Newbie, 75'er 4000 and a stupid question

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palmann
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Newbie, 75'er 4000 and a stupid question

Post by palmann »

Hi,

my Name is Pablo, I'm living in Germany and just bought a 4000 for a ridiculous low price. If you'd ask me week ago I'd never thought I'll play a Rickenbacker ever, but then I stumbled across this beautiful and absolutely great sounding instrument. I just love it for it's simplicity and it's great tone.

A few years back I had the chance to play a 400x (unfortunately don't remember the exact name) 8-String, but this specimen had the PU cover on it and since it's my favourite finger position it did not fell comfortable for me at all.

On the bass I just bought the pickup cover is missing, which perhaps was the reason I liked and bought it.

Well enough rambling, I've got a stupid question. I searched in the forum but it seems I'm the only one not understanding it. How do you adjust the intonation with this bass bridge? Do you have to remove the strings? It's just that I cannot use my screwdriver in the correct angle, because of the bridge. Is there any special tool?

See the bass in the attachment.

Gruesse, Pablo


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jwr2

Post by jwr2 »

the only dumb question it the one not asked ...

most bass players don't like covers ... but many do ... you can get one for a 4003 and install it yourself ... you can get one from www.rickenbacker.com for about $10 USD ...
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rictified
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Post by rictified »

Hi Pablo, every Ric bass I've ever owned has had the cover taken off immediately, I can't play with those things either.
To answer your question get a small Phillips head screwdriver that will fit into the intonation screws but is large enough so that it won't strip the screws. I loosen only the string I am adjusting especially if I am pulling the saddle back to lengthen the string (if it is playing increasingly sharp up the neck). I put the screwdriver in as straight as I can get it right above the tailpiece and make sure I use enough pressure so I don't strip the screw. The important thing is to loosen the string before you turn the screw. Tighten again and check it, repeat until it is perfect.
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rikk
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Post by rikk »

Pablo, Welcome to the forum and nice bass!
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loendmaestro
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Post by loendmaestro »

Nice axe Pablo!
Also there are some who replace the intonation screws with allen wrench type screws. Rick bass bridges are notoriously difficult to intonate - have patience!
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jnbass
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Post by jnbass »

hey that pic was taken on Jeff's carpet...
Buy it before someone else does
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ken_j
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Post by ken_j »

Welcome to the forum Pablo.
"The best things in life aren't things."
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jwr2

Post by jwr2 »

rugs and Rics ... a nice combo ...

to really adjust the intonation screws you may have to remove the bridge from the tailpiece ... I usually put in allen head screws then I can do some adjusting without removing the bridge ...
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palmann
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Post by palmann »

Thanks for the greetings and for your help.

Well, replacing these screws with allen head screws seems to be a very good suggestion. Honestly I don't have a clue where to get them. I live in Metricland and I don't know if they are commonly available, but I'll see.

The other thing I read a lot about is adjusting the truss rod. Is there some tutorial or posting available, where it's explained? I always read that it's hard to do, but didn't find a basic description. I downloaded the manual on the rickenbacker.com page and it says that you should ,,move the neck manually'' but I cannot imagine what that exactly means.

Does it mean you have to loosen the truss rods, bend the neck (how far, you've got no orientation?) an tighten them, if you think the neck has the correct adjustment?

This all seems a little complicated to me, so it's different from adjusting the neck on a Precision, for example?

Guess it'll take some time for me to find out... :-}

Gruesse, Pablo
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ben_brown
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Post by ben_brown »

RugRicks!...That could be a new cartoon!! :D
'73 4001 MG '88 4003S JG '89 4003S FG '91 4003S MG
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lars
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Post by lars »

Welcome!
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johnallg
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Post by johnallg »

Pablo - you move the neck where you want it to end up, hold it there, and adjust the rod(s) to achieve that. I've read not more then a 1/4 turn at a time and then let it settle. If you just try to use the rods to move the neck you will likely pop the fretboard by the nut. Search these forums and the RIC corporate forums for more info on this.

Oh, and welcome! Nice 4000!
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rictified
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Post by rictified »

I've owned 4001's for years and never had problems with the adjustment screws but I take my time and do it like I wrote before, I agree they can be a pain though.

My take on manually moving the neck to where you want it that it is Rickenbacker's way of explaining that you have to take the forward pull of the strings off of the neck when you adjust a pre-1984 Ric.
I have a method that works well for me:

I take off the truss rod cover, get my 1/4" nutdriver (don't know what that would be in mm) stand up the bass and put the bottom of it on a rug with my right foot on the rug in front of it and my left knee behind the neck-body joint. (I am right handed) I then pull the neck back a little bit with my left hand on the nut to relieve the pressure of the strings (makes them tighter but also takes the pressure off and do not detune) and then turn the truss rods nuts with my right hand with the nut driver. I turn them until they start to get hard to turn but I don't force anything. I then let go of the neck, sight down the neck using the strings as a straight edge and if it looks good I will then play it, if everything is good I will leave the TRC off and pick it up several times over the next few days to see if it changes, if not I put the TRC back on. If it has a pronounced bow in it it may take some time and several attempts to straighten it out, sometimes months if it is really bowed, but you can get just about any neck straight with patience. If the truss rods ends are bent down into the wood, put a clamp over the nut and back of the neck and gently pry them up enough to get a nut driver on them then loosen them, you use the clamp so the neck won't split.
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palmann
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Post by palmann »

Bob, John and others,

thanks very much, now I start to understand. It's mainly a language problem, some sentences and words are a little hard for me to understand, but now I see. For the record, someone posted this description in an other forum:
http://www.joeysbassnotes.com/Rick%20maint.htm#tra

For now I try to get the tools and go about it really slow.

Thanks once again. :-)

Gruesse, Pablo


P.S.: I want to play it nooooow. It's so hard to be patient... ;-)
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jps
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Post by jps »

Pablo,

Come to the 75th anniversary celebrations in Santa Ana and we can show you how to adjust your bass!
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