4001 Bridge

ric4001 · Post by **ric4001** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 5:11 am

hey guys quick question.

is the bridge on a 4001 supposed to be completely flat with the body or raised slightly at the back ?

thanks

atomic_punk · Post by **atomic_punk** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 5:22 am

It's SUPPOSED to be flush against the body, but it is a very normal thing for some of them to be raised up slightly (maybe the width of a pick). If it is more than that, there might be a little problem, which can usually be solved by adding 2 screws in the tailpiece.

ric4001 · Post by **ric4001** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 5:29 am

thanks

its raised a fair bit....actually.

I suppose this affects the action ?

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 5:50 am

go here ... we just discussed this ...

http://www.brunnet.net/cgi-bin/rickresource/discus/discus.pl

ric4001 · Post by **ric4001** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 5:57 am

link takes me back to the main forum

whats the thread title ?

thanks

milo · Post by **milo** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 6:20 am

Hi Ernest,
It's probably my thread that they're talking about and it's the "bridge differences between older 4001's" that's only a few more posts down the page.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:15 am

we have discussed this many times ...

but from the 70's to present some ric tail pieces pull up ... most of them it is just a cosmetic problem ... this can be fixed by adding 2 extra screws ... for several years ric added the extra screws from the factory ... the only wat to prevent the pullup is to either have a 60's bridge or add the 2 screws or have a bridge that came from the factory with the 2 extra screws ...

If you have a 5 or 8 string ric you have to have the 2 extra screws ...

marty · Post by **marty** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 7:38 am

I've got a '74 4001 and when I got it in '86 it had the bridge pulling up, but in the 18 years that I've had it it hasn't got any worse and it hasn't caused any problems, so hopefully it shouldn't be a problem for you.

ric4001 · Post by **ric4001** » Mon Apr 12, 2004 9:04 am

thanks

I will keep an eye on it and it causes problems I'll keep the modification in mind.

Ernie

aceonbass · Post by **aceonbass** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 4:45 pm

Part of the problem is caused when the screws under the bridge are tighened. That cavity is deeper than the portion of the bridge that fits into it and so as the screws are tightened, the rear of the tailpiece lifts up. I put a small washer under each of those three screws and this should help although all of my tailpieces had already lifted a bit.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 5:05 pm

it is also leverage ... basic physics ... without the 2 extra screws the strings apply all of their force 1 3/8" past the last screws ... the tailpiece acts like a mini torque wrench ... I am an architect ... If I were an engineer I could go on about torque, moment, etc ...

ric4001 · Post by **ric4001** » Tue Apr 13, 2004 11:28 pm

hmmm the washers sound like a good idea...

I want to do that before I try and adjust the truss rods as the action is very high at the moment

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 9:10 am

The tailpiece lifting should have nothing to do with your action, unless it's lifted so high that you have to raise the bridge to compensate which I have never heard of. At the most it could damp the sustain a little bit. Or as with Owens 73 it could be so bad that the string will vibrate in the bridge slot, but as long as it's not getting any worse it's no big deal. It's from using strings that have too much tension for the tailpiece. I like the 7 holers myself.

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Wed Apr 14, 2004 9:20 am

Also the 2 additional screws tie the tailpiece more firmly into the bass body and there by transfering the vibrations better as well ... The only Ric that I don't install the 2 extra screws is my '68 4001 and the basses that use other bridges ...