Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I know the hipshot replacement bridge has been discussed before but I can't seem to find the answer to my question.... will the hipshot bridge fit on a 4001C64?
is there any drilling or alinement required?

I believe the hipshot has five screws, and the C64 has just three. I guess you could just use three screws in the hipshot.

I'd use a 5-screw tail from a 4003 if lift is your problem. The C64 is heavy enough already with the horseshoe!

Email returned.

thanks for the replies.
I found out that the answer is not really, the HIPSHOT bridge has four mounting screws to the 401C64's three. So my choice would be just use two screws which I don't really feel comfortable about because 1) the weight and 2) the distance between the flat bottom of the replacement bridge and the routing that the original fits in. I would rather have a more positive contact with the body.
the other choice would be to drill two holes for the HIPSHOT and I'm just not ready to do that just yet... heck I haven't even had the bass a year.
so I'll stick with the original.
I was trying to fix the action above the 12th fret, the neck is near flat and the bridge is all the way down. what is the preferred fix for this, grinding down the back side of the bridge assembly so it sits lower? is there something else I should look at?

I wouldn't be too concerned about two extra screw holes under the bridge, go for it.

I had some fairly bad lift on my C64 and did replace it with a Hipshot and drilled the extra holes. I like the Hipshot for its functional features like individual string height adjustment and ease of intonation, BUT it made the bass way too heavy. So, I straightened the original tailpiece and reinstalled it (the extra holes are completely covered). At the same time, I switched to TI Jazz Flats. At present there is still a slight lift, but the TI's are giving me exactly the sound I was looking for. In fact, the C64 is now my favorite.

Bottom line -- there is no problem with trying the Hipshot, but if the maple in your bass came from the petrified forest as mine did, you will have one seriously heavy instrument.

Just what does the Hipshot bridge weigh?

I think it is about 1 lb.