Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

bluewhale wrote:Nice work. Does your bass have the push/pull knob for the cap?

Yes I believe that has been standard on 4003 since 2012 or so.

Right, but I didn't think yours was a standard 4003. I now see the little sticker on the original pickguard.

Anyway, I imagine yours is one of very few basses with push/pull connected to a reissue horseshoe. Sounds like a fun bass. Congrats!

bluewhale wrote:Right, but I didn't think yours was a standard 4003. I now see the little sticker on the original pickguard.

Anyway, I imagine yours is one of very few basses with push/pull connected to a reissue horseshoe. Sounds like a fun bass. Congrats!

I have seen several people online who have taken a modern 4003S, and switched to toaster/horseshoe, 1/2" routing, gap tooth tailpiece, black knobs, tug bar, plexi TRC, etc, including me*, to make their own faux-1999. (*2015 FG)

I might have seen your FG in that livestream you did, seems like half a year ago now. Nice bass. I hope you do some more of those.

bluewhale wrote:I might have seen your FG in that livestream you did, seems like half a year ago now. Nice bass. I hope you do some more of those.

That's the one! Thanks for the kind words. I actually have something similar cooking, should be starting up soon...

jdogric12 wrote:

bluewhale wrote:I might have seen your FG in that livestream you did, seems like half a year ago now. Nice bass. I hope you do some more of those.

That's the one! Thanks for the kind words. I actually have something similar cooking, should be starting up soon...

I also saw that one as well, very nice, and, like Jason also have something in the works, hopefully soon

Limited Edition Bass. I had neck issues and the factory fret work was quite poor. There was a lot to work with, so I was able to sort it all out myself. I routed the body to move the neck pickup. Changes were done over 3 years ago and the bass has been the most stable Rickenbacker I have ever owned.
Bass features a Pickguardian pickguard and tug bar, Dane WIlder vintage wiring harness and modified tail piece, Lollar Horseshoe pickup, an older Rickenbacker toaster pickup, and a host of restored vintage hardware sourced from various places. I have a plexi pickguard, as well, but prefer the stock style vintage white version. I have a 'volute style' vintage treble pickup surround that is back from the chromer and will soon have a custom pick guard, but I really love this bass 'as is'.

I'm very glad I didn't give up on this bass.

Greg, sweet looking bass! Great job!! Is you Lollar HS one of his old ones or one of he new ones? How were the frets messed up?

ram wrote:Is you Lollar HS one of his old ones or one of he new ones?

I'd saya new one as the shoes are not that funky sandwich he used at first.

The Lollar was purchased in mid-2017. The horseshoes are solid. It's an amazing pickup--as well it should be for the price!

I purchased two of these Limited edition basses over time. The first one was problematic, but the second was really nice and never had a problem. The differences between the necks and frets on these two basses were remarkable. And frustrating. There was both a twist and a double bow in the neck from the factory. It got worse over time. The finish work on the frets was nice, but the fret height was all over the map. I can not be certain if the fret height issues were a result of the neck wood movement, or if this was a factory issue. I also noticed paint finish issues on the first bass. Overall, win some, lose some. I'm glad I had two basses from the same limited run to directly compare and see what was possible.

I've managed to fix all of the issues on the first bass to my satisfaction and the results are excellent in both form and function. I'm so happy with it, I've since sold the second bass and don't regret it.

If the fret height isn't comparable across the neck, either specific fret parts of the neck are moving, which seems improbable.
Or the fret leveling process was not completed. That's usually the first step, level first then crown.

It could be possible some frets ended up popping up as the fingerboard could be moving.

Of course if the neck shifted after leveling all bets are off, and that is certainly possible.

In any case glad you settled with the one that works for you, congrats.
Dirk

cheyenne wrote:Also, can the new single rods be replaced if broken like the previous ones?

I don't think they can be replaced should the need arise, but I could be wrong.

That being said, I am really impressed with how sensitive and responsive the new rod installed in my 4003AC is. A single 1/8 tweak is all I need after changing string gauges. It's purely intuition, but I don't believe I will ever have a truss rod-related issue come up. I'll certainly let the forum know if I am proven wrong!

The removable truss rods often work fine, but I see a couple of drawbacks. They (1) require more a lot more wood to be removed (which can weaken the neck) and (2) may "sink" into the neck from the body side when tightened, making adjustments a futile endeavor that can't be fixed by rod replacement. Fortunately the second issue seems to be quite rare, but I have experienced it firsthand. Also, in my experience, they don't live up to the claim that that each rod works selectively on its side of the neck.

So I'm excited to see the new dual action rod rolled out in place of the double rods.

Thanks Greg! I love a happy ending! Sorry you had to go through it all but happy ending is always best! I have the earlier Law Suit Lollar HS. I simply love it - almost microphonic in effect.

I think its amazing how much better the 1/2" inch neck PU spacing looks compared to the modern version.

I know its only a half inch, but if your a RIC fan, you can notice it a mile away.

cheyenne wrote:I think its amazing how much better the 1/2" inch neck PU spacing looks compared to the modern version.

I know its only a half inch, but if your a RIC fan, you can notice it a mile away.

+1!