Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Haha.. nice to know guys!

It is my theory that the 4003 neck is over designed ... the new profile should still be plenty strong ... I found the 4001c64 that I played to be more resonant than a 4003 ... my theory was the thinner neck improved the sound ... my old 68 had a neck that was barely strong enough ... that stress made the bass sing ...

I think the fact that every part of the 4000 series bass is smaller, the headstock, the neck and the very thin body, makes for a more resonant instrument due to the lack of mass to absorb string energy.

I did not know the 4000 is smaller... interesting. Is it a shorter scale also?

Actually the mass of the bass effects tone ... a very light bass will usually have a more midrange tone ... a more massive bass will have more sustain and usually better low end response ... 5 string basses are usually a little more massive than 4 string basses ... the additional mass help low B response ... also the type of wood and other materials has a big effect ... the old 60s 4001 basses had a neck that was 2 pieces of wood ... the neck and the fretboard ... these necks resonated nicely ... the 70s 4001 were 4 pieces of wood glued together ... this made a stronger neck but not quite as resonant ... the current 4003 is 3 pieces of wood I think (somebody from Ric can confirm of refute this) and it is fatter ... this makes the neck stronger but that strength also makes it a little less resonant in my opinion ... that is a good trade off because if the neck goes bad it doesn't matter how good it sounds ...

Also I noticed that when I convert a bass from 4 to 5 strings it sounds better ... the EADG strings sound better due to the increased compression stress on the neck ... my 10 string bass really sings ...

has anybody noticed this on a 4003s8? I have never played one of them but I would bet they resonate better ...

Also thanks to John Hall for posting the humidity info ...

On the humidity front, my gig yesterday provides some empirical evidence.

The one guitarist that played yesterday (we were temporarily a 4 pieces again) plays strats, which are notoriuosly finicky about playing outdoors in FLA. But we had a wad of dry air come in on Friday.

Joe let his two strats acclimate outside for a few hours before the gig, and had no problems keeping his axes in tune yesterday. It was still friggin' FLA hot (mid 90's) but the humidity probably stayed in the 40% range, making for a fairly comfortable day.

Certainly was comfortable for the Stratocasters.

Living in Halifax like John I tend to adjust my truss rods once in the summer and again in the winter . I find my Ric is more stable than the others. I tend to go for medium low action and have been doing all of my setups since the mid 70's.

My Stingray has about the thickest neck that I have ( of the four strings ) and is also the most prone to being effected by the humidity. It is also the easiest and fastest to adjust.

Interesting on the stingray Morrow. I bet wood density and finish type on the neck has an influence on how much humidity effects the neck.

I really like the stingray neck adjustment ... the location and ease of use is great ...

There is an oiled finish on the back of the neck ( maple with a rosewood board ) so that might contribute to the problem but it takes three or four seconds to adjust if you have something pointy handy.

The battery is also really easy and fast to change if you have a battery handy. ( I have changed mine between songs without causing any delays.)

What about pointed sticks?

Yes, thanks for that humidity info. I went out and bought a thermometer/hydrometer for my basement after reading JH's info. If I keep my dehumidifier running down there, the humidity hangs around the upper 50% range. No too bad. If I leave the dehumidifier off for just a day, it gets up to upper 60% range. Good to know that I should be in a pretty good zone for the Ric if I keep paying the electric bill for the dehumidifier (I have my priorities straight at least ). On the upper levels the humidity has been 70%+ inside lately. Tough to sleep!

Don't you have an air conditioner in your bedroom?