Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Look closely at this picture: download/file.php?id=46949&mode=view

From this picture, it looks like the pickup is off-center by only a small fraction. I think if the strings were set in the middle of the bridge saddles it would be more apparent.

...I wouldn't judge this w/o seeing the pole pieces of the bridge PU and how they align to the strings...
...anyway if it is not 100% then this adds to the vintage-look I guess , only price wise it is quite a bit too steep, but it obviously sells nevertheless...

Hmm ... I think the price of this one just went up!

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=411465#unread

teeder wrote:Hmm ... I think the price of this one just went up!

viewtopic.php?f=6&t=411465#unread

NOW...THAT is a bass worth buying!!!!!!

Yes, in a nutshell this is the MAIN problem with my bass which will be shipped back tomorrow. thank you for cutting through all my wordy explainations.

D&G strings are way off of the centre here, who is checking these instruments before they leave Rickenbacker??

I really cant believe this thread is still alive. Unless you can take all 50 instruments and evaluate each and every one, I really don't think you can judge the whole lot. I've never bought a bass, Rickenbacker or otherwise, that I didn't have to do some kind of tweak to make it perfect in my eyes. I'll admit, the price tag is pretty hefty, but with this type of negativity, I'm pretty sure we'll never ever see a V68 come to light.

If you don't like it, don't buy it. But it is a special run Rickenbacker that will soon be gone forever.

Scott, the point is they are leaving the factory in a badly set up condition, that's not good enough at this price point. i have purchased standard 4003's in the past and because of my love for the brand, i ignored the faults that should not have been there eg; bubbling chrome work on tailpiece, cracked paint on jetglo finish, dud E strings, tail lift on new basses !!! you can only put up with these things for so long , to me someone is not doing their job and in turn this is causing a lot of damage to the Rickenbacker brand. it was very bad around 2012, my newest bass a Walnut was pretty much spot on, so it can be done , quality control needs to be looked at.

+1. I too have owned basses bought new with all of the issues that George refers to in the above post.

Saying that, my current 4003, a 2013, is a flawless instrument.

I can identify with the OPs complaints, as I've had my share of issues with Rickenbacker. That said, I was able to buy one of the 15 SnoGlo 4003's and it played perfect right out of the box. FWIW.

gggoattt wrote:I was looking at the bass linked below with what looks like (in the pictures at least) to be a more severe example of the issues with the bass posted above. Is it just me or is the neck pickup extremely off-center compared to the neck? It looks as if the pickup is waaaaay too close to the lower horn; if you follow the edges of the neck down you will see it doesn't line up whatsoever to the neck pickup. Also, the tailpiece seems slightly crooked. But, look at the bottom strap button; it is nowhere near the center of the bridge. So, either the strap button is off center (no biggie), or more likely the bridge (and hence, everything else) is completely off. Any ideas?

Here is a link, make sure you zoom up on the picture:
http://platinum.guitarcenter.com/platin ... 5_b_lg.jpg

Jeff, I saw that too. I realize that judging angles from a foto is difficult and risky but the neck pup does appear to be shifted a bit. On occasion I've used photogrammetry to sort out serious/fatal accidents, I'm not going to even attempt that here!! I also realize that it's best to have the string centered on the pole piece but there has to be a happy medium with where the string sits on the neck. I'm OK with off center cut saddles as long as the strings sit well on the neck and pass in close proximity of the pole piece. While I can't tell where the string is in relation to the pole pieces, I imagine it is real close since the pole magnets on the RIHS are huge!

Would I like to see RIC release a v68 bass?? Damn straight I would! That being said, unless it had the proper headstock, and the fretboard extend onto the body, as well as the 1968 super thin neck, I'd probably be disappointed.

Sepp

When you think about it, having everything align perfectly on the typical Rick bass is a bit of a miracle. The pickguards are prefabricated with a cavity for the neck pickup; there's very little (if any) room for the pickup to move in that cavity. So now the pickguard with its fixed neck pickup must be mounted just so to have the pickup centered on the neck. But then you also have to watch out for the pickguard colliding with the treble-pickup surround, plus it must cover the pre-drilled cavity for the controls and wiring, and have mounting screws going through the predrilled mounting holes "hit wood" when the pickguard is mounted. Now you've got the bridge pickup which sits in an oversize cavity, but it is restricted in its position by its mount. Then there is the tailpiece which might be aligned cattywumpus, and it's a miracle when it all works out. And the nut. And all you need is to have the neck "trend" to one side or the other a bit and everything goes to hell. That could happen in time for the assembler to adjust for it, or it may happen a day/week/month later. Really about the only easy adjustment after assembly would be the cutting (or recutting) of the grooves in the bridge saddles by the user to correct for misalignment. And looking at the photos linked to above, it seems to me that would be the easy fix. Hand me that file -- zip, zip, plink -- zip, zip, plink. Aah. Now it looks better and should play better for those who would notice.

bassduke49 wrote:When you think about it, having everything align perfectly on the typical Rick bass is a bit of a miracle. The pickguards are prefabricated with a cavity for the neck pickup; there's very little (if any) room for the pickup to move in that cavity. So now the pickguard with its fixed neck pickup must be mounted just so to have the pickup centered on the neck. But then you also have to watch out for the pickguard colliding with the treble-pickup surround, plus it must cover the pre-drilled cavity for the controls and wiring, and have mounting screws going through the predrilled mounting holes "hit wood" when the pickguard is mounted. Now you've got the bridge pickup which sits in an oversize cavity, but it is restricted in its position by its mount. Then there is the tailpiece which might be aligned cattywumpus, and it's a miracle when it all works out. And the nut. And all you need is to have the neck "trend" to one side or the other a bit and everything goes to hell. That could happen in time for the assembler to adjust for it, or it may happen a day/week/month later. Really about the only easy adjustment after assembly would be the cutting (or recutting) of the grooves in the bridge saddles by the user to correct for misalignment. And looking at the photos linked to above, it seems to me that would be the easy fix. Hand me that file -- zip, zip, plink -- zip, zip, plink. Aah. Now it looks better and should play better for those who would notice.

Bit of a stretch, Paul. I wouldn't call it a miracle, it's more like craftsmanship.

RIC will address the issue, if there is indeed one, with the high standard that we have all come to appreciate....

40 year Rick player and still going...

Here's my '73... neck pickup is way off center. I should blame the replacement pickguard. But with the toaster having 6 polepieces, this doesn't matter at all to the sound. No volume drop when bending, and even response across all 4 strings.