ikay Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 I've noticed that some 4003 bridge pickups aren't quite square on the caddy which my OCD finds hard to deal with. How is the bridge pickup attached to the baseplate and is it an easy job to straighten it up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 My 4003s was like that. Get a bezel and then you won’t see the assembly behind. Plus, it helps cover the sharp edges of the surround. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 Yes I looked at the bezel but even with that you can still see the pickup is slightly on the wonk! It's just sloppy assembly which is pretty bad for such an expensive bass. I don't actually have a 4003 yet BTW but have my eye on one and this is putting me off! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ezbass Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 41 minutes ago, ikay said: It's just sloppy assembly which is pretty bad for such an expensive bass. I can't argue with that. Even the surround on mine wasn't straight (about 1mm on the wonk). It's sad to say, but the hardware does seem to be just thrown on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Woodinblack Posted June 14, 2020 Share Posted June 14, 2020 All of your rics seem to have the pickup at the same angle - maybe it is intentional. Mind you, you can't expect too much them being a budget instrument made by americans Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ikay Posted June 14, 2020 Author Share Posted June 14, 2020 3 hours ago, Woodinblack said: All of your rics seem to have the pickup at the same angle - maybe it is intentional. Having dug a bit deeper you may actually be right 😮. The adjustable pole pieces on newer Rics (2007 onwards) screw through the bobbin into the magnet. I found a pic of a disassembled bobbin and you can clearly see that the holes in the magnet for the pole pieces have been drilled at a slight angle. So when assembled the bobbin will look on the wonk. The holes used to screw the bobbin/magnet assembly to the baseplate are over-sized so there should be a bit of wiggle room to straighten things up by loosening these off and repositiooning. The magnet would then be on the wonk but that could be covered by a bezel. On pre 2007 pickups without adjustable pole pieces, the bobbin was just glued onto the magnet. Some of these were also wonky so whichever way you look at it it's not exactly a precision assembly job! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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