Ric 4003 - Pickguardian mounting plate question

[ikay]

I'm thinking of getting a flush mounting plate/bezel for the bridge pickup on my 4003, like the Pickguardian one or similar (may make my own).

 

But a flush mounting plate will have 1cm less headroom for the height adjustment spring. See pic below. The dotted red line indicates the approx level of the underside of the flush mounting plate which appears to leave hardly any room for a spring. The existing spring is quite long and, even it can compress into that space, it leaves very little wiggle room for raising the pickup height.

 

Can someone who has installed a flush plate like this tell me if the original spring still works or did you need to use shorter springs?

 

Thanks for any input.

 

[ezbass]

The bezel I fitted from Rickysounds (I think it was them) fitted inside the metal pickup surround, above the springs. The one you mention seems to replace the entire metal surround.

 

[PaulThePlug]

Old fenders etc used bits of silicon tubing...

Or how about a small rubber grommet?

Rick often used these under the pickup and above the body...

[ikay]

Yes, good idea. If the spring doesn't fit (or allow enough adjustment) I was thinking about something like that, or maybe a wad of pickup mounting foam between the caddy and the face plate. 

[PigBass]

Sorry if I am missing the point here (it's been known) but the two key choices you have are the Pickguardian Perspex type flush mounted plate or the Rickysounds bezel fitting - both shown in ezbass's pictures.

 

The flush Perspex type replaces all the chrome so there is no height difference in reality, just replace the chrome with the new fitting as per ezbass's right picture. I fitted the second type as in:  https://www.rickysounds.co.uk/product-category/bass-guitar-bezels/ and shown in ezbass's left picture, this one is in place of the two black rubber spacers you see below the spring, so again there's no need to adjust or buy anything else. 

 

Hope that helps, Darren.

[ikay]

Thanks for replying Darren. I've done a bit more measuring/fiddling around and the standard chrome surround provides about 6mm more headroom for the spring than a flush mounted perspex surround. This means that, when the pickup is raised to the height I usually set it at, the spring is much more compressed with a flush surround. The spring is quite stiff and adds a lot of resistance to adjustment when it's so heavily compressed. I've now ordered some shorter springs which will be a better fit with a flush surround and make adjustment easier.

Edited November 25, 2022 by ikay