4001 C64 tailpiece replacement?

[espidog]

I used a Hipshot bridge on my 4003 for a while. It was a very well made item and chunky as all get-out ( I had the brass version ) There was a lot to like about it, but none of it could make up for its one big flaw: that the saddles were rattly! I went back to the stock bridge and never looked back.

The new RIC V2 bridge looks superb to me - a long-needed leap forward in functionality without sacrificing the classic looks.

[henry5]

Do you have very low action? Do you play hard? Or do the saddles rattle regardless? What exactly is it that’s rattling? I play very, very lightly so wonder if it would be an issue for me.

One of the problems I have with the old bridges - bear in mind my basses are ‘72s - is as described earlier, that on certain basses I can’t get the G quite as low (1.5mm or less 12th fret G) as I like because the ‘slots’ in the mute area aren’t quite low enough, so the string hits the bottom of the slot. Obviously you can route them deeper, but unless you’re re-plating the whole tailpiece it’s not ideal. It seems to be an issue on some basses but not others. The issue with the V2 is that the height from the base to the bottom of the slot is about the same, so it wouldn’t fix that issue, whereas because the Hipshot doesn’t have that mute section with the teeth and slots it’s a non-issue.

[espidog]

The best way I can describe it is that it never felt as if the string tension was enough to properly hold the saddles in place. They always seemed to have a bit of lateral play in them. I'm not an especially aggressive player and my action is low to average. I play fingerstyle - mostly blues, pop, stax, reggae etc. Horses for courses, I guess!

[aceonbass]

I used a Hipshot bridge on my 4003 for a while. It was a very well made item and chunky as all get-out ( I had the brass version ) There was a lot to like about it, but none of it could make up for its one big flaw: that the saddles were rattly! I went back to the stock bridge and never looked back.

The new RIC V2 bridge looks superb to me - a long-needed leap forward in functionality without sacrificing the classic looks.

I had a Hipshot too for a time. Rattly saddles was the biggest problem. Each saddle has two height adjusting screws, but only one of them has a slot to ride in. Of course the new V2 bridge has two, and the saddles don't rattle.

[henry5]

I used a Hipshot bridge on my 4003 for a while. It was a very well made item and chunky as all get-out ( I had the brass version ) There was a lot to like about it, but none of it could make up for its one big flaw: that the saddles were rattly! I went back to the stock bridge and never looked back.

The new RIC V2 bridge looks superb to me - a long-needed leap forward in functionality without sacrificing the classic looks.

I had a Hipshot too for a time. Rattly saddles was the biggest problem. Each saddle has two height adjusting screws, but only one of them has a slot to ride in. Of course the new V2 bridge has two, and the saddles don't rattle.

Hi Dane, I take it you’ve tried the V2 then? How do you rate it?

[bluewhale]

As promised, here are some pics of the V2 tailpiece installation. I am glad to have it done, and the process went pretty well.

Pics are in reverse order, so the first few show the finished product. A gratuitous shot of the nice fretboard is included. One of the pics shows eight newly drilled holes, plus the three original holes which are now unused. You might see a finish crack that showed up within the routing. Next-to-last shows the tail-lift on the original tailpiece. The last was taken in 2011, ten years ago, when the bass was new. The finish has ambered.

Directions call for a #41 drill bit. My wife and I used a 3/32” drill bit, which worked out fine.

The saddles go as low as I want, but I haven’t tested them to see just how low they will go. One concern is that the mute screws don’t turn easily. They may be jammed into the body a little bit. As I don’t use the mute, I think I’ll just leave it.


Thanks to everybody here who helped,
bluewhale

[bluewhale]

Three more...

[bluewhale]

Another three...

[bluewhale]

Final four...

[bassduke49]

So, did you get one of the 5 White C64s from 2011?

[bluewhale]

So, did you get one of the 5 White C64s from 2011?

Yes, this is 4001 C64 White #4, which I bought new.

As you know (First Edition, p. 138), there were also five each of Special Green and TV Yellow. I have seen some of those on this forum, but not in person.

It was a short drive in October 2011 to take possession of it from legendary Pick of the Ricks, in Lindenwold, NJ. That was the weekend after the shipment arrived. Owner Chris Clayton told me that mine was the first to actually leave his shop. I guess the fourteen others had yet to be claimed or shipped.

I should have said above that this was a great sounding bass before the transplant, and it sounds just as good now - none of the magic lost. I might be getting more sustain on open strings, but it's hard to be sure.

bluewhale

[beacon]

I too have one of the five white C64s from Pick of the Ricks, mine is #3. My wife contacted Chris behind my back and ordered one for a Christmas present (she had heard me talk about it). I know, right?
At any rate, I have the exact same lift issue. The tailpiece looks great. Great job with the pics. My question is about soldering....does the ground get soldered or can you re-use what is already there from the the previous tailpiece?

[bluewhale]

...does the ground get soldered or can you re-use what is already there from the the previous tailpiece?

What a wife! That must have been a Very Merry Christmas.

For this project, my wife took the pics and did the soldering, so that’s the step that we didn’t much document. Some soldering is necessary. The new tailpiece comes with a ground wire already attached, so you could:

1 - desolder the old ground wire from the harness and solder the new wire in its place (per the instructions included)

2 - the opposite: desolder the new ground wire from the new tailpiece and solder the old one in its place

3 - keep both ground wires, splice and solder them together. See pic below. That’s what my wife did, followed by a trim and heat shrink to cover exposed wire.

Good luck installing the V2 if that’s what you decide to do. I can recommend it.