Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

On my '97 4003s/5, the open E, and to a lesser extent, open A (i.e., 4th and 3rd strings) come off "choked" when sounded; their vibration is getting dampened somehow. They seem to be getting pulled to the bass side too much; if I manually nudge them trebleward behind the nut, they vibrate freely again. Has anyone else ever encountered this issue, and if so, what was done to resolve it? (I don't want to have to install a string-tree!)

The nut has neither shifted nor had any slots'-filing done, and the strings are the same make & gauges I have been using since I got it (D'Addario XL's: .145 (tuned to A0) / .100 / .075 / .056 / .042). I did not change the strings before this happened, nor at the last change did I put them on any differently than usual. And it's not an issue from the neck down, as all successive fretted notes ring loud 'n' clear as they should.

I suspect something in the neck shifting; the weather has been schizo here (NYC) as of late and humidity is fluctuating. I did tighten the TR nuts an 1/8 turn recently as a weird vibration came up in the headstock region. However, the bass is inherently slightly twisty-neck; when I had it professionally worked on last -- new TR's installed; frets G&P -- the neck was a straight-edge as it could be with some accommodations made for the inherent anomalies (e.g., some frets crowned higher or lower than others). However, I have adjusted the neck before and not encountered this problem. I am loathe to do so anyway, since the nuts are pretty damn tight at present already.

This sucks because in one of my band's tunes I really have to nail that open E a few times, for dramatic effect . . . !

Can we see a few pictures of the headstock/nut area and how you've installed the strings on the tuner posts?

rickenbrother wrote:Can we see a few pictures of the headstock/nut area and how you've installed the strings on the tuner posts?

And, no cheating!

jps wrote:

rickenbrother wrote:Can we see a few pictures of the headstock/nut area and how you've installed the strings on the tuner posts?

And, no cheating!

That might get someone banned.

OK . . . here you go. Thanks guys!

Also included is a shot of sighting the neck; you can see the counterclockwise twist relative to the body-plane. However, this has not affected intonation or playability . . . this is, unless this has something to do with this new problem . . .

And erm . . . cheating? Has that been a problem before . . . ?

That seems like a gnarly twist but not sure it would cause the problem you describe... and the strings look fine to me... Hm. I'm puzzled. Can you make sound clips of the open strings and first fret for each string?

cassius987 wrote:That seems like a gnarly twist but not sure it would cause the problem you describe... and the strings look fine to me... Hm. I'm puzzled. Can you make sound clips of the open strings and first fret for each string?

Hi Rhys. Well to start off with -- mainly as a test to see if this lo-fi method will work! -- here's a recording of the most problematic, the E. (I recorded the bass unplugged, into an iPhone 4 as a Voice Memo, then converted it to .mp3). Each note is fingerpicked, my index finger with a bit of the nail in for the attack.

The contents of this Minimalist composition:

• 1. The open E as it stands now, twice; using the ticking clock in the background as a metronome, each hit lasts for 7 beats.
  2. 1st-fret F, twice, similarly.
  3. The open E, twice again, this time for 6 beats.
  4. The open E tugged slightly trebleward behind the nut, twice, for 7 beats.
  5. The open E as is, twice (reprise), for 5 beats.

Opinions on the matter greatly appreciated!