Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi, i just bought a 84 4003 bass for $749
seller says its "as new" mint.

the bass has the split pickguard, does this have truss rod adjustment at the headstock or body?

is there anything bad about having it at the body?
seems like they were made this way for only a short time, is this becuase of a problem?

are they harder to get at or to adjust?

on the rick website it says i have to manully move the neck when adjusting
the truss rods, would this bass apply to this?

also the pickups, alot of owners of newer 4003 basses say that the pickups are hotter and have more bottom end then older 4001/4003s when did they change the pickups?

i had a 78 4001 and i still regret selling, the neck was a peice of art and i havent found anything that comes close, does rickenbacker go by a certain neck profile or whatever i get i get?

(the bass is with ups right now)

Thanks alot for taking you time and reading my long boring post!
Jason

THe split guard basses were an attenpt to keep the original rods and get a more adjustable neck without the problems that were involved with the old system and standard strings of the mid 1970's and newer type strings

When the electric bass was commercially made in the early 1950's ...there was NO company that made strings the way that they do now.Bass strings for electric basses did NOt exist until Leo Fender had them made .

Most of what was available was based on upright type strings .These are a very low tension string compared to the standard type of bass string sold today.
John Entwhistle changed history and everyones playing styles when he approached The makers of
Roto-sound strings in the mid 1960's and asked for a round wound 'piano' string suitable for a bass.Wow! what a difference!

When Yes hit the scene in the early 1970's ,this took the industry by storm and caused a furor at Rick...they loved the popularity of the sales but hated the fact that the necks had a problem with this tension of string.

In the split guard basses,this was the first attempt to fix this situation.

The rods were changed to the 'new' system and now there is no problem.

THe old rods also do not adjust like the new ones and you MUSt understand this .You can not crank /torque the nut to set the tension ...there is much more to it than that.But that is another story.

So these bass's still have the old 4001 mild steel rods???
the only difference being that the adjustment is at the body to avoid the fretboard pop off problem?

the neck on this 84 4003 isnt as strong as the newer 4003 basses?

Correct .

If you need to adjust these you need to have a setup where you can clamp the headstocks.I have a plate that mounts to one of my neck rests that supports these headstocks and allows for two DeStayCo clamps to hold the guitar/bass suspended in the air .I utilize gravity to help with getting some curve into the neck .

Then I remove the rods,bend them ,shove them back into the slots and torque then down .This must be done quickly to retain the curve you bend into the rods.
Then reinstall the strings,tune and then ...LOOSEN the rods to the correct setting.

Personally ...this was not the best idea and obviously the factory guys agreed.It did not last long.The new rods are what should have been done ,

but ,..............well it does not matter...deal with the old ones and if you hate it ...time for major surgery .Or an new bass.