Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Jeff, the supplement, do you bathe in it or smoke it?

both

My 72' 4001 weighs 9 lb's and my 74' 4001 (w/Bad-*** II Bridge) is 9.5 lb's.

If it's too heavy, you'll never be happy with it. 9 to 10 lbs. is normal, i think. I have Ultra-lites, plus a leather neckstrap with an unfinished (raw) inside. The bridge can be replaced with a lighter Hipshot, however, that's the wrong end for neck-dive problems.

The Hipshot bridge is heavier than the BA II.

I used to have a Persuader! Also, I had a Spoiler with an Exploiter body with a Flamed Koa top.

Both of the 4003S/5's I used to have were 9.5 lbs. Heaviest bass I have ever had was a Les Paul recording. I think neck dive is when the bass dives below even. The balanced bass when let go should drop to even horizontal. Gibson Thunderbirds (or at least the one I had) would hit the ground almost if I let it nose dive. As evidenced by the broken head. Now thats neck dive. Not sure about the new ones. I have heard that they are better balanced than the older ones. The 4004CII5 is perfectly balanced.

The balance is a partly a function of the upper horn. Longer upper horn allows the instrument to rest at a more upright angle. The Les Paul has no horn and will tend to hang closer to the 3:00 position if not lower. Short horn Alembics have the same tendency. The 4000 series in stock trim will hang about 1:30 quite nicely where the 2000 series basses hang closer to 3:00. If you are lefty that would be 11:30 and 9:00.

Wimps!

I'm starting to suspect sore shoulder comes more from a bass being too unbalanced rather than it just being outright heavy. The Badass bridge weighs a LOT more than the stock bridge, and my 4001 is now noticably heavier, but it's also better balanced now. I'm thinking of putting on ultralites, and that should make it perfectly balanced.
Has anyone noticed a change in tone with the ultralites?

Oh Jeeez Steve.... What do ya call that? Star-glo. Do those things glow in the dark?

Greg, is that why so many T-Birds have had their heads broken off?

Yes, I beleive that is the reason, plus the fact that the older ones were very narrow at the nut, and the extra long scale had alot of tension.

They do not glow in the dark, but it was "none more black", so I decided to make it show up a little better It's a Hamer 12, the king of neck dive, and a HEAVY sucker too! I sometimes call it the 'divining rod' since it tends to seek water in the ground if I let it go...

Ted, there are a lot of ways to snap a T-bird headstock off, but that is a very thin joint and if it gets knocked over, etc., that's where the stress tends to go.