Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

As you may have seen in another thread, I recently received my 4004.
I have a general question concerning the setup.
The bass has a bit of string buzz especially on the A and D string that i try to get rid of.
However, as you can see from the photo the individual string saddles are already pretty high.
other ricks i have seen on the web don't have them this high. the neck itself is perfectly straight as suggested in the ric manual.
see the other photo for the current string height.
could the strings itself be a factor? they came with the (used) bass and seem very low-tension to me. maybe .100ers.
i have a set of rotosounds .105. should i try it or is there something else i can do?
thank you for your input

Schaller has a spacer that fits underneath that bridge. Almost all the 4004 basses I've seen have it. I haven't seen it available as a separate item, as it comes with the bridge.
You might try asking Ric for one... or StewMac as they carry the roller bridge as well. Maybe they can sell it separately?

I remember another 4004 recently posted here, I think it was new, with the saddle height screws cranked all the way up, further than this one is. I'd second the bridge plate acquisition option. The string height on the fretboard looks nice and low. I'm not sure if I'd want to raise the saddles any higher. I imagine they will go up a little more.

Do the strings buzz on open only or fretted?

Sepp

With action that high you shouldn't be getting any fret buzz. Could it be coming from somewhere else. The saddles or nut. It's hard to tell from the photos, but it almost looks from the string angle that the nut has the strings up really high. My 4004 was that way. Its ok for high action but if you want it really low the nut will have to be addressed. You might want a tech to have a look. If you initally have an instrument set up by a good tech it can take it from ok to wonderfull.

Start with the neck- it must be very straight, almost flat, otherwise every other "fix" is just a bandage.

thank you for your answers.
i checked the neck again and it is almost perfectly straight.
when fretting the first and the 20th fret there's around 1mm space between the bottom of the string and the 7th fret.

i will end up getting a new schaller bridge that has the spacer plate includet as i can't get it individually.

I'd get a good straight edge and triple check the neck. At what part of the neck is the A and D buzzing?

I think your action looks pretty high judging by your quarter. Especially if the neck is indeed straight, and you have the bridge cranked up.

Here's a thought,,,,Have you worked on the nut slots? They come from the factory filed pretty high to allow you to file them to your liking and playing style. A very overlooked process that can dramatically change the setup, overall feel and sound of the bass.

Houdini wrote:i checked the neck again and it is almost perfectly straight.
when fretting the first and the 20th fret there's around 1mm space between the bottom of the string and the 7th fret.

That much, eh?