Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Concerning the Warner Bros video;

If you know me ,you will understand that I am not that dry in person ...the intro was at 6 am and It was the first thing filmed .Three cameras and very little run through ...it comes off cold but does warm up .The info is great .

When we go to my shop ...that is me on my own turf and you get a better idea of what I'm like ...."The Guitar answerman crossed with Groucho Marx"... or so I am told .

...."The Guitar answerman crossed with Groucho Marx"... or so I am told . Uh, Huh!!!I think that was my line.And if anyone should know this better than I.....

Mark, can you give me an average string height (would it be taken at 12th fret?) for a 4003?
Also an upper limit that you wouldn't recommend going above (I like a high action). Thanks if you or anyone else could do this.

And please, no inches! Millimetres preferred.

Ta

I guess I need to finally answer this one ...

If you are measuring the relief in the neck , press the strings down at the first fret AND at the last fret ....

At the octave/12th fret you should have a gap of .5mm or .020 for a bass
and about the same at the 5th fret ...this is all while holding down the E string at the first and last frets.... do this on the G string next ...get it so -if one side is closer , get that as close as possible , the other side will have to do as is .
This is kind of tricky and spastic feeling , but it works .
Perhaps Peter can dig up a photo of me doing this .

I set up my bass to 3/64" treble, 5/64" bass, which works out to 1.1mm-2mm. Oddly enough, I've found that the specs that work best on my guitar also work well for my bass! I think using flatwounds helps me get that low action without much rattle.

Cheers!

I've got a NOS 4001v63 that needs to be tweaked. Neck relief is zero, I'll adjust the truss rod for .020 at the 12th fret. The nut is as shipped from the factory, I read 3/64 at the 1st fret treble side, and 4/64 bass side. At the 12th fret treble/bass sides measure 8/64.

What are acceptable strings heights off the 1st and 12th frets? This is my first bass, I play with a pick, with a medium attack. My guitars are set up with minimum relief and just enough string height so they don't buzz.

Thanks

I have been asked set up questions EVERY day since 1977 , and the answer I continue to give is this .

Tune the instrument,adjust the truss rod(s) for minimum relief , check the nut slots at (the gap between the bottom of the string and the 1st fret when that string is fretted at the 3rd fret ) .Then and only then can you set the bridge height.

The bridge height is 100% player prefence .

If every thing else is fine , that part (the bridge) really depends on how hard you attack the string , and how much rattle you can deal with .

Comfort comes first , then the rattle issue rears it's ugly head and the compromising begins .

A "SET" height is never the reality , just a guideline that is acceptable .

I throw the factory suggested guidelines out all the time .