How to use the mute on my '75 4001?

rudi_remme · Post by **rudi_remme** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 10:40 am

Things are very dry here too so I don't think it's a point in trying. What is the "mute-thingie" called anyway? It doesn't even move when I screw the screws... Hmmm... Anyone?

Thanks!

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 11:07 am

it could be crusty and rusty ... sometimes the screws get loose and fall out and sometimes the rubber pad dry rots ... I usually just put a dummy rubber pad in there to hide the hole and remove the superstructure so I can palm mute ...

00soul · Post by **00soul** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 11:19 am

the mute on my brand new 4003 is messed, the high string will mute when i max out the thumb screws, but on the low string, if i max out the thumb screw it doesnt quite reach.

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 11:25 am

Rudi, it sounds like the thumbscrews have become unthreaded from the mute plate. If you look at the 4003 tailpiece assembly diagram at the RIC site (http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdf/btailpiece.pdf), you can see that the plate should move up against the strings when the screws are threaded into the plate. There should also be a foam pad on the plate; sometimes that is missing on older basses (I have a couple that way).

I'm a hack bass player and I use a pick. I think that I personally need to use the mute to keep some notes from sustaining too long. I'll give it a try some time when I get the time.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 11:25 am

it can be fixed ... they quite often stick ... my old 1968 4001 mute seemed to work better than all of the 70's 80's and new ones I tried ... I have seen the adhesive from the back of the pad stick to the wood so that no matter how you crank it it won't move ... but it you remove the bridge and play with it you can get it to work ...

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 11:27 am

I'm a slower typer than Jeff ...

soundmasterg · Post by **soundmasterg** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 12:06 pm

If the top of the body on the bass was uneven compared to the strings, then when you put the bridge on and screw the mute up, the pad wouldn't touch all the strings equally. Since Rickenbacker made it, that is probably not the case, but i is a possibility...

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon Mar 28, 2005 4:26 pm

Also if your bridge is set very high sometimes one or both sides won't engage enough to work properly. You can get a new mute, cut it in half and stick one half on top of ther other to make it double thickness against the bridge side of the cavity, works well if your bridge is very high. This has usually been my problem, also the old ones dry out after a while and get hard, I've put new half widths in 4001's and they work well. I've never seen the problem Greg describes and also doubt it has happened like Greg.
The bolts also get cruddy after not being used for 20 years and sometimes need some oil and use to get them to work easy.