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Anatomy Of A Rickenbacker Bass Part 7 - The Tailpieces


Early Tailpieces

From 1957 to 1961, the tailpiece assembly of Rickenbacker basses was the same stamped steel unit found on solid body Rickenbacker guitars. The base plate bears the evidence showing slots for six string balls and somewhat awkward angles for bass strings to reach them. The early bridge was a forerunner to bridges used later on the 4005.

Here is a detail shot of the early tailpiece as used on a 1959 4000. The bass and the photo belong to Graham Griffiths.
Normally the tailpieces of these basses are hidden by a sliding cover that contains a foam mute. When moved forward, the mute is positioned over the strings. The plexiglas rails on either side of the tailpiece held the mute cover in place and allowed it to slide as needed.

Here another of Graham's basses, also a '59. Notice the different bridge saddles on this example. I assume both sets of saddles are original and their differences are just the evolution of the 4000 series.

Cast Aluminum

When the 4001 was introduced in 1961, it featured a new cast aluminum tailpiece. The cast tailpiece is probably the first bit of true bass hardware manufactured by Rickenbacker. These feather-light parts were produced across the parking lot in the Electro String factory. The former employees with whom I have spoken, called the process sand casting. Richard Burke described the process as having taken place in a sand table (a sand box on legs) and was done as follows. The lower part of the mold was pressed into damp sand and a flat steel bar called a keeper was pushed through a slot in the lower mold and deep into the sand. If you have ever wondered, the metal displaced by the keeper is what is responsible for the gap tooth appearance of the old tailpieces. The lower mold was then lifted out leaving the keeper in place to align the upper mold. Molten aluminum was poured into an opening in the upper mold filling the space below. Richard said that everyone hated doing this work as it was very hot (aluminum melts at 1220 degrees F) and somewhat dangerous. Once cooled, the rough casting was removed from the sand. Quite ugly at this point the castings required substantial work before they were presentable. Once cleaned and polished they were ready for plating. I don't know if they were plated on site or shipped out. The aluminum tailpieces are very rigid and require only three nicely hidden mounting screws to secure them to the body. The mute adjusters are the same knurled thumb screws used as strap buttons.

The design of the new tailpiece was sleek and sculptural but not perfectly functional. The intonation adjusting screws are very difficult if not impossible to reach and mute operation is awkward at best. Despite this, once setup, the bridge and tailpiece are solid and rattle free.



An Early Cast Aluminum Tailpiece

The bridges are also plated cast aluminum and feature aluminum string saddles. Though very similar in appearance the parts from the old and new style tailpieces are not interchangeable.
Cast Zinc

Rickenbacker stopped making aluminum tailpieces sometime in 1972, opting instead to outsource production to another company (Schaller?). At that time the casting metal was switched to zinc. No mechanical improvements were made beyond the metal. The intonation screws were still difficult to reach on most basses and the mutes were no easier to adjust. The fit of the bridge into the tailpiece is a bit looser that the aluminum version allowing the bridge to lean back sometimes requiring manual correction.

Typical 70's Vintage tailpieces
Being more than twice the density of aluminum, the zinc versions had to be cast differently. The voids and ribbing evident on the underside of the casting help keep the weight down without sacrificing strength . Despite the designer's best efforts the zinc tailpieces sometimes bend upward with the pull of the strings. See the section on tailpiece lift for more information. The first zinc tailpieces were secured by five screws with two added to the original arrangement and placed just behind the bridge.

The bridges and saddles are also cast zinc. The bridges are chrome plated to match the rest of the tailpiece but the saddles are left plain.

The model 4003 was introduced with a seven screw tailpiece adding two screws at the rear corners. The two extra screws provided the extra support needed to prevented tailpiece lift. More on that later.

The Seven Screw Tailpiece

Variations

The 4001V63 required an approximation of the original gap toothed look of the aluminum tailpieces so Rickenbacker obliged by cutting out the centers of standard zinc units before plating. This gives the model a more authentic look. The same tailpiece has since been used on the 4001CS and the 4001C64 models.

Vintage Reissue Tailpiece
The addition of the 4003S/5 called for a reworking of the standard zinc tailpiece. The string channels over the mute were completely removed and the string holes at the block were enlarged to form a single opening on the early examples. Later versions were only cut out in the center. Also, the standard cast zinc bridge was replaced with one machined from a solid piece of metal plated to match the tailpiece. The saddles are slightly narrower to fit in the same space as the four string saddles.

Late Five String tailpiece
A similar approach was used on the 4008 except the mute area was left untouched (see the seven screw model above). The 4003S/8 uses a standard seven screw tailpiece with 4 extra string holes drilled in the end. This application does not produce good intonation as the string pairs share a saddle.



Black Trim

Unplated tailpieces were powder coated for black trim applications. Apparently the heat applied during the process weakened the zinc a bit.

Black Trim tailpiece In recent years, Rickenbacker returned to the five screw design by adding some metal to the sides and ribs increasing the overall stiffness of the tailpiece.

ABM tailpieces

The 4004C departed from tradition by using a stock bridge / tailpiece made by ABM. This marks only the second time Rickenbacker used an off the shelf bass bridge. The first being a similar tailpiece on the 2000 series. The ABM design features adjustable string spacing and easy access intonation screws. The overall design is good and quite serviceable. Unfortunately the ABM is a bit too tall for players wanting really low action. Also, the spacing adjusters tend to wander on their own and require a little manual intervention to stay in place. Because of these reasons, many players replace the stock tailpiece with a Hipshot model. I understand the more recent 4004 models feature a different tailpiece. I don't have any practical experience with them so please post any pertinent information and photos below.

ABM On A 4004C


Tailpiece Lift

Certain conditions can cause the five screw tailpiece to lift at the end. Many basses show some degree of lift but the condition is seldom serious. Real tailpiece lift is usually caused by a bad fit between the tailpiece and the body of the bass. The body is routed away under the tailpiece to allow for the bridge and the mute to sit at the proper height relative the end of the neck. On some basses the space cut under the bridge is a little too deep. When the three screws under the bridge are tightened too much the tailpiece is pulled down in the center a little allowing the string pull to start working on bending the tail piece. Most if the time lift is stable and can be ignored. This is my '80 4001. This lift as been present since I bought it back in '81 and has not increased at all in that time.
This is severe lift that has actually caused finish damage.
This problem generally does not occur on newer basses. CNC cut instruments are quite consistent and the parts fit snuggly. On older instruments with no or slight lift be sure to set the two rear screws before the three under the bridge. The three under then bridge should just be snug and not over-tight.

Another approach is to fill the gap under the tailpiece bridge recess. The easiest way to do this is to stack some washers around the bridge screws between the wood and the bottom of the tailpiece until the space is filled. Two or three is all it takes most of the time. I have made maple shims that fit neatly in the space. One interesting side-effect of this is better acoustic coupling of the tailpiece and body. You may notice improved sustain and low-end. Tailpieces can be straightened but I have not worked out a reliable way of doing that yet.

I've been waiting for this thread, Ted! Cool!!!
The printer is on...

I am glad you are enjoying them Paul. There are only five more topics to cover from my original list.

Double post

rickfan60 wrote: The 4001V63 required an approximation of the original gap toothed look of the aluminum tailpieces so Rickenbacker obliged by cutting out the centers of standard zinc units before plating. This gives the model a more authentic look. The same tailpiece has since been used on the 4001CS and the 4001C64 models.

While the C64 tailpieces are made in this fashion, they only use 3 mounting screws as per the 60's originals, wheras the V63 had 5.....

Did all C64s get the three screw model, John?

I believe that the most recent 4004 basses have a tailpiece made by Schaller.

I had heard that Paul but did not know if it is true. Thanks for the info!

My Nov. 2008 4004Cii has what looks to be a Schaller bridge on it, at least it looks exactly like the pictures I've seen of them.

rickfan60 wrote:Did all C64s get the three screw model, John?

Ted, I am not sure about the C64S, but the C64 was a three-screw type. Maybe a C64S owner will chime in....

leftybass wrote:

rickfan60 wrote:Did all C64s get the three screw model, John?

Ted, I am not sure about the C64S, but the C64 was a three-screw type. Maybe a C64S owner will chime in....

http://rickresource.com/register/user_i ... llsize.jpg

C64S models got the 5-screw tail with no gap as the model is intended to be a representation of Sir Paul's bass (which got a new tailpiece some time in the mid 1970's).

Aah...there ya go.