Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Thank heaven the E is right , no matter what.
A "weird old guitar phenomenom"?
Well, I've got a "new" one!
Look at how the E and A saddles of my '98 have to be reversed to intonate properly. They just went flat at the 12th fret when the saddles were in the "normal" arrangement.

Paul Woah! that is odd my 4003 is kinda "text book" all saddles stepped slightly from E to G.

on another note.....aint it great that my ebay experience has landed me with a nice bass..but with all the famous Rick quirks!

Bent up tailpiece, "stupid" bridge, bent rods, fretboard separation.

all are fixed now,..except tailpiece

oh paul...are those flats....like pyramids?

i hear those can be inconsistant so maybe thats why your saddles are odd

Those in the picture were Dean Markley MedLite 45-65-80-105. That odd saddle intonation problem was there with the original RIC rounds when I got her new and also with the T-I JF344 flatwounds that are on her now.
So I reckon the saddles of my '98 behave like that with all sorts and brands of strings.

Don't you just love these torturing "RIC Quirks"!!!???

By the way, is your '73 bridge like my '72's old slotted type which has only 3 screws beneath the saddles/bridge? Mine doesn't bend at all.

nah, its the modern type. My 73 is all "new"

only "old" thing is the toaster & silk screened nameplate and it has the grovers. Even the treble pickup is the "proper" button top variety

The "proper button top variety"?
With slotted heads like my '72?



It's not as loud as the '72 toaster, maybe because of its smaller/narrower magnet.

oh no, i meant mines the more common later one with no slot heads.

that magnet is mini!

um...Paul...are you actually taking your bass apart for these photos? or do you have a fat stock pile lol

the 2 pickups on my 73 are perfectly balanced (this is with the cap in)

I find the 4001's of this time fascinating! So many differences!!

Well, whenever I buy a pre-owned bass, the first thing I do is take it apart (including tuners and tailpiece) to thouroughly clean up the body, cavities and check up the parts to see if there are problems. I take pictures all along the process. So I have a "fat stock pile" of parts pictures that i scanned into my computer. I appreciate that they make communicating easier.

And as you might know, I enjoy taking pretty pictures of my babies whenever I'm in the mood and have the time.

yeah, its a good idea Paul, and i must say your photos are excellent!

Thanks.
I haven't touched my camera for quite a while... Been playing my babies mostly in my spare time lately. Lets see if I can come up with even better shots in the future, when inspiration hits.

on my '68 bridge I had to take the saddles in the opposite direction ...

Just out of curiosity Owen, where did you get your bass? I had a '73 Rick bass which I sold a while back with the bent up bridge, cracked and repaired neck, grover tuners, button top pickups, a fireglo finish. I'm wondering what the chances are that it could be the same bass I used to have. Got a pic of it?

Greg - a 0% chance! as mine is a Jetglo.

When I get farting (extreme fretbuzz and bottoming out) on one of my basses it's usually because my action is too low for how had I'm plucking it. If I set up a bass when I'm relaxed and not fully warmed up and go out and play with the bass, the action is usually too low, because when I play in a club or wherever I pluck a lot harder than when I'm just sitting around in my room. I bring my tools with me when I play and will usually adjust the action at the end of the first or second set, because by then I will be bottoming out the strings if I have set up the bass at home. When I pick up the bass the next day at first the action seems high and stiff, but when I get out and play, it's just right.
Also with lighter gauge strings I just bring up the action more, and no farting, for example with TI's I have the highest action of all my basses probably but it feels just right, if I lower it to where my basses with Pyramids are, it plays like mush, but with the higher action plays just right and sounds great, nice and full.
With Fender flats I can set the action very low and no fretbuzz bacause they are so stiff, and this is with med. lights. I set my action by how it feels and sounds not with any certain measurement.
I believe setting up a bass is an ever evolving art (at least for me) and every bass is different, especially old 4001's, and at least partially because of the former owner's treatment's of the respective basses.

Bob - yeah i agree - i set up my three basses by what i think should be right. I dont measure anything and they all end up about the same