Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hello everyone.
I am new to the forum and was hoping you all could answer some questions about the new arrival to my family.
A brand new 4001C64S, and she's a beauty.
Here is what I have noticed after my initial first look.
The pickguard is transparent. So much so that you can see the rout channel under it.
Is this the way they all come?
Also the action is high. Higher than I would usually play.
Is this how McCartney had his set up?
Maybe John Hall can comment on the setup.
Are the basses coming out of the Factory set up like Paul's was set up?
Just wondering what anyone else has observed.

Congrats Tom. Welcome. My guard is the same as yours, sort of semi transparent. The action on mine was nice and low upon delivery. Perfect for me actually. Check out the pictures on the thread "My new 4001C64S". Mine is pictured there along with another forum member. You can clearly see the rout channel on mine.

Welcome to the family Tom,

I am the other forum member mentioned in Scott's reply. My guard is the same as yours, although it didn't show as well in my photos, the prominent route being between the toggle switch and the neck pup. Some of the darker woodgrain also shows through in a few spots.
Mine arrived with near perfect set up (thanks Mike) and has only been tweaked a couple of times since delivery last year.

Besides learning how to tweak your RIC set up to your own specs is all part of the craft, enjoy your new bass. Pictures?

Thanks guys,
It's good to be here!
I will explore the Bass more over the weekend and try to get some pics out to everyone.
Another thing.....it's way lighter that my 4001V63.
I want to have a good look and compare the two closely for tone and appearance.
Will keep you guys posted.

Anyone have any ideas regarding factory setups on the 4001C64S?
Is it set up like McCartney's?
I.E. string height, neck etc?
John Hall help me out!

It's probably just set up like any other bass that leaves the factory.

It would have been set up like all basses for moderate action coming out of the factory- 6/64ths on the treble side, 4/64ths on the bass, at 12th fret.

However, if you're really in Hawaii, all bets are off, due to the humidity. Give it a few days to acclimatize and then adjust the neck dead straight and reset the action to suit. Neck adjustments are easy if you follow the directions in the owners manual or on our website.

John,
They come from the factory with the G string higher than the E string?

I thought that was interesting too about the string heights. I got my 4004Cii from Mike Parks and when it arrived here in Cleveland towards the end of October, the neck had a fair amount of relief to it. I still adjust it occasionally as the weather here has been like a roller coaster and for the past few weeks has been hovering around 15 degrees on average, much lower than normal. I'm sure given time things will settle down with the neck.

What's more interesting is that the necks on my '67 4005WB and '73 4001 don't seem to move compared to the '03 4004Cii. Is this due to the 4004Cii being new?

Sorry, it was reversed. 4/64ths on the treble, 6/64ths on the bass.

I've always wondered why it's tradition to give these numbers as 64ths; it seems to go back more than 100 years. Maybe a 64th was as close as anyone cared? Personally, I'd rather see it in millimeters. In that case, with some rounding, it'd be 1.6 mm on the treble side and 2.4 mm on the bass- much nicer numbers to dealer with.

On page 115 of The Complete History of Rickenbacker Guitars by Richard Smith, there's a shot of a 4001V63, and its pickguard is definitely transparent enough to see the channel routing and pots underneath. (For those keeping score.)

Here are the pics I promised.

Thanks John,
I wondered what the factory set up was supposed to be as I've never measured a new one when I bought it. I going home today and check my 4001's, my 4003's are all in Mass.

Hmmm, I didn't think that today
was a Holy Day of Obligation...
(lol).

What kind of strings do you have on it Kauai ric?