4003 - known for a "weak" bottom E string?

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Sun May 07, 2006 6:42 am

Or also if there is not enough down angle between the nut & tuner post. I've had that problem with A strings if I wasn't paying attention when winding the string onto the post. If the string was pretty straight to the post I'd get a weird kind of vibration, especially when playing the string open.
I have seen several people post that it was in fact a slight adjustment of one truss rod (probably the one on the problem side of the neck) that cured the problem.

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Sun May 07, 2006 8:02 am

A lot of people don't wind their strings from the top of the post down and that contributes to the problem of not enough down force on the nut. Scott is right. If the nut slot is too tight the string will bind. There should be enough room for the string to slide smoothly through the nut.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sun May 07, 2006 6:18 pm

Hey John, what happened to the Ampeg forum? Is the other Ric player also here now, forgot his name.

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Mon May 08, 2006 4:43 am

Bob - The Ampeg forum was pulled because of unruliness and no moderator oversight. I was told it was supposed to reincarnate but not as yet. I think you are thinking of Specplyr - Jim. He sold his Rick, got a MM Stingray, and just within the last couple weeks sold that and got another 4003. Missed the tone! He has registered on the official RIC forums.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon May 08, 2006 6:34 am

e-mail to you John

aussiephoenix · Post by **aussiephoenix** » Mon May 08, 2006 6:55 am

Got a question for you guys.
I just recently purchased an '86 4003 and I noticed that while the trebble pickup poles can be adjusted with Allen Keys, the Neck pup poles dont seem to be adjustable... thing is the E pole is much lower than the other 3... is this normal? isnt there any way to make it flush with the other ones?

thanx.

rickcrazy · Post by **rickcrazy** » Mon May 08, 2006 12:10 pm

Bem-vindo, David. Sou quem te vendeu o 4003. O pessoal daqui vai ficar intrigado com essa dos pólos sextavados e de o pólo mi ser muito mais baixo do que os outros...
Ahem... Maybe you should try and raise the pickup as far as it will go under the E string.
An Allen wrench? I know a guy who uses Allen socket screws for polepieces on some of the pickups he builds...

kcole4001 · Post by **kcole4001** » Mon May 08, 2006 12:30 pm

The same situation with the neck pup on my '77 4001, but my '81 4080 has the E pole higher than the G pole. The bridge pups on my '76 4000 & the 4080 are the same height (E & G).
No balance problems here.

cerrem · Post by **cerrem** » Mon May 08, 2006 3:03 pm

One observation I noticed on several 4001 basses with weak E strings, including mine...
The low E string was not directly over the pole on the treble pup... The factory did not cut the saddle in order for the string to be EXACTLY over the E pole... Now some argue that it does not need to be exactly lined up and it makes no difference.. Well I say BS, since I have measurable data... I actually removed all 4 hold-down screws for the treble pup chrome piece.. I slid the pickup while it was being played equally on the E, many times...THe E string signal strength varied GREATLY, in the order of +/- 6dB ..... SO the cure was to buy replacement blank bridge saddles from Ric and cut them yourself so strings are lined up...

Chris

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Mon May 08, 2006 3:06 pm

Chris: That happens sometimes but replace the saddle after making sure the pickup is installed properly. See my post earlier in this thread.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon May 08, 2006 3:43 pm

"--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
One observation I noticed on several 4001 basses with weak E strings, including mine...
The low E string was not directly over the pole on the treble pup... The factory did not cut the saddle in order for the string to be EXACTLY over the E pole... "

This is why I suggested taking the pickup itself out of it's metal case or rather loosen it and push it toward the E string side of the bass and tighten it again, even a little bit can make a big difference, there is usually a little leeway in them. The neck pickups should adjust up and down but usually they are all the way up on old basses for years and compress the hell out of the rubber grommets which should act like tiny springs, these can be replaced and/or sometimes get their springiness back after a while. One more thing that can be done is to take the 4 little nuts and bolts right off the pickup and just use the two side bolts, they'll hold it together, this way you can bring the neck pickup much closer to the strings if you want, use a soft rubber washer on each side or even a couple that will flatten out somewhat to make it adjustable.

jojo99 · Post by **jojo99** » Mon May 08, 2006 4:11 pm

Chris Squire seemed to think that the E strings sounded better on five-string basses because of the E string not being on the edge of the pickup.

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Mon May 08, 2006 6:01 pm

Chris Squire also claims to have invented ROS. Go figure. It is true that some pickups fall short in that area. A properly designed pickup will be wide enough to provide adequate field to all of the strings.

I tested the tight nut slot theory on my '80 Autumglo tonight. I have a file that cuts a fairly precise .100 round bottom notch and it simply would not fit in the E slot as it was. After widening the slot to what should be a true .100 the string seems to ring better. The open string always lacked something - overtones. Shaping the nut slot seems to have helped.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Mon May 08, 2006 6:49 pm

Ted, perhaps you also lowered the string a tiny bit?
I think though that their pickups have a very narrow field, if they were a 1/4" wider I think there'd be less problems. I like toasters because they have louder E and G strings usually, hey there's another solution, buy yourself a nice toaster for the neck, they sound great although more boomy than high gains to me.

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Mon May 08, 2006 7:12 pm

I should have mentioned that the difference I am talking about is acoustic rather than electronic. I feel that much can be learned about an electric stringed instrument by playing it without an amp. The sound starts out as acoustic resonance regardless of what the final output is.

Pickup width is certainly not a mystery. Leo Fender understood the importance of a field that is wider than the strings over 40 years ago.