Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Pete,

Get an original pre '73 tailpiece!End of problem!

I may be able to help you there if you are really interested.

My 1975 4001 never had much tail lift but I put some coins under the tailpiece between the screws just to minimize the chance of it sinking into the cavity and causing further tail lift. I couldn't honestly tell you if it improved the tone or sustain or not, but it certainly didn't hurt it.

berth wrote:

ricaddic wrote:Hipshot replacement bridge, (for a Rickenbacker) I put one on my V63 and my 77 4001 has one too, awesome bridge, like them much better..

-1. Mine rattles terribel. Sorry I've bought it.

That sucks, they sold you a lemmon, I have had no issues with mine what so ever, and noticed an improment in tone and sustain, when my C64 starts really lifting, I no problem putting a hipshot on it..

ricaddic wrote: That sucks, they sold you a lemmon, I have had no issues with mine what so ever, and noticed an improment in tone and sustain, when my C64 starts really lifting, I no problem putting a hipshot on it..

Well, they must be selling quote a few lemons, because of heard of this problem several times.

I added a block to fill the route. I never had an issue until the bass was serviced and the screws tightened. I do believe over torquing the screws started the problem. There are some great threads on this and how to straighten the Tailpiece out. Good luck!

rickenbrother wrote:

ricaddic wrote: That sucks, they sold you a lemmon, I have had no issues with mine what so ever, and noticed an improment in tone and sustain, when my C64 starts really lifting, I no problem putting a hipshot on it..

Well, they must be selling quote a few lemons, because of heard of this problem several times.

Yep - either odd QC or design change at some point - the one on my 4000 beater works well and doesn't rattle but there seems to be quite a few users who have had problems....

mine works great,and generally speaking,hipshot seems to be pretty consistent with the quality of the products they sell,but stuff happens when mass production is involved. if i were to purchase another one,and there was a problem of any sort i would certainly be contacting the company to get a replacement or refund.

i liked the bridge that someone put on my 4002. very simple design,like an oversized fender bridge,but no longer made i am sure. no idea who made it-i never did remove it to see.

I think this becomes a problem when the strings aren't putting enough downward force onto the saddles.

I shimmed my '75 4001 with sheetmetal fender washers threading the three main bridge screws thru them.... after clamping the bridge into a homemage jig to try and flatten the lift. It still has about 1/32 inch lift, maybe? 3mm? anyway who knows, maybe a slight lift improves the sound

It hasn't monved in 5 years, so something must be working with the shims

Theres very little lift on the C64 tail and I am going to fill the gap in the body under the bridge,not tighten the screws too much and see what transpires.

I think since the original was designed with no visible screws its worth the effort to keep the design as close to the original as possible.
Just adding more screws detracts from the image and shouldnt be the way to fix a problem with that particular casting.
If the shim works maybe Rickenbacker ought to shim the basses at the factory or shave less wood in the production process of fitting the tail.
I suppose a shim that forces the tail upward at the bridge when the extra 2 screws are added will surely stay flat but it wont look as good as three hidden screws.

The tailpieces on my V63 and the white CS are ok and all the basses have the same strings and get played the same way so its got to be something to do with that gap underneath creating the bend and the strings helping it along.
I mean,the strings dont pull at much of an angle when you look at it so another force is acting on it and thats got to be the securing screws.

Andy, email sent!

I picked up a 1993 4003s that had a bit of lift. The route cavity was indeed to deep. I removed it, and I force clamped the tailpiece straight, someone here posted a pic showing how. I put in washers in the cavity under the screws, the washers also make contact with the bridge pin seats as well. So far, the lift has not returned, although it's only been under tension a short time now.

rickenbrother wrote:

ricaddic wrote: That sucks, they sold you a lemmon, I have had no issues with mine what so ever, and noticed an improment in tone and sustain, when my C64 starts really lifting, I no problem putting a hipshot on it..

Well, they must be selling quote a few lemons, because of heard of this problem several times.

Well im sure there are more than one, personaly the ones I have a rock solid with no issues, the Ric bridge and tailpiece are a bad design form the get go, here complaints about them alot, haveing to put coins and washers and more screws, I would think such a high end instrument would have a better design, im not downing it but personally Im not a fan of the tailpiece/bridge assembly. just think there can be much more improvement, im still gonna buy Rics, its not going to stop me..

I'm not sure how others went about the repair, but I had really good luck with this plate I made. It's just a scrap piece of aluminium with a channel milled to accomodate the saddle area. After that, drilled and tapped 4 holes for the bolts to hold the bridge in place and draw it back down to flat. I used the sections of hardwood to distribute force accross the bridge. After about 2 days of slowly adjusting I was able to go from about a centimeter of lift to flat.

woodyng wrote:i liked the bridge that someone put on my 4002. very simple design,like an oversized fender bridge,but no longer made i am sure. no idea who made it-i never did remove it to see.

a tortoise guard on a 4002 ???? tell me moooooorrrrre.