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The Rickenmodder Club

#281
Hi Rickenbacker Fans,

Need some help setting up a friends 2002 Rickenbacker 4003 Jetglo. The clearance was high on the high frets of the E-string when he brought it over. I pulled the truss cover on the top and checked both nuts which seemed to move easily with a quality nut driver. So I tuned the bass, put a capo on, and proceeded to set the relief to near zero (piece of paper clearance) as referenced on some rickenbacker setup site. The G setup fine with about 2 threads showing above the nut. The E however had about .030 relief and I set it to .026 and the nut feels bottomed out. I then pulled the nut, cleaned both threads and lighlty lubed. Re-tried setting clearance to near zero and only got to .026 and no go. There are 5 threads showing above the truss nut.

So, I need some help here. The nuts on Fenders, G&Ls, Stingrays, that I have set up have all moved freely to get the relief needed. I only had one G&L that bottomed out and added a couple washers to rectify and get more adjstment.

My concern now is should I crank some more. Very concerned about doing that don't want to break truss rod. The bass is i beautiful condtion finish wise. The setup sucks. The electronics have been messed but he has the orignal bridge pickup that was replaced.

I just need to get this relief set correctly. Am I bottomed out and SOL, or are there other ways to get this properly adjusted?

Thanks for any help.
 
#282
Rebmo

DON'T force those nuts! At the least the fretboard might pop loose at the nut and at the worst the neck will crack. There's a way to do those rods. Do a google search and you'll find some good info on the correct way to adjust a Ric. Mines a 77 and I do mine by clamping the body to a table and then I loosen the rod nuts up. Then by hand I push down on the headstock till the neck is straight then just snug up the nuts. The rods are there to hold the neck straight. Newer models may be different.
 
#283
Thanks 60bass,

I had read the post 85 4003s you adjust with the nut and don't have to put the neck in postion to set the relief. I could be wrong, but that's why I'm checking. For those with newer 4003s, does the nut turn easily all the way until you get to zero relief? Or, does it take some force to get there? The G string side adjusts easily to zero clearance for the G-string.
 
#284
i really think black rics with black scratch plates look sooo kewl...i only have a ric copy wich i just restored,new wiring,pots,scratch plate wich i made,rewound bridge pup,.47s removed,i was gonna rebuild it with ric stuff but it would have been neely as much as a ric!but i think while it was stripped i shoulda used black vinyl and made black scratch plate,but wouldnt mind some good pups for that lemmy growl!!!...think he uses a tbird neck pup.....any sugestions?
 
#285
60bass said:
Rebmo
DON'T force those nuts! At the least the fretboard might pop loose at the nut and at the worst the neck will crack. There's a way to do those rods. Do a google search and you'll find some good info on the correct way to adjust a Ric.
Click to expand...

REBMO: Here is one of the best Ric friendly sites for you, and Joey's set-up video show how you do exactly what I think you want to:
Invalid Link Removed
 
#286
I just finished modding my 2010 4003. I pulled the electronics and rewired it to be volume, blend, tone, tone, and then used the pickup selector spot to put in a "vintage tone" toggle. I also took off the treble pickup cover and put in a tube ampology bezel. And I also added a Hipshot bridge. The only thing left to do now is find some new knobs, I want to use ones like on the 4001 but I can't find any locally.
 

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#287
I forgot all about this thread. :bassist:

Here's a Ric 4004Cii/5 I scored last month. It was already modded with the Bart's and a brass nut when I received it and I have since swapped out the gold hardware for black....

e05af786.gif

8aeeb1f0.gif


I posted pics of my Blackened Ric 4004 Laredo earlier in the thread but it just recently returned home so I took a few fresh pics. It has an ACG preamp, JetGlo painted fretboard, black hardware and green tinged ghost flames......

f950a1bd.gif

ebb1c603.gif


Joined by my LK, also modded, for a group shot.....

0accba91.gif
 
#288
MK1 said:
I just finished modding my 2010 4003. I pulled the electronics and rewired it to be volume, blend, tone, tone, and then used the pickup selector spot to put in a "vintage tone" toggle. I also took off the treble pickup cover and put in a tube ampology bezel. And I also added a Hipshot bridge. The only thing left to do now is find some new knobs, I want to use ones like on the 4001 but I can't find any locally.
Click to expand...

Has Hipshot redesigned their Ric bridge lately?
I'd read that a lot of people has saddles wobbling and buzzing, then fellow TBer here mentioned using some of 'the new redesigns that seem to have addressed all the earlier issues" ?

Hmm, re-doing the pot function/order, good idea. Did you need to buy a [new] blend cap?
 
#290
BackToTheGroove said:
Has Hipshot redesigned their Ric bridge lately?
Click to expand...

Not really although apparently it's in the pipeline. I think they may have made some very small, near-invisible changes to it over the years.

Those bridges would be PERFECT if A) the action could be lowered B) the break angle was greater C) the saddles would never wobble D) they weren't so pointlessly heavy (I think the myth that a heavy bridge sustains better has been mostly dispelled). All could be accomplished with a few tweaks.
 
#291
cassius987 said:
Not really although apparently it's in the pipeline. I think they may have made some very small, near-invisible changes to it over the years.

Those bridges would be PERFECT if A) the action could be lowered B) the break angle was greater C) the saddles would never wobble D) they weren't so pointlessly heavy (I think the myth that a heavy bridge sustains better has been mostly dispelled). All could be accomplished with a few tweaks.
Click to expand...

the aluminum version of the hipshot is pretty lightweight and that's the one that i use on my custom builds.
 
#292
I don't own this anymore, but I did a few mods, all for the better IMO. New PG and pickup surround ring and the Hipshot bridge - I liked the additional mass of it.


DSC01196.jpg
 
#293
cassius987 said:
...I think they may have made some very small, near-invisible changes to it over the years.

Those bridges would be PERFECT if A) ...action lowered B) ...greater break C) ...never wobble saddles D) ...weren't so pointlessly heavy (...myth a heavy bridge sustains better has been mostly dispelled). All could be accomplished with a few tweaks.
Click to expand...

Thanks cassius and John. Maybe a more straight forward, less expensive approach like a (black) Epi TBird Pro's bridge off eeeBoy for $29.99 instead, fill the cavity and use new anchors (not concerned about resale, my '74 hass been mine since '84 and I'll never sell it).
 
#296
BackToTheGroove said:
Hmm, re-doing the pot function/order, good idea. Did you need to buy a [new] blend cap?
Click to expand...

I did a whole "electronic-ectomy". I wanted to be able to put it back to the original configuration, if need be, as easily as possible. I used an Alpha stereo pot for the master volume so I could still use the Ric-o-Sound, and I used a Bournes blend pot as well as Bournes pots for the tone, and I bought the heavy duty SPDT switch from Radio Shack, and I used orange drop caps.
 
#299
Thanks! "Templates" was really that word that I need to google
I was change template into two pieces style, so now transparent pickguard production already in process
Still not sure about final image, but have some inspirations from Paul Simonon's positive 4003
paul460.jpg

It would be really nice to listen some design suggestions or advises
body color is jetglo, I think standart white plate looks little bit boring on it, also I want to have two pieces scratchplate for easier access to wires
 

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