Serious neck problem on a '99 4001v63

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Sat Sep 07, 2002 1:05 pm

Anyone is free to use whatever strings he wishes, but I do not expect RIC to deal with problems when someone insists on using strings other than the ones they recommend.

gaboik · Post by **gaboik** » Sat Sep 07, 2002 4:18 pm

Dave, I wont buy this. If you told me that Rick recommends a certain guage, I can understand that. If you say that the fact that the package doesn't say Rickenbacker on it makes a difference, then I say it's a bunch of bull on rick's part. When I bought my Fender P-bass, the warranty never says that I can't use D'Addario strings. I tried Rick strings, and I have to say that I found they did not suit me. Rotosound is all that works for me.

admin · Post by **admin** » Sat Sep 07, 2002 4:44 pm

Dave and Charlie: Since the early days, RIC has recommended their line of guitar strings with Rickenbacker guitars. One the basis of my readings to date, this policy was based on a desire to provide a quality string that produced a quality sound, intonated well and could be obtained at a fair price. Over the years, it has been demonstrated by numerous artists that strings, other than RIC strings, have served the recording industry well and been compatible with Rickenbacker instruments, albeit some amount of adjustment has been necessary. Provided the instrument has been adjusted properly and used strings comparable in gauge to factory specification, I cannot imagine that using D'Addario 10s, for example, would void a warranty. Perhaps John Hall will get the chance to let us know the bottom line from the Company's perspective some time in the near future.

I think that the point here is that mainstream strings of quality, properly installed on a well adjusted Rickenbacker, no matter what the make, are likely to be acceptable to RIC from a warranty point of view. It goes without saying, that some players will exceed reasonable limits with regard to the gauge of strings on an instrument that is not designed to take a particular gauge or poorly set up. On these occasions, Rickenbacker or otherwise, undesirable side effects may result and we could hardly expect any manufacturer to come good for it.

dave4004 · Post by **dave4004** » Sun Sep 08, 2002 6:00 am

Peter, I do agree with your evaluation. My point is that if you use a different string, and the different string causes a problem, I do not expect RIC to have to deal with it.

mortivan · Post by **mortivan** » Tue Sep 10, 2002 12:42 pm

Hi Pete,

OT, but, I haven't seen a post here from Mr. Hall in quite some time. Has he posted here lately?

gpatt5762 · Post by **gpatt5762** » Sun Sep 15, 2002 2:16 pm

John,

I believe the treatment Mr. Hall received on Vox Talks in re the C-Series instruments (shameful!) cured him of newsgroups and message boards.

He may have rightly deduced that his time is too valuable.

Don't read too much into this!

Cheers,
Garry

basstorius · Post by **basstorius** » Sun Sep 29, 2002 10:00 am

I dropped the bass off to the luthier yesterday. His first impression was that this is indeed a serious problem. He even wondered what Rickenbacker might do with the instrument if it was returned under warranty (like maybe declare it unfixable? - my assumption, not the luthier's).

He then took off the nameplate and the pickguard assembly and noticed that the bass side truss rod had been pulled into the neck about a quarter of an inch - this was also evident when looking at the adjustment end of the bass side rod as it was longer that the treble side part of the rod that is visible under the nameplate. He said he might be able to fix the neck by pulling the bass side truss rod out and reinserting it with a larger washer in the body end of the rod to keep it from pulling through when tightened up on the other end. He thinks this may allow him to straighten the neck by just re-tightening the truss rod. He is wary about a heat treament that would affect the finsh and the glue but he said a "warm" heat treatment might work.

I told him to take his time and do it right and that I'd be back in Denver in a month to pick it up. I'll post again on 10/27 after I pick it up.

basstorius · Post by **basstorius** » Sun Oct 27, 2002 10:47 am

I picked my bass up yesterday. It's kind of a good news/bad news situation. The good news is the bass is playable (for now at least). He got rid of practically all the bow on the bass side of the neck. There's a tiny bit left but a neck needs some minor relief and that's basically what it's got. He set it up nicely and it plays much better - it was basically unplayable before. The bad news is that he couldn't do much about the twist. He said to heat it enough to get the twist out would compromise the glue holding the fingerboard to the neck and also ruin the finish. He gave it a light heat treatment but it wasn't enough to affect the twist much. He said the twist was most likely caused by the fingerboard. He didn't think it was suitable piece of wood because of the how the grain runs. He said the neck wood, on the other hand, is a beautiful piece of wood and has a very nice grain pattern.

Although the bass is currently playable, I asked him about the chances of reverting to its former state and he couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't happen. He did say that because he repositioned the truss rod, it could be adjusted some more if needed. But to fix the twist, the finish and fingerboard would have to me removed, more heat applied to the neck and some work to the fingerboard. He also said he did not have the capability to apply a poly finish. He suggested a job like this would be best left to Rickenbacker.

I'm not sure what to do about this bass. I really like this model but I'm soured on this bass and really disappointed that Rickenbacker won't even let me pay them to fix it because my name is not Chris Squire or Paul McCartney. If I sell this bass, I can't be dishonest about its problems. What could I get for it? And how would I get another 4001v63? The last one I saw on ebay didn't even meet reserve and the high bid was $1,037. I guess I'm stuck with this bass and I can only hope the neck doesn't get any worse. What's really sad is this bass was made in '99. Rickenbacker made a lemon and they won't even consider fixing it, even at my expense.

ricnvolved · Post by **ricnvolved** » Sun Oct 27, 2002 6:33 pm

If there is anyone I would trust implicitly to fix this problem once and for all, it would be Mark Arnquist............ warranty and Rickenbacker recalcitrance be damned.

basstorius · Post by **basstorius** » Mon Oct 28, 2002 6:47 am

How do I get in touch with Mark? Where is he located?

ricnvolved · Post by **ricnvolved** » Mon Oct 28, 2002 3:07 pm

Jeff-- Mark is located in Washington state. Go into the "Ask a Rickenbacker Luthier" room and browse the subject post headings. Look for where he has personally made a post, then click on his name. This should enable you to leave a private message for him.

I can vouch for this man's work. He's the best. I will go so far as to say that if HE can't fix it, then it can't be fixed. Period.