Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

G'day guys and girls,

I have just bought a nice new Fireglo 4003. I was hoping some of you more experienced Ric owners might be able to help me with a problem I have.

I use Rotosound RS 66LDs on my Warwick Fortress and I love them!. I want to put them on my Ric too, however the A and D strings are a bit too thick to fit into the nut. Is this a common problem?

Also, the scale length on my Warwick is a bit longer than the Ric. Is the Ric considered a long scale bass? Or should I be using different Rotosounds on my Ric?

Any assistance you can provide would be appreciated.

Regards,
Rob.

Hmm, I've used the RotoSound RS66LD sets for years with no problems. Perhaps the nut slots were filed just a bit narrow. Most guitar repair guys can file them a bit, or you can do it yourself if you've got the tools.

The scale length for a Rick 4000 series bass is considered long scale and you should use long scale strings.

Well, that would 'splain it. They must have done a better job of filing yours than mine. Though I must admit all of my newer Ricks have the stock strings on 'em...

Thank you all for your replies. I don't know that I have the guts to take a file to my new Ric though!

I've always used a set of small round files to make adjustments to the string channels on my basses. You should be able to do this yourself, but just go slow!

Yes, it's not all that difficult, and you're really removing a very small amount of material. Dane missed a zero on the above sizes, they should be:

RIC: .045, .055, .075, .105
Roto: .045, 065, .080, .105

So, for the D string, you need to enlarge by .010 inch, the A string by .005 inch...