Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

My 4003's Neck is much stiffer than my J-bass' neck.

the 4003 neck is over designed ... that is why I can convert a 4003 into a 5 string bass and they handle the 5th string with no problem ...

J.H. just stated over on RIC's forum that they are actually switching over to the thinner neck profile. Good news I'd say.

It has Chromes....they should be consistant.....I'll try the old Fender flats....Nut width on a 4003 ?

I can move the necks on my three. The 4080 necks are quite easy to move since they're rather thinner than the others.

I was quite scared by my 4080 necks at first. I've almost got used to it now.

My thinnest neck has to be my Geddy Lee Jazz.

My '65 Jazz neck is tiny, but I could pick up my house with it.

Jeff Scott uses chromes, he replaces the "D" string with another of a different guage to give them more balance.

I'm not sure of the guages though.

HEY JEFF!!! GOT YOUR EARS ON????

Yep! I Get the Super Soft set which is comprised of 40-60-75-95 guages, and I throw away the 60 and buy a single 55 to use for the D string. This gives a more balanced set tensionwise.

Well..........it was'nt the neck being too thin.........just a difference in tuning procedure . My wife tunes all stringed instruments to the attack of the pick.....I tune letting the strings sustain until the tuner settles on pitch........After reading about recording and tuning basses on the internet , I found out Her method is best . Better to be a little flat than sharp . Now we can finish our CD

That's a good thing to know. I've always done it the same way you do.

You can never be too rich, or have a neck too thin......

I could go for Too Rich !

Being a musician is expressive. I think Id drive Bill Gates bankrupt with everything I want.

So whats all this tuning stuff? I rarely ever look at a tuner. I normally just pluck until I think it sounds right or the tension feels right, then I tune to myself. Im normally playing alone tho. In group settings I normally tune to the guitarist. Simply because I figured I have fewer strings and a good set of ears.

I know the old recording stuff would change the tuning. I dont really remember if it was sharp or flat or what. I just heard it would screw with it. And It made dubing a pain too. Gotta love the digital world I guess. But is this what you guys are talking about?

In my case....our songs are built with guitar and drums . Drums to establish tempo and guitar for vocal pitch reference . Once those are recorded I choose among 10 basses for the one that ads character to the style of the song . Most of the time I choose my 64 Fender P . That bass never sounds sharp in the mix . I set it up to intonate with a foam mute under the old bridge cover . I think that's why it works so well . But......I wanted my 77 4001 on some of the recordings and everytime I played it back it was sharp . No mute . Tuned with the sustain method . Now I can tune it to the " pick attack " and it records in pitch . I will also be recording with my 5 string 4004 / toasters . That bass rocks with a mean roundwound growl . I think this has been a challenge mainly because of the way the guitar has been tuned for these recordings .