Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

The best sounds the 4002 ever made were when Jeff was playing it at the Columbus Confluence.

My guitar tech told me the Badass II wouldn't work because it doesn't sit high enough on the body. I guess in order to get a usable string height, the bridge would have to be mounted on a plate to increase its height. Since the original Badass is thicker, we were thinking it might be high enough without the use of a plate. He didn't anticipate needing to route the body. This is sure a pain, but neither the original nor the Hipshot met my needs at all.

Your tech is wrong. I had BAIIs on several Ricks over the years. The current production has pretty much the same geometry as the old ones.

What about the picture Ted Staberow posted on the first page? That has the plate I was talking about.

That was not a plate but a wooden surround that neatly covered the mute cavity. My luthier at the time made that for me because he did not want to cover figured maple with black plastic. I completely understood his point. The BAII sits neatly on the body and requires no further shimming. The original BA required a route so it would sink low enough into the bass body to work properly. Of course there were those who deeply notched the BA saddles to get it to fit but the saddles often collapsed from the pressure of the strings.

Oh I see. Well this is very perplexing. Everyone has a different opinion. Also, I didn't know I was addressing Ted Staberow when I said that haha!

I don't necessarily advocate for the installation of BAIIs on Ricks. It is just something I did out of desperation back in the 80's. Your first choice should be the original hardware. If that is not desirable, a bolt-compatible replacement like the Hipshot is the next best option. After that would come the BAII. Someday we will have the RIC factory replacement as an option.

Ted and the others are right,the original tailpiece is the best option.When i broke mine i was looking at the Hipshot unit,and the Allparts unit and even though the original cost more it was the only choice.

Either hipshot or original. just stay away from any unnecessary mods

Brian, regarding your request to trade for or purchase my bridge/tailpiece assembly, I think you'd be better off with a new one. For whatever reason (due either to my playing style or some other factor) the original bridge on my 4003 kept getting damaged after every show. The saddles would constantly wiggle loose and flop around. I didn't think I was playing too hard or anything either. It's sort of usable I guess but it's not worth your money.