RE: 360/12 Hump in Neck

[Folkie]

A few months ago I had a guitar tech mod the string-spacing on my 2010 360/12, using an older 360/12C63 model that was on the wall at Sam Ash as a prototype. This involved cutting a new nut, installing and notching a new bridge, and doing a routine restringing and setup. When I got the guitar back, I was very pleased with the string-spacing, but somewhat displeased with what I perceived to be excessive rattle and buzz from the high B and E pairs. (My test to see if the high strings were fretting out was to play the outro to the Byrds’ “Feel a Whole Lot Better” and see if the notes rang out cleanly.)

The tech at Sam Ash told me that a hump in the neck was causing the problem, and that, if the guitar were his, he would send it back to Rickenbacker to have the frets and finish removed and the neck planed. He raised the action, added a little relief to the neck, and basically said there was nothing else he could do, other than call Rickenbacker for me to make a warranty claim.

For the most part, the guitar plays okay now, although the neck isn’t dead straight, the way Rickenbacker recommends, and there’s still some buzz on the high strings. (This buzz is not at all audible when I play the 360 through my Vox AC15, although it is noticeable when I play the guitar acoustically). To complicate matters, it feels to me like the nut is too high on the treble side, as I’m having trouble playing a barred F chord near the nut. (This is a problem I had with the old nut, too, and once my tech lowered the nut grooves, things were okay.) If I lower the grooves, chording should be easier. But that may come at a price, because lowering the action could cause the unison strings to totally buzz out again.

I’m in a real quandary, because, although my guitar is still under warranty, I’ve made so many changes to it (toasters, 12-saddle bridge, new nut), and am so happy with it in general, that it hardly seems worth my while to send it back to the factory for such a major overhaul. Has anyone else come across this or a similar problem, and, if so, do you have any advice? Specifically, how long does it take the factory to plane a neck and what else on the guitar would this affect?

Robert

[libratune]

If you play the E or B pair fret by fret up the fretboard, does either pair "fret out" at a certain fret? That is, for example, does the note you hit at fret 13 sound the same as fret 14? Or does it simply start buzzing at the higher frets?

[doctorwho]

I've had this problem on at least one 6-string Rickenbacker (IIRC, the 610 Ruby had it) and it is fixable.

What I did was this: (1) I loosened all of the strings, (2) I loosened the truss rods, (3) after a short time to allow the neck to relax (maybe overnight, I can't remember ) I retightened the truss rods while applying a little pressure (downward) on the problem ("high") area to get the neck back to flat, (4) I brought the strings back up to tension gradually while tweaking the truss rods as necessary AND while checking the problem area, applying pressure downward there if necessary to keep it flat. Once to pitch,I performed one last check to make sure the neck was level and action was good throughout.

[admin]

I would take advantage of any warranty that is available to you. Why not contact customer service at Rickenbacker for their recommendation in this matter.

[Folkie]

If you play the E or B pair fret by fret up the fretboard, does either pair "fret out" at a certain fret? That is, for example, does the note you hit at fret 13 sound the same as fret 14? Or does it simply start buzzing at the higher frets?

The best way I can describe the problem is that I'm getting consistent buzz all the way up and down the fretboard. It's particularly noticeable when I'm playing the solo and outro to The Byrds' "Feel a Whole Lot Better" because those guitar parts utilize just the B and E pairs. I'm not detecting much buzz in other situations (except when I'm trying to barre an F chord at the nut and the strings buzz because my index finger can't hold the strings down). As I said, the buzz is a nuisance, but it's totally inaudible when I play the guitar through my Vox AC15. Is it worth my trouble to send the guitar back to the factory, and have the frets and finish removed and the neck planed?

[Folkie]

I've had this problem on at least one 6-string Rickenbacker (IIRC, the 610 Ruby had it) and it is fixable.

What I did was this: (1) I loosened all of the strings, (2) I loosened the truss rods, (3) after a short time to allow the neck to relax (maybe overnight, I can't remember ) I retightened the truss rods while applying a little pressure (downward) on the problem ("high") area to get the neck back to flat, (4) I brought the strings back up to tension gradually while tweaking the truss rods as necessary AND while checking the problem area, applying pressure downward there if necessary to keep it flat. Once to pitch,I performed one last check to make sure the neck was level and action was good throughout.

Hello Gary,

Are you sure that you had the same problem I'm experiencing: ie. a hump in the neck? Did your 6-string fret out as I described? If so, it's a real relief to hear that the problem has a solution. I don't work on my own guitars, but I may tell my tech to follow your instructions as a remedy for this problem. Thanks for the expert advice!

Robert

[doctorwho]

I've had this problem on at least one 6-string Rickenbacker (IIRC, the 610 Ruby had it) and it is fixable.

What I did was this: (1) I loosened all of the strings, (2) I loosened the truss rods, (3) after a short time to allow the neck to relax (maybe overnight, I can't remember ) I retightened the truss rods while applying a little pressure (downward) on the problem ("high") area to get the neck back to flat, (4) I brought the strings back up to tension gradually while tweaking the truss rods as necessary AND while checking the problem area, applying pressure downward there if necessary to keep it flat. Once to pitch,I performed one last check to make sure the neck was level and action was good throughout.

Hello Gary,

Are you sure that you had the same problem I'm experiencing: ie. a hump in the neck? Did your 6-string fret out as I described? If so, it's a real relief to hear that the problem has a solution. I don't work on my own guitars, but I may tell my tech to follow your instructions as a remedy for this problem. Thanks for the expert advice!

Robert

As I recall the details, the neck on mine had a high spot (I guess it's the same as a hump{?}) around the 3rd and 4th frets which was centered on the treble side (the high E and B strings). The neck was straight except for that high spot and the rest of the strings rang true all the way up the fretboard.

BTW, I may have had another guitar with a similar problem in the past that I resolved in the same way, as I think I remember that I had done it before.

[Folkie]

Thanks, Gary! Sounds like exactly the same problem. I thought there was no way to fix it, but your advice has been very helpful.

[doctorwho]

Thanks, Gary! Sounds like exactly the same problem. I thought there was no way to fix it, but your advice has been very helpful.

Glad to be helpful!

I know that when I found the problem on my guitar, I figured that the fretboard didn't leave the factory with a high spot. Logically, the neck wood and/or truss rods were likely the cause of the high spot and this could be fixed without extreme intervention.

[jps]

Robert, we were talking about you at Sam Ash, today!

[Folkie]

Robert, we were talking about you at Sam Ash, today!

PM Sent!