Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi there, i noticed that the A and D string pole of the bridge HG of my 1975 4001 are higher than the E and G poles, and i was wondering if this is a correct feature ...

Thank you

This fine as it compensates for the radius of the strings across the neck.

no way to lower the A pole ? the A string is the loudest one ...

Not relative to the other three poles.

Check to make sure your A string isn't lower than the other three strings. If it is, file the other three saddles lower until all four strings are an equal distance from the fretboard.

If you take a small ruler you can measure the exact distance from each pole to its respective string on both pickups. The values should be roughly the same for balanced output, although a lot of people like to put more distance between the E string and the pickup than the G string (to compensate for the E string's greater output as a larger string with a greater excursion--this is how all of my basses are set up, with an extra mm or so between the E string and the pickup versus the G string). Maybe the pickup height is set in a way that is skewing it in favor of "hearing" the E/A side just a tad and you're hearing it in the A string, which is going to be easier to perceive than a similar bump in the E string output because lower frequencies are harder to hear. You could also just have a hot string--yep, this happens. Especially with nickel, I have noticed, are you using nickel strings?

cassius987 wrote:...although a lot of people like to put more distance between the E string and the pickup than the G string ...

+1

I keep my E side farther from the pickup poles via the bridge pickup height adjusters. I also usually keep the E side a tiny bit (.010 - .015") higher off the fretboard than the G side, but that's just me!

I do it at the pickup rather than at the bridge because I prefer really low action. But, I definitely know what you're saying, and since a lot of people prefer higher action on a bigger string, why not kill two birds...

As a caution, do not try to raise or lower the poles on these old pickups - the copper windings of the coil are on the screws and you will break the coil wire. No more sound....

I think Jeff T had the right approach - look at and adjust the heights of the strings relative to each other.