Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi
Well I have owned my 10 year old 4003 for a week now and love it! It got it's first gig with me behind it on Saturday.
I notice the output of the e string seems lower than the adg strings. Have done a bit of research and found some coverage of this as 'a known characteristic' of 4003s of this era. Does anyone have any guidance on how to improve the e output please? As you'll already know, it doesn't have hex-bolt pole pieces.

Thanks!
Steve Gill

Hi Steve, welcome to THE forum! This usually turns out to be corrected by new strings, a set up and making sure that the anchor end of the string is engaged fully. The setup seems to be the biggest culprit. The forumite, Joey, has a web site - Joey's Bass Notes - that has great instructions on how to do it. Good luck and let us know what happens.

Steve, I put a brand new set of strings on my 4001V63 and the E was barely there. Having been a career luthier since 1981, I knew what to look for and what might be causing it. Nothing! I called the string company and they sent out a new E string which I installed. That was it! A bum string can happen every now and again and the fix was easy! Just saying...


Jim

There are multiple causes for this problem, a bum string being one of the most common. Most string makers will replace bad strings for you at least once. I'm also of the opinion that using too large of a gauge can "choke" a low frequency string with lots of wraps over the core (so you have to strike a balance between this and tension in a lot of cases).

I've dealt with this on a few different instruments, including non-Rics. Here are some good and bad ways to approach the issue IME:

Good ideas
1. Giving the bass a complete setup and some general TLC
2. Checking a dB meter to help draw your conclusions before tackling the string (there are lots of cabs and amps marketed for bass guitar that are really terrible at reproducing the lowest frequencies, primarily because they don't need to; the most popular basses, by Fender, emphasize mids more than lows... this is why I love how my Rics sound through house mains or recording studio monitors, there's a big thump you don't get much of elsewhere)
3a. Considering replacement of the offending string
3b. Consider changing gauges, string makers, etc.; this involves lots of trial and error but can pay off big time
4. Making conservative and incremental adjustments rather than extreme ones
5. If it is a single note or region of notes it is worth inspecting the frets and fingerboard for unevenness, or a neck twist
6. Use a mechanic's ruler rather than eyeballing

Bad ideas
1. Adjusting the pickup to be closer to the E string ad infinitum... this is bad for two reasons: one, the magnet can start to pull on the string and make it sound worse, especially the neck pickup; two, eventually the string will start whacking the pickup. Instead try backing everything off to a reasonable balance and raising your preamp gain.
2. Getting convinced your neck "wants" a certain amount of relief or lack thereof and aiming for that right off the bat. Go slow and steady and see what works best
3. Not waiting 24 hours between big adjustments like string changes to make up your mind. Sometimes this is essential, or sometimes you just need a break in order to see/hear the situation properly.

Good luck.

If you can get hold of them, try rotosound swing bass, some of these trendy expensive strings have really naff low E strings out of the packet.
Only had one duff rotosound in 30 years and when I complained they sent me 4 sets of new strings and an apology note.

I have had this problem on various 4001's and 4003's over the years and never found one single thing that causes it although you would think the moving the pickup closer to the string would fix it, it usually doesn't. Years ago JH's fix as he posted here was to turn the truss rod(s) a hair as sometimes they will vibrate and damp the string. That fix has worked most consistently for me. I had a beautiful Fireglo 75 4001 years ago in which I could never get the E string as loud as the others. I finally sold it. My 79 4001 has always had a loud E string which i like, my 85 4003FL also, they both have very even response string to string.

I have solved this issue a few times for local Ric owners, first ensure the tail piece screws are tight !!! ensure the string is sitting in the nut groove properly and the nut has been cut right, also check the string is sitting solid in the bridge groove. try another string. if these things don't help it is probably the way the bass is going to be .

I only own 1 Rick bass, but what solved the problem for me was going to a lighter gauge E-string. What my ears perceived as "quieter" was actually just a more muffled sound than the other three strings, because the thickness of the string caused it to not vibrate the same way as the others. I notice this phenomenon on lots of basses, but it seems more pronounced on a Rick for some reason. If you aren't precious about your gauges try going with a lighter set and see if that helps.

4003 works perfectly with 45-105 strings , if there is a quiet E string then something is causing it to sound like that, changing to lighter gauge strings can be done but the nut on the 4003 is cut for 45-105 from the factory, so you would need to adjust the neck and just maybe that was the issue in the first place !! and as i have owned 30 ric basses , they sound perfect with 45-105 string i use Elixir strings on all my Basses, no problems. there are a list of things to be checked before changing string gauge. i listed a few in a previous post. Good luck.

geofio wrote:4003 works perfectly with 45-105 strings , if there is a quiet E string then something is causing it to sound like that, changing to lighter gauge strings can be done but the nut on the 4003 is cut for 45-105 from the factory, so you would need to adjust the neck and just maybe that was the issue in the first place !! and as i have owned 30 ric basses , they sound perfect with 45-105 string i use Elixir strings on all my Basses, no problems. there are a list of things to be checked before changing string gauge. i listed a few in a previous post. Good luck.

Just letting him know what worked for me George. No need to knock the suggestions of others to validate your own.