Rickenbacker 4003

[BlueMoon]

I’ve had a similar experience and had the nut re-cut in an attempt to resolve.

[geofio]

Never had an issue getting really low action on my Rics using the bridge and neck adjustment only , only time I touch the nut is when the string gauge is a bit too tight , when the nut grabs the strings, you can normally achieve low action with bridge and neck adjustment , once you start adjusting the nut, it is easy to screw it up , you can't put material back on there, look at adjusting the neck and bridge over a few days to get the action you want, get it near let the neck settle for a couple of days then, do finer adjustments let it settle and so on that way you can get exactly what you want , you need patience with Ric adjustment, hope this helps you.  Been playing Rics for over 40 years now, they are superb when you get the set up right.

 

Edited April 7 by geofio

[Simon C]

6 hours ago, Skybone said:

You don't show any pictures of the bridge/saddles. Have you adjusted the grub screw on the bass side?

 

It does need an imperial set of allen keys, but they are well worth having if you own a Ric.

Here are a couple of photos of the bridge/saddles. I don't see a grub screw to adjust. Am I missing something, or maybe it's something different about the new bridge design?

[Skybone]

10 hours ago, Simon C said:

Here are a couple of photos of the bridge/saddles. I don't see a grub screw to adjust. Am I missing something, or maybe it's something different about the new bridge design?

Apologies, I assumed that it was the "old" style bridge, however, it does look as though there is a small amount of space under the E string saddle. You could try to drop that to lower the string height.

[Doctor J]

This is one of the new ones with the single truss rod? Make sure the relief is correct before you do anything. Hold the string down at the first and last fret, you should have no more than the width of a business card between the bottom of the string and the top of frets 8 & 9. Then, check that the relief is the same on both sides, that the neck is not starting to warp to one side. If you bought it recently, you'll be covered by warranty so check this now, don't leave it.

 

For me, the action at the nut should be about the same over fret 1 - with the string open -as it is over fret 2 when you hold down the string at fret 1. The action the first fret on the G string looks good but looks terrible on the E string. Having to file the nut is not unusual, I can think of only a couple of instruments over the years where I haven't had to do this. It's an easy-enough job but it's very easy to take off too much. If you're unsure, bring it to a pro.

 

So, 1 check the relief is correct which will show you 2, that the neck is straight before 3, get that nut filed.

[geofio]

Honestly I would take it to a tech who has set up Rics, if you have no idea in what to do as it is so easy to screw this up even with knowledge.

[Simon C]

On 08/04/2024 at 07:48, Doctor J said:

This is one of the new ones with the single truss rod? Make sure the relief is correct before you do anything. Hold the string down at the first and last fret, you should have no more than the width of a business card between the bottom of the string and the top of frets 8 & 9. Then, check that the relief is the same on both sides, that the neck is not starting to warp to one side. If you bought it recently, you'll be covered by warranty so check this now, don't leave it.

 

For me, the action at the nut should be about the same over fret 1 - with the string open -as it is over fret 2 when you hold down the string at fret 1. The action the first fret on the G string looks good but looks terrible on the E string. Having to file the nut is not unusual, I can think of only a couple of instruments over the years where I haven't had to do this. It's an easy-enough job but it's very easy to take off too much. If you're unsure, bring it to a pro.

 

So, 1 check the relief is correct which will show you 2, that the neck is straight before 3, get that nut filed.

Yes it is one of the single truss rod ones.  The business card check has it falling through the E string and not through the A,D and G strings.  I loosened the truss road a quarter turn (mainly as I was getting concerned about how difficult it was when I put a quarter turn of tightening in the neck) then it falls through the E and A strings, D just about holds it, G easily holds it.  I didn't leave the neck to settle after making this loosening adjustment.

 

I bought it 2nd hand so I suspect it will be the 2 year shop warranty rather than the Ric one that applies.

 

The action check was interesting.  I can't see well enough to read my gauge properly, but I think the photos tell the story of fret 1 on the string unfretted being much higher than over fret 2 with fret 1 fretted.

 

Thanks for the advice.  I'll give the tech at the shop I bought it from a ring.  There's no substitute for him seeing it and coming up with sensible plan of action.  Once the bridge was bottomed out and it was still a little painful to play low on the E string, I'd a fair idea that was where it was going but thought I'd make use of the collective knowledge here 1st. 

 

 

 

Update: the Tech isn't available until 22nd April - so I'll take it to him then.  I'll assume the outcome is of interest to those on this thread and update when I know more.

Edited April 9 by Simon C
Updating based on guitar tech availability.

[Simon C]

35 minutes ago, geofio said:

Honestly I would take it to a tech who has set up Rics, if you have no idea in what to do as it is so easy to screw this up even with knowledge.

Agree.  It is sensible advice.

[Simon C]

On 08/04/2024 at 13:31, Simon C said:

Yes it is one of the single truss rod ones.  The business card check has it falling through the E string and not through the A,D and G strings.  I loosened the truss road a quarter turn (mainly as I was getting concerned about how difficult it was when I put a quarter turn of tightening in the neck) then it falls through the E and A strings, D just about holds it, G easily holds it.  I didn't leave the neck to settle after making this loosening adjustment.

 

I bought it 2nd hand so I suspect it will be the 2 year shop warranty rather than the Ric one that applies.

 

The action check was interesting.  I can't see well enough to read my gauge properly, but I think the photos tell the story of fret 1 on the string unfretted being much higher than over fret 2 with fret 1 fretted.

 

Thanks for the advice.  I'll give the tech at the shop I bought it from a ring.  There's no substitute for him seeing it and coming up with sensible plan of action.  Once the bridge was bottomed out and it was still a little painful to play low on the E string, I'd a fair idea that was where it was going but thought I'd make use of the collective knowledge here 1st. 

 

 

 

Update: the Tech isn't available until 22nd April - so I'll take it to him then.  I'll assume the outcome is of interest to those on this thread and update when I know more.

I took my 4003W to the tech today.  He says the nut can be cut lower.  He said the stiffness when tightening the nut is normal and even tightened it a bit more than I'd previously had it.  He was concerned enough about the neck to say he'll take a few measurements and seek advice from Rickenbacker.  To be continued....

[Skybone]

On 23/04/2024 at 13:20, Simon C said:

He was concerned enough about the neck to say he'll take a few measurements and seek advice from Rickenbacker.  To be continued....

 

Good luck with hearing back from Rickenbacker.

 

Fingers crossed that it can be sorted out though. 🤞

[Simon C]

So my Ric is back.  The tech recut the nut and set the bass up.  The action is set at 1.5mm at the 12th fret (that’s about 4/64”).  There is room to go lower or higher on the saddles.

 

 Before doing anything to it he contacted Rickenbacker. They weren’t interested in any potential warranty issues - I expected this as I’m not the original purchaser.  They did however provide him with a set of measurements. His view is that the nut was causing the problems. I asked about the neck showing signs of twisting as there was more relief under the E string than the others prior to him doing any work on it. He said that with a single truss rod this can happen due to the difference in tension on each string, however on my bass as set up it isn’t going to affect the playability.

 

 I’ve played it a couple of times for 20 mins or so. The action now feels consistent across the neck and I have no pain playing the low F.

 

 I’ll keep an eye on the neck but I’m happy with the bass following the work he did on it.  Hopefully you won’t hear about any more concerns with it.

[Sparky Mark]

1 hour ago, Simon C said:

So my Ric is back.  The tech recut the nut and set the bass up.  The action is set at 1.5mm at the 12th fret (that’s about 4/64”).  There is room to go lower or higher on the saddles.

 

 Before doing anything to it he contacted Rickenbacker. They weren’t interested in any potential warranty issues - I expected this as I’m not the original purchaser.  They did however provide him with a set of measurements. His view is that the nut was causing the problems. I asked about the neck showing signs of twisting as there was more relief under the E string than the others prior to him doing any work on it. He said that with a single truss rod this can happen due to the difference in tension on each string, however on my bass as set up it isn’t going to affect the playability.

 

 I’ve played it a couple of times for 20 mins or so. The action now feels consistent across the neck and I have no pain playing the low F.

 

 I’ll keep an eye on the neck but I’m happy with the bass following the work he did on it.  Hopefully you won’t hear about any more concerns with it.

Glad it's sorted now. My money was mainly on your taller nut needing to be cut lower on the E side. Although your photo is a little out of focus it does appear to show the E string was significantly higher in the nut than mine. Another instance of dubious Rickenbacker final inspection. 

Edited May 5 by Sparky Mark

[ezbass]

2 hours ago, Sparky Mark said:

Rickenbacker final inspection. 

The lowest of low bars. My 4003s had a high nut and a skew bridge pickup surround. It was really a case of don’t look too closely as it’ll end in disappointment. Shame for such an iconic instrument. Sounded great nonetheless and didn’t play badly but, for the money, they should be better.

[Simon C]

48 minutes ago, ezbass said:

The lowest of low bars. My 4003s had a high nut and a skew bridge pickup surround. It was really a case of don’t look too closely as it’ll end in disappointment. Shame for such an iconic instrument. Sounded great nonetheless and didn’t play badly but, for the money, they should be better.

You may well be right about the QC.  I do wonder if it worked in my favour though.  Whoever it was that put it into Guitar Guitar could have had any number of reasons for deciding to part with it.  One those may have been “This hurts when I play it”, and maybe they thought all Rics are like that and just decided Rics weren’t for them.

[Sparky Mark]

When I removed the scratchplate from my 4003SW I was surprised how rough the routing was underneath. It looked like the bluntest bit had been used literally chewing out the cavities. It took me about 20 minutes with a sharp blade to tidy it to an acceptable level. I think the non lacquered walnut basses probably receive the lowest level of attention at Rickenbacker. 

[ezbass]

3 hours ago, Simon C said:

One those may have been “This hurts when I play it”, and maybe they thought all Rics are like that and just decided Rics weren’t for them.

The first Ric I tried was at a music show. The action/relief was so high, you could slide the palm of you hand under it, absolutely shocking. It wasn’t until years later, when GG started stocking them, that I thought I’d give them another go to see if they were still as dreadful, they were not and the tone was one of those, “I need this in life,” moments. Sadly, the improvements hadn’t worked down to the finer details, but I was too wrapped up in the sound to notice them at the time of purchase, which included a chunk out of the finish (I managed to get a discount for that though). 

[Simon C]

The mute was bottoming out on my 4003W before it engaged with the strings on the treble side.  I thought it was probably a case of the bolts needing to be reset.  The tech at GG had a look and decided it needed a new mute.  He had to take the whole bridge assembly apart to fit the new mute, which sounds like it was a bit of a job.  It was done under warranty though, so no cost to me.  It seems to be working ok now.  So hopefully that’s all the teething problems sorted out.