Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Just rec'd a 4001V63 from those gorillas at FedEx. The plate that the holds the horseshoe p'up is cracked where the height adjustment screws are threaded.

Yes it maybe that the previous owner may have left that part out of the item description-but the bass is near mint and the guy seems sincere.

Anyways I realize that FedEx may reject the claim so I need plan B. Is this common? can I get just this part? Mike Parks has the p'up but I need just the plate...

Mark-any ideas?

There are two ways to do this ,one would be to try a plastic adhesive .

Weldon makes several.I use this glue to melt plexiglass together.

Call a plastics supplier,that is in the Yellow Pages section of your phone book and see if they stock this glue.

You will also need some kind of a clamp or tape to hold it together .

An alternative to this ,is to have some one like me make you a new plate .I use the original style material ......aluminum .It works really well.


DON'T use any Crazy glue! Meaning cyanoacrylate glue ,the does not fuse the materials together.

I have a brand new one that i'll sell you if your interested. RIC charge $75.00 for this part, you can have mine for half that.
I bought a new Horseshoe p/u and assembly from RIC earlier this year. I put the p/u in my 72 4001 using the original assembly plate from my 4001. Thus leaving me with a new v63 horseshoe p/u surround assembly. If you're interested you can email me at [email protected]
Cheers
Jon

JN,
If it is the plastic carrier plate I have one from a reissue horseshoe. I don't think you can get this part on it's own.

If you want an aluminum plate (and I assume that you are talking about the black plastic plate that the magnet and coil are mounted to that have the two 10/24 thread screws in it that raise and lower the pickup)

I can make you one of these for $25.00

You can mount it and not worry about it any longer

thanks guys-yes it is the plate that the magnet is screwed to.

FedEx will examine on Monday. The guy I bought it from hasn't answered my emails yet (surprise?-I need the invoice) so I may be looking at plan B.

Mark-cranked up the ole Bridgeport and made me a new mounting plate.

Those idiots at FedEx want a quote on complete replacement-they wanna pay for the COMPLETE repair vs just the part.

It ain't purdy but it works well. I may call ya for a polished aluminum version!

Thanks for the inspiration!

Mark-btw what happens if I used a ferrous material like steel for this piece? Got some bar scrap that looks like the right width/thickness. Don't know the alloy tho...

Got some vacation time to kill-HI or AK...

If you use a ferrous material you may inadvertently diffuse the magnetic field .That is a large area ,and what you may get from it is a sound not unlike the S.Duncan concept of changing from ALNICO V to ALNICO II ...it gives it a less aggressive sound,softens it .
In a bass I think it would be nice if you were more of a Jazz player using an upright bass as a standard instrument.
This is theory and I have NEVER tried it .
Perhaps John Hall could give you a better answer than I could.

Mark-being of sound body and no mind-I made a steel plate for the p'up. Just in case another horseshoe goes south. With my limited hearing I could not detect any changes in tone, although I have no A/B switch for comparison sake.

It occurred to me that the magnetic field is already being focused/diffused by the horseshoe (was that the original intent?) so that the piece I made may not make a heck of a lot of difference.

BTW-those idiots at FedEx are still looking for the claim. The guy that sent me the bass has been outstanding and has chased those dummies into a corner. DO SEND GUITARS FEDEX!