Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

My new 4003FG arrived today, and the neck pickup(higain) is loose and moves in the surround.Is that normal?I would think that will buzz out the sound of some notes.

Are you saying that the bobbin floats around inside the chrome surround? If that is the case, you fix it this way.

1) Lay the bass on a soft, clean surface like a towel or pad.

2) Remove the pickguard screws.

3) Carefully lift the pickguard up slightly and guide it out from under the strings on the G string side. You can remove the strings first if you want.

4) Turn the guard assembly over and lay it over the body. Put a soft rag over the finish before you lay the guard down.

5) Carefully remove the pickup adjuster screws and take the pickup out of the guard.

6) You can now check the tightness of the 4 corner screws that hold the pickup together. That is probably where the problem is.

7) Once they are snugged up, reinstall the pickup in the guard and reassemble the bass.

Thanks for the step by step, I'll do it that way, I will have to drop the strings (which is easy) as I also have to tweak the other pickup to liven up the G string, it's lower in volume.That will be the second adjustment on that , as the A and D poles were screwed out way too far requiring a first adjustment.That was quite complicated due to tight quarters under the pickup cover.
I shouldn't have had these issues with a spanky new Ric, but it happened anyway.

The A and D are higher to follow the curve of the fingerboard. Try adjusting screws at either end of the pickup to tweak the height. The poles should be ok the way they are.

Those were MUCH higher than just tracking the fretboard radius.The poles were NOT ok the way they were.
Again, thank you for the advice re: neck pup, I will try that this weekend.