Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

...Or How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love The Rickenbacker Bass Bridge

I've been meaning to post this one for a while. I know there's been a lot written about the 4003's bridge intonation strengths/weaknesses; if this has already been covered, my apologies (I didn't find anything like this in my Search tries).

This is how I created a tool to help me intonate my beloved 4003's. I'm not recommending this for anyone at all (it's actually not particularly safe), I'm just showing what's worked okay for me:

1) I started with a phillips-head screwdriver and a reasonably heavy-duty steel vice:



2) I mounted the screwdriver in the vice, clamped near the tip, and proceed to very carefully bend the screwdriver:



3) When I was done, it went okay, and the screwdriver looked like this:



4) See how it meets the space requirements to turn the bridge adjustment screws on my 4003:



5) The downside was a dimple on my steel vice:



Creating the tool helped me to intonate the 4003 with the strings still on, for just a few bucks; I hadn't found any other tools that would do that. If they are out there, perhaps someone could post them. My mapleglo '00 was acutally right on on 3 of the 4 strings, and just a little out on the other.

Great idea! I'll give it a try.

Cool, Ilan. It worked very simply for me. Just be careful with bending the screwdriver, okay? (I have memories of shop class, where they stressed over and over again what screwdrivers were and were not meant for).

If you have doubts, send an email to the address on my profile, and I will help you out.

- Dean

HEAT IT UP!
Sorry... I just wanted to find some way to throw fire into the mix....
Metal does bend easier when its heated up tho. I dont really know much about at what temp but.... I know it does If nothing else you made it funner(or lack of a real word)

Is there really no "ready-made" bent-shaft phillips-head screwdriver available?

(Man, that's a hyphen-filled sentence!)

That type of driver is sold by most autoparts stores.I guess that's a moot point now but MAC,Craftsman ect.make them in different sizes.
Ah well.How often do you get to bend a screwdriver on purpose,use a steel vise and fix intonation on a Rickenbacker bass in one setting ?
Bill

Actually, I haven't seen a commercially available tool that will meet this task exactly. Bill, your observation is agreed and enjoyed....

The easy way is to go to your local tool shop and buy these...

I fixed my intonation problems by getting one of these:


http://www.guitarpartsresource.com/5RK400C.jpg

<double post>

Heh heh heh, that's one way to do it!

I think they are basically doorknob tools...they work great.

It's called an "offset" screwdriver. I routed a little cavity at the base of the neck of my J bass so I could use one to get at the truss rod, which has it's adjustment screw at the bas of the neck, not at the headstock.

Yes, they are very helpful with doorknobs, too!

or just get some of these ...

Ah yes Jeff, but you still have the problem of getting the old ones out in the first place without resorting to surgery! (200 eh? you doing 50 basses? just remembered 40 basses I mean!).