Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi gang - first time posting, so be gentle.

Four months in and I'm loving my Jetglo 4003. However, as I get to know it better, I'm noticing a few... quirks. Specifically, it seems that the A and D strings are "hotter" signal-wise than the E and G. Also, I've noticed a couple of Fenderesque dead spots, mainly in the 7th to 10th fret range of the D and G strings. Lastly, I noticed that the pole pieces appear to be adjusted to a tighter radius than the fretboard, at least to the naked eye.

Disclosure: I have removed the bridge pickup cover, as so many folks do. I also replaced the white pickguard with a black Pickguardian one. Both of these actions necessitated pickup height adjustment; I thought I'd measured the pre-mod heights accurately, but now I'm second-guessing.

Are the pickups too close, thereby slowing the strings down in spots? Is the nut cut too high? What am I missing?

Basically, I'm asking for suggestions on set-up (action, string height, pickup height) for 105-85-65-45 roundwounds, fairly aggressive pick playing. If the nut needs attention, if I need to move pickups higher/lower, etc. Please advise.

Grazie -

Welcome to the Forum, Chris. Although I own a bunch of basses, I am primarily a rhythm player and just a hack bass player, so I can't help you out myself.

I have put a cross-thread under the bass section, so hopefully some of the expert bass players will see it over there and can help you out.

I don't know what year your bass was built but there is one thing I can think of that might help. The bobbins on the treble pickups are not necessarily symmetrical. For many years (and possibly still) the E and G pole pieces were NOT the same distance from the center of the bobbin. So, if you inadvertantly reverse the bobbin (i.e. while removing the pickup cover), the A and D poles will be close to right but the E and G poles may not be directly under the strings. For your reference, the E pole is closer to the edge of the bobbin top than is the G pole.

If you live anywhere near southeast Michigan then you are welcome to come by my workshop (basement) and I can setup the bass ... if not then I can give you information here ...

what makes for a good setup ...

1 - a flat neck ... adjust the truss rods to make the neck flat
2 - adjust the nut most brand new rics have the nut set a little to high ... you can either sand the bottom of the nut down or cut the grooves deeper
3 - adjust the bridge ... the ric bridge tailpiece looks beautiful, but it is cumbersome to adjust.
4 - the iron slug polepieces can be adjusted with a pair of vice grips ... there are twisted spiral threads on these so if you pull up and twist left they will come out and if you push down and twist right they will go down ... or if you like right = cw and left = ccw ... also these polepieces are made of soft iron and the mushroom top can be sheared off
5 - the pickups adjust up and down ... I find that the pickups should be closer to the D and G strings ... especially on the neck pickup ... i like to get them as close as possible but not close enough to hit the strings ...
6 - Use compression ... I would not even consider playing my ric without compression ... actually I use the bass pod ... so I add compression and distortion ...
7 - try a different set of strings ...

Ted - you are absolutely right about the poles being a certain way round. I read your post then went to check my 02' 4003 because the G pole never quite lined up with the string. I flipped the pickup around and yup, the poles line up correctly. the bass is more balanced now.

Cool, I am glad that worked for you Owen. It is a very common problem because, at a glance the pickup appears symmetrical. Many people take their covers off and in the process turn the pickup around.

yep thats exactly what happened - put it back wrong about a year ago. My E string still has slightly lower output than it should (or perhaps my A is too loud i dont know)

If you are careful, it is possible to adjust the pole height. The slugs have steep splines that act like threads to hold them into the bobbin. If you grab the top with a tiny strap wrench or a pair of pliers, you can twist them up and down. Pliers may mar the pole so use a rag to protect it. It is possible that your A pole is slightly too high and is hearing the string too well.

Ted im not actually convinced that its so much a pickup issue -

for example i have a Fender P that has a slightly weaker A string when compared to the others. Obviously with the Pickup on a precision you can tilt the A side of the lower pickup halve closer to the string so i can compensate. The bass has had 2 different pickups, countless types of strings, different adjustments over the years and the A is always weaker.

The 4003 A string sounds more "alive" acoustically, and the E duller ,which bothers me as i have carefully checked all adjustments, nut, saddle, different strings, its always like this.

My other 4003 has no such issues and is well balanced.

It could be a matter of resonance.

Owen: Can you hear the difference on all notes on the E string? Do you hear the difference after you change strings? Does it happen in all three pickup switch positions?

the 4003 actually resonates better with a 5th string added ...

You should try one of those "Fatfingers" (i think that's the name)...it's a clip-on chunk of metal that goes on your headstock, adding mass to a specific point to eliminate dead spots, etc. Try moving it around different locations, maybe it could make a difference.