'67 365 MG - It's arrived and I'm a bit preplexed...

[Drew816]

So I got the 365 I was looking at, it's crazy clean for a 44 year old guitar with only a few scratches here and there, etc. No doubt it's old with untouched corrosion on some of the parts, that 'green aging' on the frets, etc.

HOWEVER, I have the bridge lowered as far as it will go on the Low E side and the strings still seem high to me. I can see no hump, the neck looks straight, there's no twist, no stress on the neck joint, the strings are just kind of high on the neck. Not horribly so and maybe that's the way these things are? I don't expect it to be a shredder but it makes me a bit nervous when there's no adjustment left and the bridge is as far as it can go and the strings are still up there a bit if you know what I mean.

I have small hands and a banged up left arm so I'm always looking for more narrow nut width and smaller profile necks and MAN this neck was custom made for me! Add bigger frets and I'd be in heaven but it plays pretty good as it is. Overall the guitar has a 'different' kind of feel to it, my Rick experience is obviously pretty limited so I'm working to adjust but it sure is a pretty danged thing!

I'll try and post some shots of what I'm talking about but any off the top of your head thoughts would be appreciated.

[libratune]

Off the top of my head:

One thought is the strings. What kind (gauge, flat or round) are on it now? You might consider switching to a lighter gauge if nothing else works.

Are you sure there is no relief on the neck? Maybe could use a gentle truss rod adjustment.

Have you checked for neck twist?

Is the bridge all the way down on the high E side?

[sys700]

Look at the joint where the neck meets the body. Are you sure there is no hairline crack there? The neck could be perfectly straight but still have rotated up where it meets the body. The neck should be level with the top of the guitar. A photo from the side would be helpful. I had this on one of my Ricks and I'm currently getting the neck reset by Paul W. Unfortunately I have to get the guitar refinished too. Fortunately Paul does great work!

[Drew816]

http://s129.photobucket.com/albums/p218 ... =slideshow

Check out the pics and let me know your thoughts. I'm heading over to the shop today for a pro evaluation and I'll report back as well...

[jingle_jangle]

Without looking at the pics, I'd say:

neck reset.

[Drew816]

All is well, my luthier took a look and said "...welcome to the world of Rickenbackers." There's a bit of 'positive break' to the neck which he said is pretty typical; Gibsons and Gretsch's have negative break so the neck is angled away from the plain of the body (headstock down), Fenders are flat, and Ric's can or do have some positive break. And again, there's no stress at the neck joint, the neck looked great, no twisting etc so I think were in good shape. I had the string height adjusted just about spot on; to go any lower we'd have to take some metal off the bridge base or the bridge base plate but of course I have no intention of doing this! So me not being familiar and the positive break to the neck threw me off a bit.

He LOVED the guitar by the way, he was quite impressed and said that this was by far the cleanest and nicest vintage Rick he'd ever seen. He couldn't believe it was a '67. Admittedly he's no 'Ric expert' but he's seen a few; his first good guitar long ago was a vintage 330 so.

So now's it's time to get used to the whole Ric' thing and enjoy!

Thanks for all your help and opinions and happy playing!

[jingle_jangle]

Well, I'm a bit "post-plexed".

Your luthier is not too Rick-familiar. with all due respect.

The photo shows a bridge cranked down to its max, and terrible action on the body end of the neck.

From your verbal description, I knew it was a reset issue, which is, frankly, the first thing Rick people look at when they appraise a vintage Rick with intention to purchase.

"Positive break" (angle) to the neck is exactly why it needs a reset...Rickenbackers are built with NO neck angle, and the bridge will present in the middle 1/3 of its vertical travel on a healthy instrument.

This guitar needed a reset years ago. Since much of the enjoyment of playing a Rickenbacker is enjoying the slim neck and low action, you're doing yourself and the guitar a disservice by not getting this done.

[apossibleworld]

Winfield's low bridgeplate can sometimes give you just enough extra room to avoid needing the difficult neck set:

http://www.winfieldvintage.com/parts/baseplate.html

[Drew816]

So with positive break in the equation you're stating it's not "correct" and therefore I should consider sending it back to the dealer? if in fact this is an issue and I'm about to pay "full price" for this thing sounds to me like I should return it for a refund.

So Ric's should be flat with no break at all and vintage models if they exhibit any break are in need of a reset; period?

I'm asking because I can still get my money back and I appreciate the input and comments.

[jps]

In the end it depends on whether you can live with it until you can do the neck reset. If everything else is great, you might want to keep the guitar; many vintage instruments will have some issue or another, these are "old" instruments, after all.

[Drew816]

Well I just paid a LOT for this guitar and if it needs a reset and that translates to a refin too that's going to be as expensive as heck on top of all the money I just plopped down.

It's a great axe but I don't to pay market pr ice and then be faced with a $1k plus bill in the future on top and I'll loose originality (and value!) in the process.

Argghhh!

[jps]

Back it goes, I suppose. Sorry to hear this, but the right one will show up.

[sys700]

I was in a difficult situation about a year ago. I had two Rick 12-strings, the 1st one was in near mint condition with incredible action but a replacement 12-saddle bridge, 3 piece top, and short-pole pickups. The 2nd one was not as clean, but had a really thick 2-piece top, long-pole pickup at the neck, and the most amazing sound and sustain, even though the action was a bit worse. It also belonged to a famous 60's musician. The difference in sound/jangle/crunch was night and day.

After literally days of playing them both side by side into multiple amps, I opted to sell the clean one. A few weeks afterwards I realized why the 2nd one didn't have great action. It was due to the issue you are describing and it was getting worse. Even though I had paid a lot for this guitar, I decided to send it to Paul for a neck reset, refret, and refinish with crushed pearl inlays and double-binding. Yes, the value might dimenish, but I mainly wanted it to play and sound good.

In my experience, Rickenbackers sound very different guitar to guitar, even from the same year/era, and most from the 60's will eventually need a neck reset. If you find one that sounds great and has a few issues, I'd go with that one over a clean, mint, perfectly playing example. If it's clean AND sounds great, even better. So bottom line is, if you love the sound of the guitar, it might be worth checking into a refinish and reset and perhaps the dealer will give you a partial refund. On the other hand, if you have a lot of patience, you can wait for the perfect example to come along. But you might be waiting a very long time as those guitars rarely come on the market, and when they do, they're very pricey.