Saddles Keep Moving - 2001 4003s

[jps]

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Enzo Ferrari thought the same until he realized he wouldn't be winning any more races...

[squirebass]

Please correct me if I'm wrong(I wuz wrong once before, and I haven't had my coffee yet this morning!) but did Rickenbacker make 4003s models in 2001? I thought they quit offering it for awhile and that I got one of the first new offerings around about 2013 or so.

And Jeff, Minnie Pearl does ALL my setups -- I believe you can still reach her at her main number BR-5-49...

[bassduke49]

According to "the book," the 4003S model was on hiatus from 1997 to 2015 when it was brought back. If you really wanted a down-trimmed model during that time off, you were steered to the "vintage" models, the 4001V63 up to 2002, and the 4001C64 and 64S up to 2011.

[Malchik]

The bass has been in the shop for a little over two weeks. My local Long & McQuade must be backed up.

[aceonbass]

Disassemble the bridge. Drill the saddle screw holes in the bridge out to the next size up, then reassemble. The saddles will settle down a bit and stop vibrating. Leveling the bottom of tbe saddles will only increase their clearance from the top of the bridge, and make the problem worse.
Then again, that advise applies to the old style bridge. Is this bass *MAYBE* a 2021 instead of a 2001? Context is everything.

[espidog]

Then again, that advise applies to the old style bridge. Is this bass *MAYBE* a 2021 instead of a 2001? Context is everything.

Absolutely - when I first read the OP's query, I assumed they were talking about the new V2 bridge with individually adjustable saddles and had just typed the year wrong. I mean, it must be, mustn't it? All this talk of worm screws/hex bolts. The only hex bolts on the old bridge are the ones at the ends of the saddlebar, and they only adjust overall height, not individual string intonation.

One solution for a slack hex bolt (just to confuse things further, we call 'em grub screws in the UK) is one I saw a lot in my hobby of restoring old valve radios. On tuning coils, to prevent the threaded graphite core from slipping out of alignment over time, it was common to have a length of silk or polyester thread resting between the core thread and the nut thread. I'm pretty sure a similar remedy would be worth trying on the OP's misbehaving bridge. No resort to glues or irreversible mods required.

I hope it gets sorted out, and soon. Whatever the remedy, though, it still leaves open the question of why the thread tolerances on some examples of the V2 bridge are so shoddily engineered.

[Malchik]

Disassemble the bridge. Drill the saddle screw holes in the bridge out to the next size up, then reassemble. The saddles will settle down a bit and stop vibrating. Leveling the bottom of tbe saddles will only increase their clearance from the top of the bridge, and make the problem worse.
Then again, that advise applies to the old style bridge. Is this bass *MAYBE* a 2021 instead of a 2001? Context is everything.

The bass is a 2021, my flub. Re-drilling the saddle screw holes and tapping them for larger adjustment screws is probably the best solution but that is a little beyond my talents.

I hope it gets sorted out, and soon. Whatever the remedy, though, it still leaves open the question of why the thread tolerances on some examples of the V2 bridge are so shoddily engineered.

The Rickenbacker way.

[espidog]

The bass is a 2021, my flub. Re-drilling the saddle screw holes and tapping them for larger adjustment screws is probably the best solution but that is a little beyond my talents.

Try the polyester thread trick first - could save you a lot of time and expense.

[Ratwax]

An alternative material you can try to reduce movement is PFTE gas-fitter or plumber's tape.

Cheers,

[Malchik]

OK, so it took this long for L&M to finally contact me. Long story short, they can't fix the saddles or the "buzz," something I didn't actually inquire about. They offered to send the bass to the Yorkville shop or refund me. This bass just sounds like a lemon. I think I'll pickup another Rick when one becomes available in the future.

[Dirk]

Why not just replace the bridge rather than the whole bass?

Hipshot could be another option.

Good luck,
Dirk

[aceonbass]

Since this is a newer style V2 bridge, my fix does not apply. Given that each of the saddles on the V2 bridge has a pair of height adjustment screws that fit neatly into their own slots on the baseplate, and with a fair amount of downward string force, I don't see how the saddles could vbrate. Now it IS possible for the strings to vibrate against the top of the opening where they pass through behind the saddles. Otherwise, the unit is made very well.