Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Brand new 4003
The A string only (open and first few frets) rattles horribly and is unexplainable.
Here's what I've tried:
Nut height - not low - about .006 - was higher with same rattle
Truss Rod/Relief - .004 bass side; .003 treble - was set up with much more relief with same rattle; various levels ranging from current to .012; adequate time between adjustments to allow for wood to settle
String Height - current - bass 5/64ths to treble 4/64ths; greater height attempted with no difference
Witness points - Nut and bridge saddles pressed to ensure proper break at each
I also made sure that the string had no twists
also tried many different sets of strings

I can't think of anything except two possibilities:
1. New nut needed; stock was just not properly constructed for this bass from factory
2. Frets were simply not leveled properly from factory
- Both of these are infuriating and will cost me.

I bought this bass from Wildwood guitars who have a stellar reputation for communication and services, but they offer no real input except give it time to self adjust... which I have.

At a loss here folks. Any thoughts?

It may be the A string bridge saddle itself vibrating. The saddles have machined flat bottoms, but the piece that they ride on is radiused, so you don't get good continuous contact between them. I fixed mine by putting little tabs of stick-on copper shielding tape on the bottom surfaces of the saddle, either side of the part the screw passes through, to approximate the radius of the bridge piece. It's a fiddly little process, but it worked for me.

This is very interesting and worth a look/attempt.
Could the improper seating on the saddle in this manner cause rattle on the frets as well?
At the moment, it's apparent that the string is rattling on the strings. No question.
Thank you for your response.

I've seen the saddle issue too. sometimes the screw doesn't quite fit and the saddle rocks. could it be the angle of the nut slot? do you have a straight edge to test the level of the frets?

1.Take a close look at how the string seats in the nut slot. Does it look right? or is the nut slot to large for the string?

2. Are you sure its the string rattling? Sometimes your truss rod / rods, can be to loose, causing a rattle at a certain frequency, try snugging the rods a bit.

3. Check the bridge as stated above.

4. Try a different set of strings.

The nut could very well be the source of the problem. The E and A nut slots seem to have been cut so low that the strings kinda sink in.
I think it’s pretty clear that the string is vibrating on the frets, from what I observe
I’ve tried many different strings.
The saddle issue could be a strong influence on this issue. I will definitely try that procedure when I get the opportunity

I may just have to drive this thing up to Joey V in Orange county if he's still doing Ric setups. Just didn't want to have to spend extra money on this bass than I already have... especially since this is a limited edition special run that cost more, but well.... what can I do. Just may have to have it looked at I guess.

A quick test for low nut slot depth is to fold up small pieces of paper and put them in the slots to temporarily raise them up. It doesn't take much to do so. I had to do this on my old 4005WB on all the slots. I used a sharpie to blacken the paper and left it that way for many years with no detrimental effect. It was that way when I sold the bass, too, knowing that it was getting a "gut" renovation, unfortunately for the bass.