Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi gang,

I just got an all time dream bass of mine, a 4004 Cheyenne i from 1993. It sounds great and looks great. I tweaked the neck a little bit and I have it more or less straight.

The problem is, my saddles are absolutely bottomed out, and my action is still way too high (around 9/64" at the 12th fret). Am I missing something on how to adjust this bridge? Is there something wrong with the bass overall? The saddles look like they sit really high above the bridge. Maybe this is a replacement bridge or saddles that someone put on? I can't imagine this is correct.

What about a Hipshot A style bridge - is that a direct replacement?

Thanks everyone

What bridge is on there now, the original ABM?

Here are drawing of the Hipshot Style A bridge. Take some measurements of you bass and see if it will work. I had one on my '04 Cii and was a great bridge with a lower action available on it, for that bass.

Looking at pictures of other 4004s like mine, I think it is indeed the original bridge.

I wonder if the neck on mine has been pulled forward (not the straightness of the neck, the angle). I'd be surprised if that were the case with a neck-through maple neck, but I just don't get why the action is so high with the bridge bottomed out...

Pictures of what you are looking at??

my '93 4004C looking at the adjustment height. at the neck pickup..... at the 12th fret - nothing handy to scale it with but the E string is .100 and the gap between string and fret is less. the bridge:

Check how straight your neck is. Maybe your truss rods need to be adjusted.

Thanks for the pictures Tom. I tried to replicate yours, albeit with my phone. I also included a shot of the action on my 4003. The increments on the ruler are 64ths of an inch.

Looking at the saddles (I have only messed with the low E so far, ignore the others):


At the neck pickup:


At the 12th fret:


My 2012 4003 at the same fret, for comparison:


The bridge itself:


loverickbass, the neck appears to be straight, according to my notched straightedge. About .002 relief at the 7th fret, almost dead straight.

Loking at your pictures,i am wondering about 2 possibilities. The last pic of the bridge makes me wonder if some longer "travel" screws could work to allow the saddles to move further forward.
The other thing,which may just be an artifact of the proximity of the pic,is the side shot showing the neck/body join....is that neck seriously tilting up? That looks akimbo,or odd ,to me.....mind you,i am not technically minded,but that just looks wrong.

I dunno, I suspect it's the neck. I had a couple of guitars that had the neck pickup in the 1/2 inch position and both needed luthier services to correct it. I think that's why RIC went to the 1 inch spacing.

loverickbass wrote:I dunno, I suspect it's the neck. I had a couple of guitars that had the neck pickup in the 1/2 inch position and both needed luthier services to correct it. I think that's why RIC went to the 1 inch spacing.

How would a luthier go about fixing something like that...?

On mine, the neck was bowing right under the neck pickup because of lack of any wood. This is a common problem on pre 73 Rics. Usually it involves filling in most of the routing that is under the pickup. Does yours have routing under the neck pickup?

Thanks for the info everyone, this is all rather discouraging. I'm afraid I may have to send this one back.

Here's the neck pickup cavity:
http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y56/sm ... CE6683.jpg

loverickbass wrote:I dunno, I suspect it's the neck. I had a couple of guitars that had the neck pickup in the 1/2 inch position and both needed luthier services to correct it. I think that's why RIC went to the 1 inch spacing.

I think the angle of the picture is making it look worse than it is, but I'm worried that the neck is indeed pitching forward towards the body. That's the only thing I can reckon, especially since the fingerboard itself is straight.

You have checked the nut to see if the slots aren't too high? That turned out to be the problem on my 4004cii. I wasted a lot of time messing with the bridge before I noticed. LOL

The nut seems fine...