Rickenbacker Forum, Amplifier, Bass and Guitar Register
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Unfortunately, this is very true.rickaddict wrote:And likewise, I'm sure that any lever RIC could design to engage the mute would change the look of the tail enough to activate the whiners once again. RIC is between a rock and a hard place.
Yes - more or less, certainly to the point it will work OK even if not flush to the body.MichaelStewart wrote:Is it possible to bend a "tail-lifted" Rick tailpiece straight?
I know this may sound crude, but I've fixed a fair few of them by clamping them in a vice with some metal bars so that the tailpiece is clamped where the bridge sits (not where the mute bit is) and then use a rubber hammer to straighten them.MichaelStewart wrote:Is it possible to bend a "tail-lifted" Rick tailpiece straight?
I doubt that as the maple wood is much too soft to give a suitable basis for the two tiny bridge allen screws (they also have a kind of pencil tip that grinds into the wood) to raise the bridge in a fixed position. I would fear it will grind deeper into the wood by the time and pressure (strings and hand rested on the bridge).rickaddict wrote: That ain't no mod, guys! I have two '79's that came to me with the longer bridge height adjustment screws and the tail piece indents drilled straight through to the wood, and I've seen at least 5 other '79's that are the same way. RIC made them that way for a while in '79.
I guess it wasn't a mod after all, was a damn good idea though, that bass sings.MichaelStewart wrote:I also have a 1979 4001 MG that my wife found for me. It had this same MOD! My previous 4001JG was from 1972 had a soild (no holes through to the wood) tailpiece and I had thought that this was a Ric modification. Thanks for clearing that up!rictified wrote:You want to try a simple mod that'll eliminate the worst thing about the bridges (not the tailpieces)? Drill the two indentations for the bridge Allen screws clear through to the wood and put in long Allen screws, the bridge stands up straight no matter how high you have it, that mod was done to my 79 mapleglo 4001 along with a wooden nut and the conversion varnish was taken off the neck during a refret before i bought the bass.
rickaddict wrote:blueflamerick wrote:I think the Hipshot bridge is craptastic. I put one on my 4003 and couldn't wait for a string change to take the lousy thing off. The saddle height adjustment screws on the A & D strings were loose, so by the end of practice, I was getting a terrible fret buzz. When I plucked the G string, the entire saddle moved. I didn't notice any additional sustain and it's ugly. Sure, it's easier to adjust the intonation, but it's not really that difficult to do with a Rick bridge. I didn't care for the additional weight either.
My hipshot bridge is now in a sock wrapped in duct tape under the driver's seat of my car to twart any would-be car jackers.
The Rick tail ain't perfect, but with a little effort I've been able to get all 21 of mine to work just fine. Surprisingly, one of my best sounding Ricks is also the one with the most tail lift, (more than 1/8") my July '73.
The mute also usually needs a little effort to get it to work properly. Yes, its too bad that they don't all work perfectly when bass leaves factory, but all it takes is a little trimming of the mute pad. If the mute pad is ruined, they cost ONE DOLLAR! I haven't fixed all of mine yet, but the few that I have can be raised in between songs in less than 10 seconds. Twist both of the screws forward 6 times..."mute on," twist back 6 times..."mute off." No big deal. No force required. I know how badly they can work when screws are rusty or cross-threaded or when the pad is too long and hits the underside of the tail piece next to the screw, but with a little effort it can be fixed.
And for the record, I'll say this...RIC shouldn't have listened to the whiners back in the 80's. The two extra screws in the tail were a simple, effective and cost-effective solution . If people whined enough in the 80's about those two little screws to get RIC to eliminate them (and return to a tail lift problem), I can't imagine how much people are going to whine about whatever new bridge/tail piece RIC might currently be working on. And likewise, I'm sure that any lever RIC could design to engage the mute would change the look of the tail enough to activate the whiners once again. RIC is between a rock and a hard place.
rictified wrote: You want to try a simple mod that'll eliminate the worst thing about the bridges (not the tailpieces)? Drill the two indentations for the bridge Allen screws clear through to the wood and put in long Allen screws, the bridge stands up straight no matter how high you have it, that mod was done to my 79 mapleglo 4001 along with a wooden nut and the conversion varnish was taken off the neck during a refret before i bought the bass. This is one of the best sounding 4001's I've ever heard.That ain't no mod, guys! I have two '79's that came to me with the longer bridge height adjustment screws and the tail piece indents drilled straight through to the wood, and I've seen at least 5 other '79's that are the same way. RIC made them that way for a while in '79. The other interesting thing I've noticed in '79 (and late '78) is a batch of beige truss covers. I have two and I've seen probably 20 others. Its not faded, its not the result of smoke, they just weren't made in bright white.MichaelStewart wrote: I also have a 1979 4001 MG that my wife found for me. It had this same MOD! My previous 4001JG was from 1972 had a soild (no holes through to the wood) tailpiece and I had thought that this was a Ric modification. Thanks for clearing that up!
No problem, this wasn't aimed at anyone in particular, just I've been here for more than 5 years and this topic is kind of like hayfever after a while, you hate it but know it will come around again. I really can't understand why every body makes such a big deal out of nothing, they usually lift a little bit and then stop depending on the kind of strings you use.whojamfan wrote:Rictified
Sorry to bore you with an issue you have gone over a thousand times before. I just remember reading the thread about how Rick and Hipshot might be making a deal, which to my knowledge, had never been discussed before. I didn't intend for this to be a this is better than that post, I was just interested if anybody knew what that potential deal was about, or why it didn't go down. I figured it was off now that RIC changes Hipshot in to Dipstick on their forum.
!979 was a long time ago and mine haven't ground into the wood at all, the ends of mine and I suspect all the long ones don't have a pencil tip at all, they're almost flat actually. Maple is one of the harder woods.heinpete wrote:I doubt that as the maple wood is much too soft to give a suitable basis for the two tiny bridge allen screws (they also have a kind of pencil tip that grinds into the wood) to raise the bridge in a fixed position. I would fear it will grind deeper into the wood by the time and pressure (strings and hand rested on the bridge).rickaddict wrote: That ain't no mod, guys! I have two '79's that came to me with the longer bridge height adjustment screws and the tail piece indents drilled straight through to the wood, and I've seen at least 5 other '79's that are the same way. RIC made them that way for a while in '79.
When Bob posted this years ago, I drilled out my 2004 bridge recesses and just used the same allen screws - the maple hasn't been dug into with that one yet.rictified wrote:!979 was a long time ago and mine haven't ground into the wood at all, the ends of mine and I suspect all the long ones don't have a pencil tip at all, they're almost flat actually. Maple is one of the harder woods.heinpete wrote:I doubt that as the maple wood is much too soft to give a suitable basis for the two tiny bridge allen screws (they also have a kind of pencil tip that grinds into the wood) to raise the bridge in a fixed position. I would fear it will grind deeper into the wood by the time and pressure (strings and hand rested on the bridge).rickaddict wrote: That ain't no mod, guys! I have two '79's that came to me with the longer bridge height adjustment screws and the tail piece indents drilled straight through to the wood, and I've seen at least 5 other '79's that are the same way. RIC made them that way for a while in '79.
What I can say is if you lift out the bridge assy. from the tailpiece, you will see where the allen screws sit in a tiny recess. Find the drill bit closest in size to the allen screws ( I had access to a drill index of numbered drills) so the hole you drill is just big enough. DO NOT drill it out while on the bass!!!!! Remove the tailpiece and do it away from the instrument. I used a drill press as one was available. You will notice more sustain and fuller lower notes doing this.