No range of adjustment left on truss rods

[i_am_the_walrus]

In order to get a straight neck on my '02 330, I have to tighten the bass side rod as far as it will go and the treble side is only tightened 1/3 of a turn. Right now the neck appears to be completely straight and I'm able to set the action where I want it. Should I be concerned with this?

[rictified]

Assuming you have normal tension strings on it, they both should be in the same ballpark as far as tension goes. One truss rod will keep the neck straight if it is adjusted incorrectly but it is not too wise. I would loosen both and adjust each one until they are both approximately the same, then tweak it. You may have to have the bass side a little tighter than the other side but nothing like what you describe.

[i_am_the_walrus]

Thank you, Rictified. I did what you said and I'm still having problems getting the neck even on both sides.

Right now, I have the bass side rod tightened as far as it will go and there's still a small amount of relief on that side (Holding a straight edge against the neck there's a gap large enough to slide a thin sheet of paper through around the 5-6 frets) whereas the other side is dead straight. Maybe I'm being obsessive, but that doesn't seem right to me. The Rick manual says that due to the "extreme adjustability" of Rickenbackers you should be able to get a completely straight neck with no relief so that's what I'm shooting for. I'd take it to a luthier, but there's no one around here that I know of that works on Ricks.

I called Rickenbacker customer support, and the person I talked to was no help at all. They said they couldn't do anything because I voided the warranty by using 9 guage strings. Apparantly, using a different string guage from what the guitar comes with is considered a "modification to the instrument." Wouldn't using the stock 10s it comes with make the problem worse, though? On the Rick price list it shows they even sell sets of 9s. Why does Rick sells strings that will void the warranty on your guitar if you use them? The guy I talked on the phone also told me that Ricks come from the factory with a little bit of neck relief, but I remember reading on on this forum somewhere (from John Hall I think) that they are set up straight at the factory.

[admin]

Walrus: It sounds that this is something you can see, but can you feel this slight discrepancy. Does it affect you playing or intonation? If not, I say play on! At some point you may wish to have someone take out the rods, check their bend and then replace them.

[rictified]

I'm a bass player but I like a little bit of relief in my necks, dead straight necks often buzz and sound thin. I would loosen the other side to make the relief pretty uniform if it bothers you and do what Peter suggested, play on! Every guitar is different, some play nice with straight necks and some need a little relief, most of mine play better with a little bit. A piece of paper's worth of relief doesn't sound like enough to me.

[elgranluis]

Id be concerned if I could get the neck straight. Not being able to slide that thin sheet of paper would mean not being able to use different frets at all. Actually, the neck needs some relief in order for a guitar to work.

[jingle_jangle]

Luis, this is patently not true. Theoretically, as long as the bridge height is higher than the nut height, the frets are properly dressed and radiused (or not, in the case of a classical guitar), and the neck is parallel with the body, a guitar will function. The setup preferences of the player take over from there.

[qmoder]

I would'nt set it up without a setup the truss rod without a set of strings on there.

[qmoder]

Sounds too crazy when I read my reply. What I mean to say is that I would not set up the truss rod without a set of strings on it.

[patrickkelly]

Can it be true that using 9's instead of 10's would void the warranty?