Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I swapped saddles with my other 4001 and noticed a big difference in volume right away. I will try it out at a gig tomorrow. Now my other bass has the problem. I am going to try to add another slot on the saddle next to the old one. Still looking for another 4001 saddle though - in case I mess that one up

Greg, you might bump Jeff Rath and see if his saddles would fit the old 4001 bridge. He *might* have old bridges as he does a lot of part swapping in his 4-2-5 conversions. Probably worth the effort.

johnallg wrote:New saddles won't fit the old bridges.

In my experience the new saddles DO fit on the old bridges (post-1973 bridges, that is) but only as well as they fit on the new bridges. And they don't fit on the new bridges very well. IMO, the new saddles (those made since 2004 or so) are not properly made and won't fit well on any RIC bridge.

What I'm tryin' to say is...I don't think there is any difference between a 1974 4001 bridge and a 2008 4003 bridge. But I have seen the saddles change over the years. I dunno if its different suppliers or machine upgrades or what, but I've noticed slight differences between my saddles from the 70's, 80's and current. The current saddles seem to not have a curve on the underside that corresponds to the curve on the bridge piece, and also there seems to be too much distance between the threaded hole on them and the underside of the saddle.

Here is a photo of a stock, brand new 4003 bridge and saddles that I feel illustrates what I'm trying to say:

Its a shame, but my only solution is to buy an old RIC bridge (or just the saddles if you can) from the 70's/ 80's.

Yes, you could buy a Hipshot instead. But I like my goofy RIC tail pieces and their mutes. Once you get them to work, they will continue to work for the lifetime of the bass. I'd prefer it if they worked from the factory, but hey...I'll still take a Rick bass to any others.

I bought a couple new saddles from RIC just to try it myself and I found that the threaded hole is too low causing the saddle to sit up too high - just like that photo of the new 4003 (what's up with that )

deblase4001 wrote:I bought a couple new saddles from RIC just to try it myself and I found that the threaded hole is too low causing the saddle to sit up too high - just like that photo of the new 4003 (what's up with that )

Yes. That's my point. The new saddles aren't right. They aren't right for any year Rick bass. If you want saddles that fit on a Rick 4003 bridge, you'll have to find some old ones on Ebay.



Good luck. It'll be a great bass when you get it all sorted out.

On a $2159 MSRP bass there is really no reason for it to be that way. Call me a heretic, but it affects how the strings sit and behave.

rickaddict wrote: Here is a photo of a stock, brand new 4003 bridge and saddles that I feel illustrates what I'm trying to say:

That picture is quite a revelatory disappointment. IIRC, the tolerances on my '77 4001's bridge saddles were so "tight", that they sat quite firmly against the bridge. So much so, that they left scuff marks in the chrome plating of the bridge from being adjusted back and forth.

I hesitate to believe that that much engineering capability has been sent "off-shore"...

johnallg wrote:On a $2159 MSRP bass there is really no reason for it to be that way. Call me a heretic, but it affects how the strings sit and behave.

I agree 100%. Many of the new saddles rock back and forth, rattle, and cause strings to sound "dead." I love my Ricks, but these saddles are IMO defective and I think whoever is making them should be fired!

bigbajo60 wrote: IIRC, the tolerances on my '77 4001's bridge saddles were so "tight", that they sat quite firmly against the bridge. So much so, that they left scuff marks in the chrome plating of the bridge from being adjusted back and forth.

I have bridges from the 70's and 80's that work like you describe, Alvaro. Most of mine work like a Swiss watch. The part really shouldn't be that hard to get right IMO.

aceonbass wrote:I've encountered the ill fitting saddle syndrome many times myself. I use a drill to enlarge the saddle screw holes on both sides of the bridge and countersink the hole a little larger to get the saddle to drop down a bit. I've also got some adhesive aluminum shielding that I cut into little squares and stick to the bottom of the saddle to shim it with. Then I trim it to fit so you can't see it.

This sounds like a little more time and effort than I'd be willing to put into it, Dane. I'd probably throw the thing into Lake Michigan before I'd shim it, but that's just me. Not knockin' you, you're a good thinker...Glad to see that you found a way to make the thing work.

I just received a new bridge for my Mink bass, and it is just as you see it in Jeff's photo above; they rock from side to side. Long story; when I got back into playing bass, I had the old '72 set up with a new bridge pickup, surround, and a new tailpiece which replaced a very badly flaked one. The shop used the old bridge in the new tailpiece, but it didn't quite fit right - kinda jammed in. The shape of the bridge pocket had changed over the years, so the old bridge was a hair too big for the pocket. Talking with Graham at RIO, he mentioned he was looking for a vintage bridge, so I gave him the one from my Mink that I had brought to the event. He arranged the speedy purchase and shipping of a new bridge from POR, and that's how I got a new bridge to fit my new tailpiece. Now I need to make the saddles stop rockin' !