New (to me) 1987 4003 Jetglo

charlyg · Post by **charlyg** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 12:34 pm

A little history. I played in a RR band on a Navy ship 71-73. I always wanted a Ric but thought they were too expensive for someone who didn't have a paying gig. I have been in a praise band for the last dozen years or so (I know, long gap) I never played a Ric because I was afraid I'd fall in love. Kinda like why I don't test drive cars I can't afford!

Ok, I bought this thing off ebay a few weeks ago. I took it to erik's Guitar ship here in the valley, and had the action raised (it was WAY too low), and electronics tested. The fellow I bought it from miswired it so Erik brought it back to stock. It now plays like a dream!

I have some questions. Anyone put a brass nut on a Ric? I'm afraid too with all the sustain it already has. It seems Ric's should be played with a very light touch? When I dig in (as on my jazz copy), the speakers sound like they are "farting", which is usually a sign of overdriving. There is also a slight "fuzz" even when playing lightly. It may be standard but I don't have anything to compare it to.

Has anyone ever mentioned the lacquer on the neck? That is what they do to fretless basses and I thought it was for sustain. Anyone else agree that some of the sustain comes from the lacquered neck. I know you get more sustain from the big bridge, and the neck through, but I think the lacquer also adds. Am I Nuts?

Anyway, I LOVE my bass. 87 may not be the best year, but it's got that Ric sound!

dean712 · Post by **dean712** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 1:39 pm

Charly, congratulations on the 4003 and welcome to the Forum! You will like it here. I've learned a lot on the Forum here.

I personally think the neck-through is the biggest contributor to the sustain. I'd be interested to see what others think. And yes, at first I too thought the finished neck was a little weird, but I really like it now.

Congrats and welcome!

charlyg · Post by **charlyg** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 1:39 pm

I didn't mention, I'm running through an Eden Traveller WT-300 and a 210T cab,

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 3:00 pm

Hi Charly and welcome to the forum.
'87 was a good year for the 4003.
If your 4003 produces an overdriven sound way too easily, it probably needs a set up, or maybe its just that the pickups have to be lowered a little.
Another factor can be the the strings on your bass. Stainless steel wound strings will produce more output than nickel wound strings, so stainless steel will tend to produce an overdriven tone more than nickel.
The finish on the fingerboard contributes to a brighter sound. Dean is right, the biggest contributor to the sustain is the maple neck-through body construction. Another contributor to the sustain is the design of the pickups.

charlyg · Post by **charlyg** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 3:55 pm

I use Dr Hi Beams, which are stainless. They also make nickel. Sunbeams and Lo-Beams are nickel. So you're saying the Lo beams may work better?

Back in the day, I had a P copy with flatwounds,and an EB0 with nylon tape strings(or whatever they were called!)But that was a whole different sound than what comes out of this Ric!

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 4:03 pm

Welcome Charly... I use Copley nickel round wounds ... try using compression ...

rickaddict · Post by **rickaddict** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 4:04 pm

I think you done good by getting an '87 Charly. I have Ricks from the 70's, 80's, 90's and 00's. An '87 has the modern truss rod system that is designed for roundwound or flatwound strings. It has hotter pickups with a deeper more modern tone than the 4001. It has the two extra screws in the tailpiece to keep it from lifting off the body. It has best tuners(IMHO), the chrome Schallers, and it has a neck that feels slim like the old 4001. As Joey said...'87 was a good year.

Congrats, enjoy(and what took you so long!)

I vote NO on the brass nut. An '87 4003 should sound great the way it was born.

charlyg · Post by **charlyg** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 4:37 pm

Interesting thought on the compression. I'll give it a try. I have been playing a Hohner pro 5. I thought it was ok, but I really have to dig in to get punch. I once had a Pedulla Pentabuzz but I like the Ric even better! The Ric overdrives the speakers when I dig in so I will take the advice and lower the pickup a smidgeon tomorrow. Oh, and remember not to dig in on so hard on my Ric!.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 4:37 pm

Sounds like your action may still be on the low side and you may want to try flatwounds on that also, they sound great with them. If you are a hard player you can put heavier gauge strings on it, the scale is 3/4" shorter than most long scale basses so they play slightly looser. I use Pyramid flats on some of mine, they tighten the basses right up and you get plenty of bottom and top and no fret buzz. I also agree the sustain comes from an all maple body with neck through construction. Sustain is all mechanical, nothing to do with electronics. It will sustain the same amount of time unamplified also. I have a 79 4001 with an unfinished neck and a wooden bridge, it's still bright (actually is one of my brighter Ric's, it's the pickups), it just sustains a little bit less which I like. I think the varnished neck may have a little do do with the brightness but not very much.
Fender nickle rounds will also tighten up a 4003 and they sound good also.

charlyg · Post by **charlyg** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:01 pm

You know, part of it probably is the shorter scale. I find myself staring a little harder to find my place sometimes. Of, course, I've only played it three or 4 times so far. I bought a Hartke Kickback 10 (120 watts)so now I can work on my technique a bit at home. The 5 string I just left at church all the time. One of the guys in the band noticed I have been bringing the Ric and he says, I know that is THE bass, because you won't trust leaving it at the church. Kinda says it all huh?

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:45 pm

Charly ... as you may have noticed there are some flatwound guys here ... they will go an and on about how good flatwound strings are ... yawn ...

but compression will lower the peaks and boost the valleys in your playing ... this is helps finger players alot ...

dean712 · Post by **dean712** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:48 pm

Charly, a couple of more thoughts...

I'd stay away from the brass nut, too. If your action on the bass is fine, I wouldn't mess with the nut. Ricks are awesome, as built.

On the overdrive you are experiencing - it's pretty easy to adjust the pickup heights for both the bass and treble pickups. Do you have an owner's manual for the Rick? If you lower them away from the strings just a little bit, that might help out. An interesting observation... I once had an experienced soundman tell me that the signal my '94 4003 sent to the board was the hottest of any bass he'd ever seen, and that included my active MM StingRay. Even though the Rick pickups are single-coil, they are very alive.

Congrats again. You cannot go wrong with Jetglo - it looks just right in all situations!

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 5:50 pm

haha! Gotta get with the times there Jeff. There are many different opinions here, myself I use just my bass, my fingers, ears and a good SVT (with flatwounds) if you got a good sound coming out of your bass in the first place you don't need all that other krap.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 6:02 pm

87 high gains are lower in output than the post 80's's high gains Dean, but I agree it also sounds like your pickups might be a little too close to the strings along with low action and flimsy strings. If you're coming from a 34" scale bass you may need to adjust it yourself to your liking, I do all my own.

rickenbrother · Post by **rickenbrother** » Tue Jun 07, 2005 6:11 pm

Another vote against the brass nut here.