Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

This is a new 4003 in uk i was going to buy, the set up is way off !!! on the treble pickup the E and A alignment is way off and on the neck pickup the D and G is way off. in fact the whole set up is off !! whats going on at quality control/setups ????

geofio wrote:

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This is a new 4003 in uk i was going to buy, the set up is way off !!! on the treble pickup the E and A alignment is way off and on the neck pickup the D and G is way off. in fact the whole set up is off !! whats going on at quality control/setups ????

How's it sound?

never played the bass Jeff it is 500 miles away from me, but the set up has stopped me buying, none of the strings line up correctly on both pickups. they had the cheek to have an inspection sticker in the box lol

stick a bada$$ bridge on it and you will never know the difference

That doesn't look as off as some we've seen, and may in fact be the proper placement for it to sound right. You'd have to hear it to know.

the aim of the set up is to have the strings centralised over the pickup poles not to veer to the left and right !!!

George,

I'd have more of an issue if the strings were not spaced correctly on the neck or too close to the edge of the neck. The alignment of the strings over the center of the pole pieces at the neck does not overly worry me. The pole pieces are adjustable and can be corrected for any string to string drop off. The view of the treble pup may be more of an optical illusion from the angle the foto was taken?? I'm sure the strings are not directly over the center on them all but it's not that critical.

Sepp

Ok, sorry, George. I didn't realize you already knew the answer, and that my answer was apparently incorrect.

Wait a minute... why did you post? I'm confused.

Thanks Sepp , yes i have some other shots, the strings and pickup poles defo do not line up correctly on any of the shots, to be honest i have never had a ric where they don't line up so i will pass on this one, did some research of my own , apparently ideally you want the strings directly over the pickup pole for optimum tone, and as these are adjustable even more so !!! and if i am spending £1500 i want everything right on the bass from the beginning .

geofio wrote: if i am spending £1500 i want everything right on the bass from the beginning .

100% agree. Even if there is a reason, it's not an excuse in my book either. You've highlighted very well why I prefer vintage to new Ricks!