New 4003 MID is here!

[rickenbrother]

I'm looking forward to reading what the more experienced people here think about what to do, and so far it looks like "contact Rickenbacker" is winning.

You've already been given the best possible advice. Either return/exchange it with MF or call RIC.

[winston]

If anyone has a different solution other than what has already been posted, I invite you to PM the OP and give him your thoughts.

It is obvious to me that this thread has been locked by the moderator of this section in an effort to ensure that (a) suggestions and/or comments are not made in the thread that would potentially offend RIC and their employees and (b) that the thread does not degenerate into a negative slug fest.

[rickenbrother]

At the request of some including our admin, the thread has been unlocked for further discussion. It will be watched closely.
If it gets to:
(a) Suggestions and/or comments made in the thread can potentially offend RIC and their employees.
or
(b) The thread degenerates into a negative slug fest.
The thread will once again be locked.

Looking at the pictures and hearing the OP's complaint, The strings are spaced well over the neck. To me it seems that the tailpiece is not on straight, which is why the saddles are not notched in the center. It also sounds like this 4003 has a bad pot. Just a possibility, but maybe it was a return, as Tony suggested. Being all that, are the reasons why I'd send it back to MF for a different one.

[admin]

Agreed, Joey. Also, is it possible that is had a rough ride through our friendly courier this time of year. I have already seen some beaten up packages.

[mikko]

Agreed, Joey. Also, is it possible that is had a rough ride through our friendly courier this time of year. I have already seen some beaten up packages.

Then it would have been a very rough ride...I mean saddle grooves going off center etc. I have heard & read quite a lot about this kind of quality issues lately, including my own bad experience with '10 4003 (my '03 4003 is still my favorite bass and very good). Is all this something there wasn't earlier, or is it just because of internet we are aware of all these issues? This is kind of sad because my friend who was about to by a 360 six string, got scared because of all these negative things and bought a Gibson LP instead. I was disappointed because it would have been nice to have 4 and 6 string Rickenbackers in the same band.

[cassius987]

Agreed, Joey. Also, is it possible that is had a rough ride through our friendly courier this time of year. I have already seen some beaten up packages.

I don't think that explains a lot of what has been posted, although I'm also not sure the true gravity of some of the "issues" being brought up. For instance...

The tailpiece lift is probably just cosmetic, although I agree that it is not a pleasing thing to discover. Also the saddles being cut off-center would be okay if the strings line up on the neck. Your picture of the neck doesn't look that bad to me, maybe I'm missing something? It looks a little off but sometimes string diameter makes it look more off than it really is, or sometimes I believe people skew all the strings closer to the G string side because generally you push away from that edge of the board. Finally, according to my luthier here in Denver, the way your pole pieces and strings line up is perfectly fine, although visually it's an OCD-irritant.

Anyways, the best advice was already posted. Make this right--probably with MF and if not them then RIC.

[mikko]

I'm pretty sure that strings were more on the G-string side on a '10 4003 I had, than they are on my '03 4003. Saddle grooves were in the middle as they should be. So maybe not a problem but a way they are meant to be these days?

[jingle_jangle]

The photo of "tailpiece lift" is misleading (but I'm not saying it was intended to be!). Since the finish is, at this sort of camera angle, practically a mirror, the gap showing is exactly twice the actual gap. So, actual gap is less than .5 mm. I'm going to say it's probably the body being not absolutely flat, having a slight taper towards the edge. Sanding can do this, and I've seen it on more than one instrument.

I'd venture to say that this tailpiece, if placed on a dead-flat surface, would check out as flat, too.

"Tailpiece lift", in this case, is a false alarm IMO.

[coolhandjjl]

My tailpiece, and many of the photos of examples of good tailpieces, look like yours. No issue there. Could there be a luthier reason the strings and saddle grooves are such?

[cassius987]

The strings do look off-center but in a "good way" to me (facilitating play). The saddles could just be cut off-center because the tailpiece is off-center and they are correcting for it or because the tailpiece is centered and whoever did the cuts wants the strings offset like this. Who knows. I have seen a 4003FL with an off-center tailpiece (mine, by about 0.1'' to the E side) so it happens.

[cheyenne]

You know, every RIC bass I've ever owned has had "bridge lift" to some extent.

I've never had a problem with it myself...

[aceonbass]

All of these issues seem within the parameters of what you can expect on a new 4003. Being the major OCD freak that I am, I've been known to replace sadlles and re-slot them or even add the two extra screws to the rear of the tailpiece to clamp it to the body firmly. The tone pot seems to be the major issue. I'll bet there's a bit of solder making contact where it shouldn't.

[colin]

Update time! I'm now must less disappointed.

First of all, thanks a huge amount to those who have given me suggestions and advice, both in the forum and by PM. You guys are awesome!

I've taken a closer look at some of the issues:

1. The bridge is definitely not on straight. Bridge-to-neck along the G string is 8-13/16" and along the E string it's 8-7/8". So 1/16" of an inch, or roughly one degree. I don't know if that's significant as long as the bass intones properly. Thanks to those who suggested checking it for squareness.

2. The "tail lift" gap is around 0.030". The cause is actually the profile of the wood following a slight curve at the end of the bass. The curvature seems beyond where the bridge screws are set, so this shouldn't be a problem. Thanks to whoever mentioned checking the bridge with a straight edge, and leading me indirectly to this discovery.

3. The saddle grooves are off. If I pull the strings slightly over to where I think they should be, the alignment along the neck is much improved all the way to the nut. Plus the strings pass through the center of the mute spaces when I do this (I know, that's just aesthetics, but these instruments deserve to look like a piece of art, don't they?).

Given the combination of minor annoyances and uncertainty over the worthiness of the bridge, I'm 95% sure of what I'm going to do: send the bass back to Musician's Friend for exchange. I just gave their customer service a call and I was VERY impressed with the helpfulness of Casey, the fellow who helped me. He said they will refund or exchange the bass and pay for all shipping costs, even from Canada. I still want my second 4003

They won't have any MIDs available, but I don't mind another colour. So my next question, my RRF friends: Jetglo or Mapleglo?

[Ivan3000]

Update time! I'm now must less disappointed.

First of all, thanks a huge amount to those who have given me suggestions and advice, both in the forum and by PM. You guys are awesome!

I've taken a closer look at some of the issues:

1. The bridge is definitely not on straight. Bridge-to-neck along the G string is 8-13/16" and along the E string it's 8-7/8". So 1/16" of an inch, or roughly one degree. I don't know if that's significant as long as the bass intones properly. Thanks to those who suggested checking it for squareness.

2. The "tail lift" gap is around 0.030". The cause is actually the profile of the wood following a slight curve at the end of the bass. The curvature seems beyond where the bridge screws are set, so this shouldn't be a problem. Thanks to whoever mentioned checking the bridge with a straight edge, and leading me indirectly to this discovery.

3. The saddle grooves are off. If I pull the strings slightly over to where I think they should be, the alignment along the neck is much improved all the way to the nut. Plus the strings pass through the center of the mute spaces when I do this (I know, that's just aesthetics, but these instruments deserve to look like a piece of art, don't they?).

Given the combination of minor annoyances and uncertainty over the worthiness of the bridge, I'm 95% sure of what I'm going to do: send the bass back to Musician's Friend for exchange. I just gave their customer service a call and I was VERY impressed with the helpfulness of Casey, the fellow who helped me. He said they will refund or exchange the bass and pay for all shipping costs, even from Canada. I still want my second 4003

They won't have any MIDs available, but I don't mind another colour. So my next question, my RRF friends: Jetglo or Mapleglo?

Colin, I would say Jetglo because you need an opaque finish to replace your MID. You already have one that you can see the wood, so whats the point of having another.
Best of luck.

[berth]

Jetglo or Mapleglo?

JG anytime. (But I must admit only 2 out of 9 Rickenbacker basses over here are JG. I must also admit 2 of my 9 Rickenbackers are MG.)