Hipshot bridge and tuners for 4003

[topshed34a]

Fellow Rickoholics
I know this has been probably been brought up so many times but was wondering a couple of things
1) Are the replacment Hipshot machine heads better than the Ric version

2) The hipshot bridge replacement, there are two types Brass and Alluminum. Is one better than the other.

Whilst the original Ric bridge looks great I can see they would be a bit difficult to adjust and also I notice that the rear of the Ric bridge does not fit hard up against the body as I can insert a piece of paper between it and the body.
I have been thinking of buying the hipshot bridge so any opinions from those who have would also be valued. Im wondering will my Ric sound different if I swap over the bridge.
I currently have the OEM Ric strings on it and will probably change to Rotosound soon or even a set of D Adario flat wounds.
Regards
Steve

[VRICKY63]

I have used both brass and aluminum Hipshot tails. I liked the aluminum for less weight and traditional tone. They are both very good.

[cassius987]

I like Hipshot ultralight tuners. I put them on my 2008 Ric because it had a dead spot and they cured it and cleaned the tone up. The tuners fit under the stock tuner footprint so it's a reversible-ish mod--if you went back to stock you wouldn't know any work had been done.

I did not, for the record, install the top part of the two-piece tuner. I kept the stock ferrule and installed only the bottom half of the hipshot tuner, the meat and potatoes of it.

As for the Hipshot bridge, it's cool enough but I have two beefs with it: wobbly saddles and a little more tonal change than I would have liked. Also it doesn't do anything for sustain like it claims, or it least it never did for me. However, you can sure palm mute with it, and that's next to impossible with stock.

[fourstringfrank]

Hmmm sounds interesting...cured dead dead spots on the Bass.....Cassius...what are the model number for these tuners?
Best Dan.


[quote="cassius987"]I like Hipshot ultralight tuners. I put them on my 2008 Ric because it had a dead spot and they cured it and cleaned the tone up. Iquote]

[cassius987]

They're the "elephant ear" Hipshot tuners that are available from StewMac.com.

You need to drill a hole but it goes under the footprint of the stock part. The stock ferrules hold the Hipshot tuners in place so you don't need to bother with the top half of the tuner--probably another weight saving measure in the end. While they'll be a bit loose in the stock ferrules, the string tension will finally hold the tuners in place. I have had absolutely no problems with the slight room for travel in the bore actually causing any travel because once the tuner is bolted in properly it doesn't want to go anywhere.

Whenever you play a note the neck will vibrate according to its length (longer for basses) and the weight on the headstock (also tends to be higher for basses). These vibrations can cause low frequency dead spots. Reducing the weight at the headstock usually causes the resonance to jump in frequency while reducing the amplitude of the vibration... both things will fix a dead spot handily. The decreased amplitude decreases the energy "waste" and the increased resonance moves the remaining "waste" to a higher resonant frequency. While this in theory means you have made a less bad dead spot that is up in the higher register, I have looked REALLY hard for one and cannot find it. Perhaps once the amplitude of the waste vibration is small enough, no problems manifest. Also, higher-register notes tend to be closer to the body than the headstock, and this part of the neck is less prone to wateful flexion/vibration than the part close to the headstock. Just a thought.

I had a dead spot on my 2008 4003FL and while other things helped make it less bad (such as warranty work and trying out Dane's bridge mod), the tuner replacement just flat out FIXED it. And the side effect is that the tone of the whole bass is a bit cleaner/clearer as if a blanket had been lifted off of the strings, and there is plenty of sustain across the register.

Oh, and from the front it looks dead ringer for stock. From the back it's pretty obvious that it's different but for a guy like me that's not a huge deal.

If RIC ever wanted to switch to a new tuner, the Hipshot Ultralite/Ultralight would be my strong suggestion.

[jps]

If RIC ever wanted to switch to a new tuner, the Hipshot Ultralite/Ultralight would be my strong suggestion.

+100000000000

[antipodean]

Hi Josh,

Is the tuner you're talking about the HB-5?


I've been thinking about a set of these to cure the radical dead spot on my V63.

I'm surprised that the tuner needed a new hole, but then the current Schallers aren't an exact match for the old Klusons either, so it's no big deal.

[jps]

Hi Josh,

Is the tuner you're talking about the HB-5?


I've been thinking about a set of these to cure the radical dead spot on my V63.

I'm surprised that the tuner needed a new hole, but then the current Schallers aren't an exact match for the old Klusons either, so it's no big deal.

That is not the Ultralite tuner. The UL is a drop-in replacement for Gotoh GB-7 tuners and require only one hole in the back of the headstock, besides the hole for the shaft.

Here are Ultralite tuners on my (soon to be owned by a friend) FG '73 4001.

[antipodean]

Thanks Jeff! I'm just a tad confused as Josh has referred to the "elephant eared" tuners....

[jps]

Thanks Jeff! I'm just a tad confused as Josh has referred to the "elephant eared" tuners....

You can get these with either the cloverleaf or the Y keys; they are easily interchangeable.

[cassius987]

The Y tuners are a bit lighter but the elephant ear version look dead stock from the front.

LINKY LINKY http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Tuners/Bass ... uners.html