Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Has there ever been a series of 4000/4001/4003 with a metal bridge PU cover instead of plastic? (No, not the HS! )
I once had one on a 1983 4003 (split pick guard), but that could well have been an aftermarket piece of a faker.

I vaguely remember seeing one way back in the late '70s or early '80s on another guy's bass, but that may well have been a faker. I had no idea fakes existed back in those days. I just remember commenting on how his was sheet metal and my '74 I had at the time had chrome plated plastic...

weren't they metal up to about 73?

Not on my '72. Plastic. I seem to remember JH saying something about the early faux covers (post Horseshoe) being metal before they came up with the plastic one, but I've never been able to find one.

Along the same topic, were all the chromed plastic covers shaped the same? I sorta remember hearing that the early 70's ones had a different radius on the curve than the modern ones. They all have the same footprint, I believe, True or false? My 73 did not come with a cover.

Sepp

Kopfjaeger wrote:Along the same topic, were all the chromed plastic covers shaped the same?

The older ones are shorter/sit closer to the strings. I'm not sure when the tall covers first appeared. Late 70s, maybe?

... the shorter ones came with the first Higains to my knowledge. I assume there is also a correlation with the appearence of the dented bridge-PU surround ? This is clearly an item to be discussed (was it) in the bass book!
Paul B., can you enlighten the community, please?

Well, I know there are at least two different sizes of the plastic cover (height difference, not span). And I know that there is a "scooped" treble pickup surround and the older "unscooped" style, but since these parts are interchangeable, it is difficult to establish exactly when they appeared/disappeared in production. And since details such as these are ephemeral, I may pass mentioning them in the book unless they can be anchored down in a timeline. In other words, more info may be needed by some, but eventually (and soon) I gotta quit gathering the info and start publishing the info. That's not to say that more info and corrections will be ignored; with any luck, more editions of the book will be needed down the road, and all that stuff may find its way in.

Several years ago there was a forumite who claimed to have a metal pickup cover. The story moved along that he was supposedly going to send it to RIC so they could possibly recreate it. IIRC, it never left the guy's house, if he really had one.

If I recall correctly the earlier short cover fits on the bottom side of the bezel above the springs. The newer taller version sits below the spings and moves up and down with the pickup heigt adjustment.
A friend who purchased a '69 4001 new had the short plastic cover on his bass. I purchased a new '68 4000 that was shipped from the factory in the same shipment, it had a HS.

ken_j wrote:If I recall correctly the earlier short cover fits on the bottom side of the bezel above the springs. The newer taller version sits below the spings and moves up and down with the pickup heigt adjustment.

Correct. I like that the old, short ones stay in the same place, vs. the current, moving one.

jps wrote:

ken_j wrote:If I recall correctly the earlier short cover fits on the bottom side of the bezel above the springs. The newer taller version sits below the spings and moves up and down with the pickup heigt adjustment.

Correct. I like that the old, short ones stay in the same place, vs. the current, moving one.

+1!
Hey, maybe RIC should reissue short covers...

I don't know the reason for the change in construction, but possibly for strength. I think the thinner cross section of the old design is more elegant looking, certainly.

I prefer the old "low profile" covers, but the fact that the high profile covers moves with pickup height makes them cosmetically more akin to the original 'shoes.

cjj wrote:

jps wrote:

ken_j wrote:If I recall correctly the earlier short cover fits on the bottom side of the bezel above the springs. The newer taller version sits below the spings and moves up and down with the pickup heigt adjustment.

Correct. I like that the old, short ones stay in the same place, vs. the current, moving one.

+1!
Hey, maybe RIC should reissue short covers...

If you ever tune it to BEAD you will appreciate the height of the current covers.. granted you might have to add more spacers..