Neck question for a 4001

rikk · Post by **rikk** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 5:14 pm

My '78 4001 buzzes on the last few frets. The rest of the frets are fine. It has good action and the neck seems pretty straight. If I fret it at the first fret and the last fret there is about a 3 business card space between the strings and the top of the fret. If I fret it at the first and 12th fret there is less than a business card. It plays and sounds fine everywhere except for the last 5 or 6 frets where is looses all it's life and sustain because the strings seem to bottom out. Considering it's a 4001 what should be my next step?

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 6:04 pm

The frets probably need to be dressed. Not every fretted instrument leaves the factory with perfect frets (or fingerboards) - including those of the boutique builders. Mass produced instruments are approximately right (rarely perfect). You should consult a good fret man and have them checked out. It is rare to find fret lift on Ricks with their original frets so they may just need to be leveled and crowned. I have seen many Ricks with poor frets and many with exceptional frets. They run the gamut. For some reason, recent Ricks tend to have better frets than older Ricks. The best fret work I have ever seen on a new instrument bar none is from Lakland.

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Fri Feb 17, 2006 7:41 pm

The way you desribe the action and the fact that it is all the frets after the neck joint makes me wonder if it is bent at the neck joint where it meets the body. I've seen this happen before on Rics that had had heavy strings on them at one time or other and can cause the bridge to be set too low which in turn could cause the symptoms you describe. I would try to straighten out the neck as much as possible to see if you can raise the bridge a little, this might help even if it is bad frets.

rikk · Post by **rikk** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 5:02 am

The neck seems pretty straight. From the 1st and 12th there is less than a business card dip. Is it still worth to try to straighten it even more? If so the procedure would be to loosen the strings, loosen the truss rods, bend the neck by hand to the desired position and then tighten the truss rods, and then the strings. Correct?

rictified · Post by **rictified** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 8:47 am

That is why I suggested the bend where the neck meets the body, there seems to be more of a bend between the body and the 12th fret than between 1st and 12th which shouldn't be.
To straighten 4001's: do not loosen strings, take off TRC, have nutdriver ready, stand on rug, put bottom of bass on the rug so it won't slip, put one foot in front of bass on floor, put other knee behind where the neck meets the body, pull back on neck enough to release tension from strings (and TRC nuts at the same time) and make it straight, DON'T don't loosen the truss rods, then turn each nut clockwise (tighter) until fairly tight, don't really crank down on them but get them fairly tight, then release tension and sight down neck using strings as a straight edge. Ric basses were meant to have the necks completely straight although I like a little bit of a bow in mine.
There are more ways to do this, the main thing is to release the tension from the strings and this way you can do it yourself.
Also this is only a guess, Ted may also be right.
The deepest part of the bow in the neck should be right in the middle, around the 10th, 11th frets, if not it has settled in wrong and is hard to fix but usually can be with patience.

rikk · Post by **rikk** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 9:40 am

Bob, a few questions. You say...

"pull back on neck enough to release tension from strings (and TRC nuts at the same time) and make it straight, DON'T don't loosen the truss rods, then turn each nut clockwise (tighter) until fairly tight, don't really crank down on them but get them fairly tight, then release tension and sight down neck using strings as a straight edge."

...if I pull back on the neck wouldn't that tighten the strings?

I should loosen the truss rods before I move the neck, then tighten them?

I want to understand this completely before trying this.
Thanks,
Rikk

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 10:01 am

Neck relief does not affect the upper frets so adjusting the trusses will not help. If you note out up top it will be a problem with fret leveling or with the fingerboard itself. In either case a good fret leveling and dressing is in order.

thinneckrick · Post by **thinneckrick** » Sat Feb 18, 2006 12:05 pm

I agree with Ted . It probably has a slight Kick up or ski slope if you will at the heal of the neck . This will require a fretboard level as well as a full fretjob .I have rarely seen this problem on Ricks . It is a chronic Fender flaw though . Good luck .