Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I guess it just depends on who does the sanding.

But the neck is CHUNKY and has an almost totally flat fretboard. Sure, it does not flair out as you get higher, but its more P Bass like than my 4003 is . And i mean the modern precisions, not the old classic ones with the hugely wide neck

Yeah "totally flat fretboard" describes it very well. Mine is like that also.

Anyhow,,,,,here are the pics - after my big clean up operation I had to replace all the pickguard screws as they were all rusted. The camera makes the bass look cleaner than it is, but you should be able to see the "custard yellow" binding

Notice how i have the bridge set- thats what i gotta do to intonate it properly. The E is all the way back, and the saddle plate is tilted back to move further back still ( which is ok as it wants to tilt back on its own anyhow) and i may file the E saddle so i can move it back a fraction more.

ok ....so the back aint great (tho you gotta love those five neatly arranged dried on superglue marks) But for the money and little effort i think i have done well. Its a real classic rock n roll Ricky and plays so great!

Also may i add that i think i may be cursed this bass has severe tailpiece lift up, just like my white 4003 did before i replaced the offending part. Its up the same ammount to, like 4-5 mm. But to hell with it! it hardly notices on this one, wheras with the white/black trim it just looked really obvious.

Nice 'battle axe' you got there,Owen. My '73 4001fg was previously owned by a Columbus, Ohio cop who played it in their anti drug band called "Hot Pursuit". They played in full uniform, so you can imagine what that utility belt did to the back of the bass. I got the bass back around '86 when he had a custom bass made for him that was shaped like a Thompson 45 machine gun. The police chief disbanded them about a year ago and made them get back in their cruisers (a budget thing, you know). The bass still plays great. I'll have to break down and get a digital camera so I can post some pics.

Owen: I have had to reverse the saddles on two 4001's to get the intonation correct as well ...

Jeff - i cant understand why we have to do this........i cant see how the 4003's are different, how come they dont require extreme saddle arranging?

As far as i know, Fenders of different eras dont require radically different saddle movements

the best answer I can give is the 4003 has a different neck design ...

The old 4001's have a cool vibe an are very collectable ... but for gigging I prefer a 4003.

The lower you set the action the less far back you have to put the saddles, also if you straighten the neck pretty flat that will make a difference too. The Fender bridges have much more travel room in them. If you can stand lower action it will help a little, but I've had several like that, as long as you can intonate it, who cares?
What kind of treble pickup does it have? screw heads or buttons? My 72 (and my old 75) have very flat necks, very thin from fretboard to bottom. Is the neck itself wider at the body end? Because I never noticed that on any of mine as they all have the same bridge even though they are hand slit or what ever you call it. I always though that because the neck was so flat the neck just seemed wider, but I never measured them either, and the nut is a little more narrow, that might be what it is, the neck is a little more narrow at the nut end I think. A 4003 nut is too wide for a 4001 neck
I think there were two different neck designs at least for the 4001's, because my late 70's 4001's have much rounder necks than my early 70's ones do, and I have seen that consistently with 4001's. The early ones are much flatter.

Make sure that the tail piece screws are tight, every Ric I've bought has had loose screws including new ones and I think that may contribute to bridge lifting.
If they are loose and you tighten them that may bring it down a little as it did for me on a 4003.