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Re: New Ric day - 4003 British Racing Green

Posted: Wed Mar 07, 2018 6:29 pm
by CatHead
Cheers guys - will bear it in mind. Ill be taking it to my guy in the area who actually knows what hes doing with Ricks (sorted my other 4003 out a while ago when there was a truss rod problem).

Other than that its marvellous! lol

Re: New Ric day - 4003 British Racing Green

Posted: Thu Mar 08, 2018 9:25 am
by henry5
CatHead wrote:Cheers guys - will bear it in mind. Ill be taking it to my guy in the area who actually knows what hes doing with Ricks (sorted my other 4003 out a while ago when there was a truss rod problem).

Other than that its marvellous! lol
To be honest the 4003 rods are simple to adjust, with none of the quirks of the old 4001 rods. It's worth learning how to adjust them yourself if you can.

Re: New Ric day - 4003 British Racing Green

Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 3:19 pm
by CatHead
Well, have had two pro guys look at it (including one who set up my other 4003 perfectly last time) and they cant get rid of the buzz, even after some rod /neck adjustment as it did need tightening up on the D/G side just a tiny amount. They both said the neck is 100% straight and there are no issues with the frets.

The only time I get the buzz is playing near the neck on the A string, between open and 5th fret. If I play near the bridge it doesnt happen at all. If I OVER tighten the strings (say to A#) it doesnt happen anywhere near as much. I changed the strings to the more "standard" 45-65-85-105 gauge in a blind hope that it might go away and it hasnt. Tried putting the bridge in many different positions and none seem to help. My right hand style could be described as... errr... "heavy" but it doesnt do that on my other Rics. Any ideas welcome on where the problem may be...

Its noticeably worse on fretting at 3rd fret on A.

Re: New Ric day - 4003 British Racing Green

Posted: Thu May 17, 2018 5:39 pm
by jps
Do you have the relief set dead flat, or as close as your guys are trying to get it to?

Re: New Ric day - 4003 British Racing Green

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 4:03 pm
by CatHead
Back to the top for this one - the bass has now been to Guitar Tech Number 3. He's given it a full looking over and says that both truss rods simply arent doing anything. There isnt any noticable relief. There is a slight hump in the neck just below the 12th fret. Overtightening the strings by a semitone puts the tension back in and removes the buzz, but obviously that's not ideal.

Basically he's recommended this one go back to the manufacturer, and im at my wits end with it so might just have to do that. :roll: :(

Re: New Ric day - 4003 British Racing Green

Posted: Mon Sep 17, 2018 4:46 pm
by jps
I've read here about the possibility of the rods flipping 180ยบ in their channels, so perhaps removing the rods and rotating them may solve this issue.

Re: New Ric day - 4003 British Racing Green

Posted: Fri Sep 21, 2018 1:01 pm
by henry5
CatHead wrote:Back to the top for this one - the bass has now been to Guitar Tech Number 3. He's given it a full looking over and says that both truss rods simply arent doing anything. There isnt any noticable relief. There is a slight hump in the neck just below the 12th fret. Overtightening the strings by a semitone puts the tension back in and removes the buzz, but obviously that's not ideal.

Basically he's recommended this one go back to the manufacturer, and im at my wits end with it so might just have to do that. :roll: :(
Wow, that's really sad. Is it not something the distributor would look at?

Re: New Ric day - 4003 British Racing Green

Posted: Fri May 17, 2019 3:05 pm
by CatHead
An update to this - I forgot to post!

Basically its a mixture of my technique (which is quite, err, thumpy) and the newer style 4003s with thinner necks. I took it back to the dealer and no one could create the same issue on the bass except me. My first Ric (still have it) was a second hand '82 4001 with the PU cover already removed on it... so the guy asked if I played over the bridge PU when I had it. I said yeah I did, so he takes the PU cover off for me on the BRG and tells me to play over the bridge PU. Issue resolved. Its still there if I play hard by the neck pickup but nowhere near as bad (he did a setup, restring and "tiny truss rod adjustment" while taking the PU cover off too).

All's well that ends well I suppose, still think its odd that my other Rics dont do it when i play near the neck! Might even start taking this rare beast out for the odd gig or two now...

Re: New Ric day - 4003 British Racing Green

Posted: Sat May 18, 2019 10:08 am
by ram
Great news! I just love a happy ending!