Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

After about ten years of wanting a rickenbacker, i broke down and bought one a month ago. I found it used at Steve's Music shop in toronto. It was in PERFECT shape; however, during my first band practice i noticed a buzz around fret 17.

When my recording-studio-guy-friend heard this bass he freaked. He said it is the best thing he has ever heard with four strings - something i had known for years. He was dying to record it.

So i took it back to the music store i bought it at to get rid of the buzz as well as some crackling i was getting from the output. I believe the bass is a 1999 4003, so i did find it odd that the inputs were crackling, but that is besides the point.

Two days later I get a call from the store saying that when the tech tightened the truss rod, it snapped. They asked if i wanted another bass - but they dont have any rickenbackers left. I dont want anything else.

Now I have to ask for anyone's advice on what to do next. The store seems to be taking most of the responsibility for this, and have promised to contact rickenbacker for warranty info and/or repair possibilities. Otherwise i can basically pick out another bass of equal value - which i dont really want to do.
Is this something that can be properly repaired without changing the instrument dramatically? Should i be looking for a new bass?
Is it going to cost me an arm and a leg? i am a student who doesnt have too much money to throw around.
Even if i do get rickenbacker to fix it, will it take years - i have heard they are a very slow company.

Please, i need any advice i can get.

thanks so much.

Hello Chris,
I can't blame you for not wanting another bass, RICs are truely the best sounding bass on the planet! You can order truss rods from Mike Parks @ www.the-music-connection.com. I'm not sure of the price. You can have these shipped to you and have your music store install them if you wish. If you were to go through the factory it would probably take a long time, plus the cost of shipping back and forth from Canada would probably be expensive. I hope this info is helpful. HOLD ON TO THAT RIC!!!

You might want to check out Songbird Music on Queen St West. They deal in used vintage instruments for the most part, and often have a 4001 or 4003 available for sale. They can be a bit pricy but it's worth taking a look.
Good luck.

You might want to check out Capsule Music just down the street from Steve's. They are located at 921 Queen St West. The store is owned by Mark and Peter Kesper, and they deal in used vintage instruments for the most part, and generally have a 4001 or 4003 available for sale.
Mark and Peter are great guys to deal with give them a call at (416) 203-0202 to see what they have available.
Good luck.

Crackeling outputs ... this is easy to fix ... I've seen this on a few Rics ... I usually remove both jacks and put in 2 mono outputs ... then if one goes bad you still have the other ... plus I hate ric-o-sound ...

Be careful who you let work on your Ric ... I do all of my own work on Rics ... and even do some work for others occaisionally ... I have a bass tech but is for helping with those fender bolt on neck basses ... I never can get the fenders to play and sound as good as the Ric's.

Before you adjust the truss rod try a bridge adjustment ... the 4003 truss rod is pretty easy to adjust ... I can't imagine someone snapping it off ... I have adjusted several 4003's and it is easier than a fender.

Wait a minute ... you said 17th fret ...

ONLY AN IDIOT WOULD ADJUST THE TRUSS FOR BUZZ ON THE 17TH FRET!!!!! that is almost into the body ... the neck joins the body at the 20th fret ... that is like saying you G string is sharp so you increase tension on your E string to bring it back to pitch ... then you pop the E string ... the bass tech at that store is incompetent ...

When I got my 4004L I had buzz on the 18th or 19th fret so I took a grind stone and ground off a little metal from the fret and the buzz went away ... this is called fret leveling ... but before doing this the first adjustment would be the bridge ...

If it were me, I wouldn't be calling that guy a "Tech". Obviously, he doesn't know how to tighten truss rods. Do you know how hard you must crank down on them to snap them?

There's a tech at the Twelth Fret on the Danforth who has worked on my 73 4001. He does great work and actually understands Rickenbackers! I think his name is Doug, but don't hold me to that.

Doug Harrison is the owner of the repair shop located in the Twelfth Fret. He has worked on my 73 4001 in the past and knows his stuff. He can be reached at (416) 423-1554.

Thanks for all of the advice so far.

I was wondering myself why she (the tech at steve's) would be adjusting the truss rod to get rid of a buzz on fret 17. Could she have been trying to improve the action? The action was fine when i brought it in - much nicer than most other basses i've tried.

As i understand, the truss rod snapped around the middle of the neck. I guess the problem is that they cannot get the old truss rod out to get a new one in. Is this possible?

Thanks Joe, i'm going to drive around toronto and check the shops you suggested.

Christopher, the truss rods are removable, unlike most other basses. I doubt that they can't get the broken piece out, they probably are just unaware the rods are removable. But if they don't know that, they have no business working on it. Of course, you've already found that out the hard way!

I would take it to one of the techs already mentioned, hopefully one of them is an authorized RIC dealer who can order a replacement rod. And make sure Steve's reimburses you for all your costs. Good luck!

the neck may still be playable ... I was adjusting a 4003 and one of the truss rods had a loose nut on the end ... that's right it wasn't even tightened down at all and it played pretty good that way ... of course it was a little better when adjusted ... here's the real kicker ... it was a 4003s5 ... and 1 truss rod was holding it in place ...

Yes, and I would get it in writing that they are going to pay for any work it needs, that is ALL their fault, not most, you'd have to be an idiot to snap a 4003 truss rod. Sometimes when these things have not had their necks adjusted for a long time, the neck bows near the body and this is almost impossible to get out with the truss rods which may be why the tech (?) snapped it, if that is the case you may have a problem, if they broke one on you and maybe sold you a defective one then they owe you a Ric, not just anything of equal value. Let the tech decide for you (in another store who knows Rics)

I've run into the crackling output problem before on some 4001/4003 basses, and it seemed to me that it was due to the input jacks having (1) their tangs (or whatever the term is for the inner piece that contacts the tip of the 1/4" plug) bent from repeated insertions of the jack, or (2) the center contact, around the hole where the plug goes in and contacts the jack with its base (no pun intended), had enough corrosion built up on it over time to make a poor-quality electrical connection between jack and plug. [The tang may also exhibit the latter problem as well.]

The fixes for these should be obvious: bend the tang back into firm contact with the tip, and clean the metal contact points in the jack. I have a 4001 Ruby that I need to do this on because I got that crackling noise the last time I plugged it into an amp.

One of my 4001's does this and it's driving me crazy, I've bent, cleaned, etc. and I cannot for the life of me figure it out. This bass is well worn so I'm wondering if the 1/4" hole itself has gotten to the point of that is just worn out. When I wiggle the jack it actually moves back and forth a little bit and I think the noise comes from the contact (the one that closes when a cord is plugged in). I think it is time for a new jack, does anyone know if the new ones are interchangable with the 4001 jacks?
Also the cord will not stay all the way in, it's out a fraction of an inch, when I push it all the way in and wiggle it, I get no noise.