Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have a question that has been bothering me for a while now. Without too much blather on my part about what I've been doing for the past 20 years, I'll cut to the point, in the early 1980's I owned a Ric 4001 JG. I bought it used at one of the music shops in NYC on music row (not Manny's). I actually traded my mid 70's fender P bass for it. Anyway, I loved that 4001 but the action was a bit high. After a few months I took it to the set up shop I had been using for years for a string change and a set up. I dropped it off and by the time I got home I was greeted by a call from the shop telling me, basically that the 4001 was not worth putting new strings on and that the truss rods were adjusted as far as they would go. It was the managers suggestion that I unload the bass ASAP. His explanation was that the bass had far too heavy strings placed on it during it's life which has pulled the neck forward. There was no adjustment left to correct it. A few weeks later I traded it in at Manny's and a few hundred dollars for a new Fender P since the shop where I got would not take it back and my Fender was long gone.

I loved the way the bass felt and sounded and I was heartbroken and a bit annoyed that I had been taken for a ride. I could not afford the price of a new 4001, so I "settled" on the Fender.

Now fast forward 20+ years and I find myself really wanting a Rickenbacker. I purchase a brand new 4003 JG and I'm reliving my dream and the new Ric feels and plays great. I join this great forum and the first post I read is from Rickenbrother on how to adjust truss rods on a 4001. Great informative post, by the way. I'm instantly captivated by the video. From what I see, the older truss rod system held the neck straight and you needed to hold the neck in the desired position in order to snug up the truss rods to keep in the position you held it at.

I'm thinking now that my set up guy had no idea how to set the neck on a 4001 or is it possible that what I was told was correct? It's way too late to do anything about it but I'd like some opinions and thoughts on my question. I hated trading it in but did so because I was told it was a basket case. Now, I've seen videos of having to repair bent and stripped truss rods and I do not know if this was the case with my old 4001. Even damaged truss rods can be repaired to an extent.

I do not have the serial number of the 4001 nor do I have a fotos of it but I'm guessing it was mid 1970's.

Thanks in advance.

Sepp

Yes, I'm sure there were many Rickenbackers that were declared bad by people who just didn't have a clue as to how to adjust them. Worse than that, there were many that were wrecked by people who had no idea how to adjust them. And then some of the wrecked ones have been resurrected and are just fine even if a bit ugly. Case in point, my '76 4001: So, I seriously doubt yours was a total basket case and was probably just in need of adjustment by someone who knew how to do the job...

Kopfjaeger wrote: Now fast forward 20+ years and I find myself really wanting a Rickenbacker. I purchase a brand new 4003 JG and I'm reliving my dream and the new Ric feels and plays great.

Sepp

Sepp, you are older, wiser and, most importantly, back in the game. Now, guard that new bass like Sepp Maier.

CJ,

Yeah, after watching Rickenbrother's video, that was my thought as well. Live and learn. I recently had my Fender P set up after 20+ years in storage. it was in good shape but needed a little TLC. I sat there and watched him set the neck and when I mentined I purchased a 4003, he did nothing but bash Rickenbacker the entire time. Went so far as to say that if I sold it right away I could probably get most of my money back! Sell it? Preposterous!! I just bought it!! It seems finding the right technician to work on a Ric is key. I need to find a Ric friendly set up tech. in the NY/NJ area. There is a guy on You Tube that trash talks Ric's while singing the praises of the Fender P. Whatever! I own one of each and 9 times out of 10n, i reach for my Ric when I want to play!!

What is the story behind your 4001?

Sepp

Yeah, it's odd how many people talk trash about Ricks... Most have never owned one or even touched one in my experience.

As for my ol' '76 4001, I don't know much about it, really, A guitar player friend of mine bought it at a pawn shop years ago, just as you see it, fixed crack and all. I (semi-stupidly) sold my one and only '74 4001 to keep food on the table during a particularly bad time and when I played this old 4001, I fell back in love. He didn't want to sell it, but let me borrow it for several years. He finally decided to sell it to me, and it's still my favorite even though I have several now, some a lot prettier. What can I say? '70s 4001s just have something special about them. This one has been sporting Rotosounds for quite a few years with no issues whatsoever, so whoever fixed it did a good job. Some day I may do a refin on it to bring it back to it's former glory... But then again, maybe not...

Kopfjaeger wrote:It seems finding the right technician to work on a Ric is key.

The sad (or good?) thing is it doesn't take much of a tech to do this right. It's not that difficult. Heck, if I can do it...

Kopfjaeger wrote:....Heck, if I can do it...

+1

me too!

Kopfjaeger wrote:I'm thinking now that my set up guy had no idea how to set the neck on a 4001 or is it possible that what I was told was correct?

Pre-internet days, all the knowledge we have here was so much harder to come by. Many, many people simply had no clue on maintenance, repair, or replacement of this type of truss rod system. Many still don't, but I can't imagine how many great 4001s were destroyed back in the day by clumsy hands.

All that said, I've never even attempted to do anything to the truss rods...I'm one of the clumsy ones!

Te4h shop I had used on numerous occations for my Fender P seemed to be quite professional and had a grate reputation. I did an internet search for them and they are still around and maybe in the same building they were 20+ years ago.

20+ years ago it seems I was told a load of **** and a very nice early 4001 may have been completely mis-diagnosed. There is no doubt in the my mind I would have still had that bass in my possession if they were able to set it properly.

Like I said before, live and learn and now I am older and smarter. I have replaced the fond memories of owning her, albeit for a relatively short period of time, with a brand new 4003 in JG. One this is for certain, if I ever need work that I can't perform, I'm going to carefully seek the services of someone well versed in proper Ric maintenance meathods!!

Sepp

badeggs wrote: Pre-internet days, all the knowledge we have here was so much harder to come by. Many, many people simply had no clue on maintenance, repair, or replacement of this type of truss rod system. Many still don't, but I can't imagine how many great 4001s were destroyed back in the day by clumsy hands.

This is sad, but true. WAY too many great Rick basses were destroyed by boneheaded "guitar techs" who didn't know that RIC's truss rod system didn't work the same way as the other major brands. And then when said boneheads would smash a perfectly good bass, they would usually blame it on the Rick. So...sadly...you probably got bad info on your 4001.

But at least now you can tell people that you would have been the next Chris Squire if it hadn't been for that guy!

Or should I have used this one?

BTW...finding a luthier who knows Ricks isn't as important with your 4003 as it was with your old 4001. The new truss rods work the same way as the other major brands now. Still...I'd advise finding a different guy than you brought your 4003 to last time.

Jeff,

Most definitely! I don't plan on bringing the 4003 to the guy who just set up my Fender P either. He was not a fan of Rickenbacker and I'm not going to go down that road again! He was trying to talk me into selling it when it was 3 weeks old!!

I need to find someone that both knows what he is doing and enjoys working on them, just in case.

Sepp

The old RIC truss rods' design is a booby trap. Come on folks! How was ANY, even experienced, tech supposed to know how to adjust an old RIC back in the day and even today? X-ray vision? Don't all other guitars and basses in the world not have this design. Wonder why RIC abandoned the design? LOL! Because of this design many a RIC was wrecked, great basses and guitars that they are.

DavyR wrote:The old RIC truss rods' design is a booby trap. Come on folks! How was ANY, even experienced, tech supposed to know how to adjust an old RIC back in the day and even today? X-ray vision? Don't all other guitars and basses in the world not have this design. Wonder why RIC abandoned the design? LOL! Because of this design many a RIC was wrecked, great basses and guitars that they are.

Back in the day, all they would have had to do is pick up the phone and call RIC or write a letter. F.C. Hall would take it upon himself to make sure the owner or tech was informed.
The old RIC truss rods' design is not a booby trap!

Looking at how it is designed, I believe it is a better from an engineering standpoint. It actually can push the fretboard forward curing front bow.

DavyR wrote:The old RIC truss rods' design is a booby trap. Come on folks! How was ANY, even experienced, tech supposed to know how to adjust an old RIC back in the day and even today? X-ray vision? Don't all other guitars and basses in the world not have this design. Wonder why RIC abandoned the design? LOL! Because of this design many a RIC was wrecked, great basses and guitars that they are.

I only wish they had kept it going--my 4001FL is rock solid and does not require adjustment, period. Can't say the same for my 4003s.

Some literature included with the instruments--who knows, maybe they did come with it--would have been all people needed to understand the system. It's very simple to work with, just different.

There is another builder who uses truss rods like these to this day, but I can't remember the name.