Montezuma's revenge / more noob questions/pic

[bb5000]

Very happy with the newest member of the family.

I haven't had the opportunity to play her through my Orange yet (tiny practice amp only thus far), but I'm
already impressed by the build quality and feel. In general I'm not too into
playing basses w/ binding (comfort wise ; although I owned a Triumph for a while) but I love the look of it.
Shortly after receiving her I took the bridge pup mounting ring off and placed
my order for the plexi chrome style ring along with a gold pg (to match the already painted trc)
from Tony at pickguardian. In general I think it'll be the same or similar to Paul's sig monte (minus
the toaster). Thanks for the suggestions on that btw.

Few more noob questions:
Although I generally have a guy set up my guitars/basses for me, how the hell do you get to those
saddle adjustment screws on the factory bridge ? Is there a special tool for this ? Is this the Achilles heel of Ric basses?

Hope I can explain this part for my question....
The bass came w/ the ric cloth, string cover, and pickup assembly instructions.
When I disassembled the chrome outer ring the black wire (ground?) looped around the mounting
screw below the spring. In the assembly instructions it is above the spring . Does it make a difference ?
Also the other (non wired one) mounting screw has a rubber washer, wired screw does not. Is that the norm ?
Sorry if that last bunch sounded paranoid but I'm about as knowledgeable as a toddler w/ a penny and a wall socket
when it comes to electronics....especially on a brand new to me.

Lastly , what strings do you guys use on your 4003 ?
I like the lumpy McCartney sound but probably will go for the more Geddy growl.
I tend to lean towards Roto's and will probably have it set up w/ those.
It came set up w/ D'ads .

Thanks in advance ,
It's pretty early in the a.m. here and I worked all day. Hope those questions make sense.

Brian

[cassius987]

Gorgeous. If you don't like binding, have somebody take the binding off and ergonomicize it based on one of the S models.

Few more noob questions:
Although I generally have a guy set up my guitars/basses for me, how the hell do you get to those
saddle adjustment screws on the factory bridge ? Is there a special tool for this ? Is this the Achilles heel of Ric basses?

Do this: loosen the strings, take the bridge out, adjust it, pop it back in, careful not to stress the strings. Remember, the bridge is just held in place by the strings and the two height adjustments, so it's easy to take on and off. It's not too bad as long as the bridge you have isn't a lemon like one of mine was/is. Is it the Achilles heel? No. It's the Achilles bridge. Actually... the stock tailpiece/bridge SOUNDS really good so some of its structural issues must be overlooked for now.

Also, Dane Wilder once referenced boltdepot.com as a place where you could buy socket screws to replace in the bridge, and that way the adjustment would be accessible without taking the bridge off the tailpiece.

Hope I can explain this part for my question....
The bass came w/ the ric cloth, string cover, and pickup assembly instructions.
When I disassembled the chrome outer ring the black wire (ground?) looped around the mounting
screw below the spring. In the assembly instructions it is above the spring . Does it make a difference ?
Also the other (non wired one) mounting screw has a rubber washer, wired screw does not. Is that the norm ?
Sorry if that last bunch sounded paranoid but I'm about as knowledgeable as a toddler w/ a penny and a wall socket
when it comes to electronics....especially on a brand new to me.

You want that wire back where it was in the stock configuration. It lets the pickup surround act as a ground, with or without that guard. I believe both should have a rubber washer.

Lastly , what strings do you guys use on your 4003 ?
I like the lumpy McCartney sound but probably will go for the more Geddy growl.
I tend to lean towards Roto's and will probably have it set up w/ those.
It came set up w/ D'ads .

I think D'Ads sound like **** on my Rics. Rotos are fine, RIC stock strings are fine, and TI JF344s are awesome. Those are the three I use a lot. If you want McCartney's "lumpy" sound, just dial out all of your tone down to 0, use flatwounds, and try palm-muting or using the foam mute.

Remember this: Ric basses can make LOTS of different noises, from traditional jazz to thrash metal. They don't just make the sounds of the players that got them famous. I say this as a cautionary because some people start associating them ONLY with the Beatles/Yes/Rush and that is a very unfortunate fallacy in my mind.

Alright, off soap box! Good luck! Have fun!

[doctorwho]

If by "rubber washer" you are referring to part number 03804 in this diagram:

http://www.rickenbacker.com/pdfs/bpickups.pdf

then it is actually a nylon washer. The same washer is used on the strapbolts.

[woodyng]

thats one nice looking bass,the gold pg will look even better with that finish....

[johnallg]

Welcome, Brian. The black wire with the eyelet goes next to the chrome surround. At the end towards the control cavity, put the adjusting screw through the surround, put the ground eyelet on the screw, put the spring on, put the black rubber grommet on (helps hold it all together while assembling), then screw into the pickup. The other end is the same except there is no ground eyelet for that end.