1988 620/6 Neck Adjustment Failure

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sirswithin
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Re: 1988 620/6 Neck Adjustment Failure

Post by sirswithin »

I've swapped out the the heavy guage flatwounds for a new set of 10-46 nicklewounds after loosening the truss rod nuts and getting the neck close to flat. I then pulled the neck down and tightened the truss rod nuts and that seems to have done the trick. The action is much lower now and much more playable. I also read somewhere that Rics after 1984 had the single piece truss rod where the nut is welded in place and you just turned them one way or the other depending on how you wanted to bend the neck, but mine is not like that, even though the serial number says it's an '88. It has the nuts that can be completely removed from the thread. I'm not sure what that means, but the guitar looks to be back where it should be. Thanks for all the advice.
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jps
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Re: 1988 620/6 Neck Adjustment Failure

Post by jps »

Clifton wrote:
sloop_john_b wrote:
Clifton wrote:The way my luthier explained working with Rickenbacker truss rods is like this--you loosen the truss rods, then physically move the neck where you want it. Then, tighten the truss rods to hold it in place. If you're trying to move the neck just using the rods, it's going to put too much tension on there.
1988 truss rods should not have to be adjusted that way.
From what I understand, all Rickenbacker truss rods should be adjusted that way.
Regardless of truss rod design, it is always prudent to pull back on the neck/headstock when tightening the rod(s) to relieve some of the tension on the rod(s) so it/they does/do not take all the force of trying to move the neck. Not needed to be done when loosening the rod(s), however.
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jdogric12
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Re: 1988 620/6 Neck Adjustment Failure

Post by jdogric12 »

Clifton wrote:
sloop_john_b wrote:
Clifton wrote:The way my luthier explained working with Rickenbacker truss rods is like this--you loosen the truss rods, then physically move the neck where you want it. Then, tighten the truss rods to hold it in place. If you're trying to move the neck just using the rods, it's going to put too much tension on there.
1988 truss rods should not have to be adjusted that way.
From what I understand, all Rickenbacker truss rods should be adjusted that way.
Nope, that's for the old style rods. One as recent as 88 I believe has the newer system, which is simply righty tighty lefty loosey. The change was in the early 80's over a few years' transition period. JB is correct.
Clifton
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Re: 1988 620/6 Neck Adjustment Failure

Post by Clifton »

From what I understand, all Rickenbacker truss rods should be adjusted that way.[/quote]

Nope, that's for the old style rods. One as recent as 88 I believe has the newer system, which is simply righty tighty lefty loosey. The change was in the early 80's over a few years' transition period. JB is correct.[/quote]

The luthier I go to here in Houston has explained to me that, regardless of changes in truss rod designs by Rickenbacker, this is still the best way to adjust all Rickenbacker necks. And, by the way, John Hall approached this luthier years ago to do Rickenbacker setups and repairs in Houston.
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scott_s
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Re: 1988 620/6 Neck Adjustment Failure

Post by scott_s »

sirswithin wrote:I've swapped out the the heavy guage flatwounds for a new set of 10-46 nicklewounds after loosening the truss rod nuts and getting the neck close to flat. I then pulled the neck down and tightened the truss rod nuts and that seems to have done the trick. The action is much lower now and much more playable. I also read somewhere that Rics after 1984 had the single piece truss rod where the nut is welded in place and you just turned them one way or the other depending on how you wanted to bend the neck, but mine is not like that, even though the serial number says it's an '88. It has the nuts that can be completely removed from the thread. I'm not sure what that means, but the guitar looks to be back where it should be. Thanks for all the advice.
The nuts at both ends of modern Rickenbacker truss rods can be unthreaded. I wonder if your guitar suffers from soft wood in the neck, allowing the anchor nuts to slowly pull through. The user is obligated to keep tightening the rods to maintain their setup, and eventually you see a lot of truss rod sticking out from the adjusting nuts. It's not from bad manufacture, it's just something that can happen (vintage-style Fenders are susceptible as well.)

Now that you are on light-gauge strings, that process should slow down and hopefully stabilize your setup. I'm well-acquainted with this issue because I love heavy strings and my 330 exhibits the problem. I've tried the superglue fix for the worst-offending truss rod but that resulted in excess running down all over the peghead. :oops: For both our sakes, I should probably downsize to 0.011s, but they just don't feel the same!
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