Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Wiker wrote:Yes, just slacken the strings. Remove the truss rod nuts and push out the spacer block to see if it has started to sink into the wood on one side, or maybe the block simply didn’t sit right.

I'm wondering if one side was barely snug and the other got tightened, pulling the block off kilter and the problem became as it is.

From what you describe i had the same problem with my 360/12. The bass side was straight and the high side had a bow and it. seemed like the high side truss rod ran out of threads it just got real tight. It seemed like i needed maybe 1 more turn and it would be as straight as the bass side. The nuts at the heal of the neck were fine. So what i did i made a small spacer about 1/16 inch long and .375 round to go over the truss rod at the adjustment end. This worked for me. Now both sides of the neck are straight. I suppose a small washer my work. Good luck. Gary

John (and All),

Sorry to hear that your having problems with your bass. Going back to the original repair, it appeared to be the result of a "softness" in the wood, and solely in the bass side of the neck, which resulted in that side's truss rod pulling through the neck both at the heel and the nut. The heel end was repaired by inserting a steel plate across that end of the neck, so it's unlikely that the current problem is at that end. At the nut end, the end of the truss rod channel was over-drilled and reinforced with a maple "doughnut" to give the truss rod thrust block a solid foundation - which, in the long term, appears wasn't adequate. There is a solution to the current problem as well - I'll email you offline to talk about it.

Larry

dgwguitars wrote:The heel end was repaired by inserting a steel plate across that end of the neck, so it's unlikely that the current problem is at that end.

Larry

That is my conclusion, also; going by this photo of John's
it looks like the acorn nuts are still in the same plane and neither one has sunken further into the neck at the heel end of it.

Can we just get rid of ALL the wood?

Got your email Larry, I'll get back to you in a bit...

sloop_john_b wrote:Can we just get rid of ALL the wood?

Got your email Larry, I'll get back to you in a bit...

There are a couple of ways to go, we'll talk about it.

sloop_john_b wrote:Can we just get rid of ALL the wood?

Zon! Neck wood, anyways. (Is he related to Steve Wood?)

ALL the wood? Status Graphite!

jps wrote:

sloop_john_b wrote:Can we just get rid of ALL the wood?

Zon! Neck wood, anyways. (Is he related to Steve Wood?)

ALL the wood? Status Graphite!

Or Steinberger L2/XL2.

Here's even another option: all aluminum!
http://www.electricalguitarcompany.com/

DriftSpace wrote:Here's even another option: all aluminum!
http://www.electricalguitarcompany.com/

Aluminum is for sissies... Real men would use cast iron...

Colonel Sanders wrote:

DriftSpace wrote:Here's even another option: all aluminum!
http://www.electricalguitarcompany.com/

Aluminum is for sissies... Real men would use cast iron...

Hah... actually would be interesting to try just to see what it would sound like!

It would sound real heavy man!

Eden.

weemac wrote:It would sound real heavy man!

Eden.

Heavy metal

No need to fret, either!

Larry, of course, stands by his work and I will be sending this back to him next month for a more drastic fix. I'm not sure what that will entail yet, but I have all sorts of wild ideas - perhaps a whole new neck/body core?