Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Afternoon all,

I've been having a little bother with my 4003 and I was wondering if you guys could help. I've been setting it up, with help of Joey's notes and I think it's sounding better. However, the E strings is pretty rubbish and has no power compared to the lovely tone of the other strings. I'm not sure if it is neck relief or pole adjustments that are required? Ideally, I'd take my Ric to a proper technician to setup but the last time I took a bass to him, he nearly broke the truss rod of a Lakland Duck Dunn by tightening it so much. I'm not trusting him with my £1,300+ Ric

Very quickly, I have recored a minute of some bass riffs so you can see what I mean. This is just straight into my laptop with GarageBand, no effects at all (please excuse the playing and timing) http://files.getdropbox.com/u/1480908/R ... roblem.mp3

If you have any thoughts on how to solve this, I would be grateful!

Thanks!

It sounds normal to me. I think your bass is just fine without any problem in the E string. This is the character of Ricks. First time I held a rick in my hands, I surprised like you.
Than I realized that this is normal due to the short scale. Ricks arent 34" therefore E string sounds a little different than the others. Low tension may cause this I think.
I am sure other members will explain this situation better.
You can adjust pickup height, that may halp a little I think. Using comp. may help also.

Faceman welcome to the club of weak E strings.My Rick is a 2007 model that i,ve only used at rehearsels,i dont even use it as a back up.We,ve tried everything under the sun,neck,pickup height,pole pieces,string break angle,nut filing all with no luck.IT,s my most beautiful bass but even my 30 inch scale Mustang eats the Rick in a heartbeat.I bought a discontined Japanese Aerodyne Precision on sale in Feb. for a third of the price of my 4003, I prefer the E string of my Aerodyne Precision .Sure looks nice on a guitar stand though.Good luck and please let us know if you solve this mystery ,the only thing i haven,t tried are flats,i,m on my fourth set of rounds!!!!

What strings are you using?

Strings make a significant difference in how it will sound.

I personally prefer flats as they seem to not be as weak but I've always preferred the tone of flats over roundwounds.

I wish someone would bring me one of these weak E string 4003's to set up. I've yet to come across a 4003 that I couldn't get to sound great on all 4 strings. I've said that several times already in other threads. Funny how after all this time, no one, even in my own area has taken me up on this.

If this turns into a 4003 bashing thread, it will disappear quickly.

Joey, if you were in the UK I would happily ship you my 4003 but I'm not sure I'd want to risk it to the USA, plus the cost will be quite high. Do you have any suggestions on which particular thing I should adjust on the bass?

The strings are a D'Addrio EXL170 - it's a 105 string as I had a 100 but it was too floppy so I got a single 105 string to put on. I'd prefer to stick to roundwounds but I like the modern bright sound that suits the music I play more often.

As you said above, I've got a lovely Lakland Darryl Jones Skyline bass that sounds perfect on all four strings with very little setup! Just wish I could get my Ric sounding better. I'm sure this is not how it's meant to be - when I've done recording with my band, we've had to resort to the Lakland because the E string lacked definition on the notes. It became sonic mud

rickenbrother wrote:I wish someone would bring me one of these weak E string 4003's to set up. .

Joey, I'd bring you my '74 4001 if you were closer and if I had an E string problem... Actually, early on I had a slight problem like that, but learned how to do the set up - we're talking like '76 - and there has never been an issue since. The only other things I could see being done is bypassing THE cap and adding the washers (or maple wood build up) under the tailpiece.

Heck if we lived close I'd bring all of my basses over and we could play them and eat spaghetti and drink Chianti - but surely I digress.....

I'm with Joey. This seems about as real as Bigfoot to me and has since 4003 ownership Day One. All three of mine have loud, punchy E strings, not weak.

Make sure the relief isn't too high, the strings are properly installed, and try higher tension if you think it might help.

I would like to thank Joey on this forum,for all his help. Six months ago i had the bass packed and ready to ship, but Joey was kind enough to give me pointers and suggestions.I thought i had a good sound and i tried hard to convince myself, but no luck.It's a really tame sound from the A position down to open E.And that,s where i spend a lot of my playing.I,d just love to have Joey have a go at it but shipping and border-duty hassles are a pain.The a,d,g strings are just heaven,as punchy,smooth,and every thing in between.

A couple of other things occur to this non-expert. If you use a really 'toppy' sound like some Ric players then the E string (especially fretted) can sound dull by comparison - just the physics of a thicker and more massive string. Also. I find I get a more even tone across the strings playing with fingers than with a pick, I'm sure someone can explain that. Finally, and make of it what you will, I got a huge improvement in 'E' string grunt with a brass Hipshot bridge.

1. Top-end: absolutely. The EQ of a singular string will tend to favor more high-end exposure if, for one, the gauge is smaller. I definitely notice that.

2. Fingerstyle: absolutely. Playing with fingers allows you to regulate the attack a little better; the same can be done with a pick but I find it easier with the fingers. As Gary Willis points out in 101 Bass Tips, a lighter attack actually generates a smoother and more consistent note. A hard attack makes a note that decays very quickly and the decay is partially dependent on the gauge which would influence the way the E would behave instead of, say, the G.

3. Brass Hipshot: I don't know, but I perceived zero difference with a couple of aluminum ones.

This should apply to all basses. Once again I am at a loss why so many people have dodgy E-string complaints on Rics... the phenomenon must be real but I absolutely don't understand it.

cassius987 wrote:
This should apply to all basses. Once again I am at a loss why so many people have dodgy E-string complaints on Rics... the phenomenon must be real but I absolutely don't understand it.

+1 and it aint just with the four stringed variety also.
viewtopic.php?f=2&t=378633&hilit=+quiet+string

This forum and the super members on it is the reason i,m keeping my 4003 and hopefully in the near future i can meet with someone to help me with this.I simply love the bass too much to let it go.But i dont want to wait too long i,m sure i,m one of the old guys here. Thanks . 1949 vintage by the way!!!

John, there are a lot of forum members in Ontario, especially the greater Toronto area. See if you can hook up with one of them, or if they know someone who can competently look into this for you.

Maybe it is my imagination - does anyone feel the E string is weaker on that clip? The second riff (Psycho Killer) feels weaker to me - less definition in the notes and generally not as punchy?

I didn't mean to cause any problems, I was just wondering whether my bass needs adjusting (if so, then what/how) or if this is how Rickenbackers are