Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Although I will probably only use the string mute on my new 2012 4003 on rare occasions, I thought I'd check it out the other day and for some reason it's not working. Am I doing something wrong, the only difference between this and my 4001 appears to be the wide foam strip on the 4003 as opposed to the narrower foam strip on the 4001. I turned the screws counter clockwise to raise the plate with the foam pad and nothing happens, the screws both turn freely but everything remains seated at the bottom of the bridge unit, in fact I unscrewed the one a bit too far and I felt the screw leave the thread/nut, but was quickly able to re-locate it in the thread.

The obvious answer is to strip it all down and check it out fully but as it is a brand new bass I am a bit reluctant to do this, hopefully someone might have come across this and there is any easy fix

You screwed them the wrong way and it is now all apart sitting inside the cavity under the tailpiece! You will have to take the tailpiece off the bass to get at it and put it back together, very easy if you know which end of a screwdriver to hold.

jps wrote:You screwed them the wrong way and it is now all apart sitting inside the cavity under the tailpiece! You will have to take the tailpiece off the bass to get at it and put it back together, very easy if you know which end of a screwdriver to hold.

Hi jps,

No, I'm pretty sure both screws are in their threads. Initially I tried turning them clockwise but they wouldn't move, so I tried turning them counter-clockwise a bit at a time thinking the plate would rise as I loosened the screws but nothing. Eventually as I said I could feel the one screw come off the nut or screw thread but was very quickly able to screw it back in. I can't recall now exactly how it worked on my 4001, I have sold it now so am unable to check it out.

I think you're right I will have to strip it down, I just thought it may be a common problem and there was an easy fix with it being in-situ. My own thoughts are that the foam pad is too wide and it's 'wedged' in position at the bottom of the bridge unit.

I thought all was the opposite way round on LH basses

Yes, the foam pad is a bit too wide and tends to stick to the sides of the tailpiece, so taking it apart and trimming it down is something that you will want to do. Trim the side towards the neck as the "witness point" should be as close as possible to the saddles to minimize your intonation going sharp, which it will especially as you play further up the fingerboard. The pad only need to be about half as wide as it is, currently. And, as you know clockwise raises the mute.

Seans wrote:I thought all was the opposite way round on LH basses

It also depends on which side of the equator one is on, I think.

Seans wrote:I thought all was the opposite way round on LH basses

I think all they do on the Bridges is to swap the string saddles around on a stock RH bridge.

jps wrote:Yes, the foam pad is a bit too wide and tends to stick to the sides of the tailpiece, so taking it apart and trimming it down is something that you will want to do. Trim the side towards the neck as the "witness point" should be as close as possible to the saddles to minimize your intonation going sharp, which it will especially as you play further up the fingerboard. The pad only need to be about half as wide as it is, currently. And, as you know clockwise raises the mute.

Will have to take it apart as you say, very poor to have to do this yourself on a £ 2,000 bass!

I have done mods on instruments far more expensive than that!

Baker69 wrote:Will have to take it apart as you say, very poor to have to do this yourself on a £ 2,000 bass!

If that small stuff is bugging you, make sure you do not buy an Alembic, ever.

Colonel Sanders wrote:

Baker69 wrote:Will have to take it apart as you say, very poor to have to do this yourself on a £ 2,000 bass!

If that small stuff is bugging you, make sure you do not buy an Alembic, ever.

That's for sure! I remember the monthly polishing sessions on the nut, logo, and bridge I had to perform on my two Alembics, which entailed taking the bass apart every time.

Oh yeah, and making sure the tailpiece and truss rod cover were lacquered and not chipping away so I wouldn't have to polish those, too.

If I ever ordered an Alembic new I'd make sure to have all the metal parts chrome plated.

jps wrote: That's for sure! I remember the monthly polishing sessions on the nut, logo, and bridge I had to perform on my two Alembics, which entailed taking the bass apart every time.

You mean that for the price you paid for the Alembic was not sending someone to your place each month in order to do the polishing?

Surely you jest?

Luckily, they were very reasonably priced, used, from a couple of local shops.

'87 Persuader with flame maple top and a '84 Exploiter with flame koa top, both for $1600, total!

Baker69 wrote:

jps wrote:Yes, the foam pad is a bit too wide and tends to stick to the sides of the tailpiece, so taking it apart and trimming it down is something that you will want to do. Trim the side towards the neck as the "witness point" should be as close as possible to the saddles to minimize your intonation going sharp, which it will especially as you play further up the fingerboard. The pad only need to be about half as wide as it is, currently. And, as you know clockwise raises the mute.

Will have to take it apart as you say, very poor to have to do this yourself on a £ 2,000 bass!

User error/mistake or the need for maintenance has nothing to do with the price of any item you purchase.

jps wrote:Luckily, they were very reasonably priced, used, from a couple of local shops.

'87 Persuader with flame maple top and a '84 Exploiter with flame koa top, both for $1600, total!

Yeah, besides the Serie 1 and 2 and the Stanley Clark, Alembic basses seem to suffer a huge depreciation for the first owner. I am amazed at how well Rick basses are holding their value.

I just miss on a very nice Alembic Distiller that went on eBay for quite cheap. The positive aspect is that it was the trigger that allowed me to waive the wife aproval process in case of ''insane deals'' on eBay. So the next time I will be there...

Cheers