Hi, my 4003 seems to be having some issues with buzzing on the E and A string along with the bridge saddle for the A string. When I press down on the saddle and play the open A it sounds normal, but when I take my finger off and play the saddle buzzes. That may be a quite tightening of things to fix it but I wanted to check with the pros. Now, going back to the buzzing of the E and A, it seems that they buzz when I fret the first 5 frets or so. I know this may be indicating it needs a truss rod adjustment, but I don't know what to do myself and I don't know who I should trust with the repair (which is really my problem), but, if anyone could give me some clear info on how to address these two problems, then I'd appreciate it greatly.
Thanks,
~Steve

I would (to begin with) simply raise the bridge only on the side with the buzzing strings, and see what happens. You can just turn each of the two bridge height adjustment screws a quarter of a turn (clockwise, to pull the bridge up) for a total of a full turn or so (or until the buzzing goes away or you realize that this isn't helping at all). If the the buzzing goes away (I'm guessing it will) AND the action (distance of strings off the fretboard) is not too high for you, then there's nothing else to do (except re-tune it, of course). Count the total number and degree of adjustments so you can return to your starting point, if you want. Be sure all of the bridge adjustment screws are resting on the plate/body of the guitar and the bridge does not rock. If the bridge rocks (is unstable; vibrates, buzzes), you have to adjust the "short" screw. Before you adjust the truss rods, you should determine the amount of relief you now have in the neck before doing anything. I do not know how much relief, if any, this bass should have.... Maybe the relief is OK(?) For string buzz, you would loosen the truss rod nuts to allow the tension of the strings to create more relief (bow) in the neck. It creates more space between the strings when playing (raises the action). But, back to the beginning, by raising the bridge you can easily and safely determine if raising the strings will eliminate the buzzing. Thicker strings always vibrate more than thinner ones.

PS - I don't have a clue what would be causing buzzing at the tailpiece, if it's not buzzing at the frets or the bridge saddles.... This would seem to be an independant problem, and not related to anything that neck adjustments could solve.... My two cents.

When I said, "string buzz," I really meant to say "fret buzz," the buzzing you get when the action is too low; strings vibrating against one or more ftets on the fretboard.

Thanks a lot man, but the weird thing is, I went downstairs this morning to check it again and the bass was working fine, and sounded amazing! What the heck was going on I have no idea, but it seemed to fix itself? I don't get it...

The only thing I can think of is large differences in room temperature, which could affect the guitar.

At the moment I'm pretty much convinced that that was the issue...Man I hate Maine weather haha

Ricks are sensitive to quick temperature changes and variations.Give it a day or two to acclamate,if not,it may need a slight truss rod turn.

That was the thing, I left it out of it's case overnight and it was wonky, but I put back in the case and then the next day and it was amazing again!