have fixed the problem. I have the old version on my copy, and the new version on my actual 4001.
 
#566
Have you been able to get the action even lower without buzz with the new version of the Hipshot bridge?

Does the bridge look the same as the older version?

Sartori said:
Some of the Hipshot bridges have wobbly saddles due to the break angle being too shallow across the saddles. In the newer ones they've lowered the string holes at the back of the 'tailpiece' part to increase this angle. Seems to have fixed the problem. I have the old version on my copy, and the new version on my actual 4001.
Click to expand...
 
#568
hsech said:
That's what I wanted to hear about the easy to adjust. I'm seriously considering a Hipshot. I have a couple of "Memory Foam" mutes that are covered with a soft fabric to use when I need that sound.
Click to expand...

Do you find yourself switching string maker and gauges often? If so maybe an easier to intonate tailpiece makes sense. If you constantly use the same string maker and stick with the same gauge then the RIC tailpiece is "set it and forget it".

Hipshots sometimes do not adjust low enough to get low action. With the hipshot, you'll pick up a little more space south of the treble pup. This may matter if you find you batter your hand against the RIC tailpiece.

Sepp
 
#569
Thanks- helpful advice. I've been using Rickenbacker brand strings and was considering trying TI Power Bass strings for a change of pace and a little more tension ( I have a 2012 4003).

Kopfjaeger said:
Do you find yourself switching string maker and gauges often? If so maybe an easier to intonate tailpiece makes sense. If you constantly use the same string maker and stick with the same gauge then the RIC tailpiece is "set it and forget it".

Hipshots sometimes do not adjust low enough to get low action. With the hipshot, you'll pick up a little more space south of the treble pup. This may matter if you find you batter your hand against the RIC tailpiece.

Sepp
Click to expand...
 
#570
This is copied/pasted from a few weeks back from the prior thread here: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f8/rickenbacker-club-part-seven-928435/index48.html This was in response to GG7's similar questions about the Hipshot bridge. Here is everything you need to know:

1. You can get a new one on eBay for [a little over] $100.
2. Get the aluminum version. The saddles are brass on both versions anyway. No reason to add more weight to a Rick!
3. There are 2 subtly different generations. Mk1 had a flaw in the string insert placement allowing the saddles to wobble. Mk2 made the issue BETTER, by lowering the inserts/raising the break angle (see pic - mk2 is on left).
4. I find the palm-mutability and string lateral/height adjustability to be essential.
5. The only issue I had is with getting the action low. I had to have my E saddle shaved, and my G is bottomed out. Luckily with the right relief, I can still achieve nice, med-low action.
6. There is still one more problem: the lower the saddles go, the more laterally unstable they become (as you lower the saddles, they unseat from the grooves). I fixed this issue with pieces of [memory foam] jammed in between the saddles! You can't even see that I did this because I shoved em in there with a feeler guage!!

Let me know if you have any more questions/concerns!

ImageUploadedByTalkBass1366205124.089073.jpg
 
#571
Kopfjaeger said:
Do you find yourself switching string maker and gauges often? If so maybe an easier to intonate tailpiece makes sense. If you constantly use the same string maker and stick with the same gauge then the RIC tailpiece is "set it and forget it"....
Click to expand...


I can't imagine having to constantly do this with any bass. Sure, it takes a bit of testing, trial and error with your bass so it can find it's true "voice" compared to that ever elusive magic tone in your head, but once you find it, why keep switching?

For my 4003, I decided on DR Fat Beams after going through the usual trials of Roto 66's, Hi Beams, Lo Riders, etc.

My 4003s gets TI Flats.

Set and forget as mentioned.
 
#572
Once I intonate a fairly normal set of strings on a bass--flats or rounds, just so long as the gauges fall within the .040'' to .135'' range--pretty much every set of strings I put on after that intonates nearly the exact same even I change brand or string type (except for those "hand made" DRs... those things are weird and never intonate consistently... TIs are also a little more prone to this too). I always check just in case but usually even if I go from flats to rounds or vice-versa everything is perfectly intonated from the get-go if the bass is properly set up. It has always impressed me how the bass keeps the same setup.
 
#573
Kopfjaeger said:
Do you find yourself switching string maker and gauges often? If so maybe an easier to intonate tailpiece makes sense. If you constantly use the same string maker and stick with the same gauge then the RIC tailpiece is "set it and forget it".

Hipshots sometimes do not adjust low enough to get low action. With the hipshot, you'll pick up a little more space south of the treble pup. This may matter if you find you batter your hand against the RIC tailpiece.

Sepp
Click to expand...

I change brands from time to time, but not gauges.
 
#577
amazing 4080.

question - are there any other places to source a replacement treble pickup cover for a 4001 other than pickofthericks? they have been out of stock for a long time!

edit: and to contribute - my 4001's headstock, with a bit of mojo due to it being 13 years older than i..

Link Removed
 
#579
hsech said:
Is anyone using a Hipshot bridge on their Ric? I've been researching them and I wondered what the Pros and Cons were. I have a Hipshot on my Gibson SG Bass and it's great. It added mass and provides very easy adjustment. I just wondered about the Hipshot made for a Ric Bass.
Click to expand...

I have one of the older generation Hipshot bridges on my 4003, and I love it. The trick to keeping the saddles from rattling or moving on the old ones is to slightly angle the E & A string saddles into each other, & the D & G saddles into each other - i.e. "leaning" & thus locking them into each other by having one side of the saddle slightly higher than the other. It takes a bit of fine-tuning, but once it's set, they won't rattle or move. Highly recommended.
 
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