Rickenbacker...over-rated?

edski · Post by **edski** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:44 am

Truss rods. My 4001 gets fairly high action when I have high tension Fender Flats on it, but not high enough to get in the way of playing.

John Hall has also stated that a poor truss adjustment can lead to dead spots - not sure if I remember the physical mechanism he invoked, but I'll trust the guy since he runs RIC and grew up around Ricks...

No reason why flats can't get a great sound on a RIck, although there have been enough discussions about that.

But high action screams "bad truss rod adjustment".

ilan · Post by **ilan** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 11:59 am

Not all Rics are perfect. I've seen a Ric bass new out of the box with a warped neck that no truss rod adjustment can correct.

Next time test the instrument before you buy it. Give Rics a chance, most of them are wonderful guitars.

gray · Post by **gray** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 12:27 pm

Overrated? Pshaw. This sounds like little more than a case of a bad setup to me. Any large chain store is not very likely to have the type of trained staff on hand to set up a precision instrument like a Rickenbacker bass. All it needs are the proper strings and the proper setup. I've had some awful setups on instruments which, when they got new setups, played and sounded like brand new instruments afterword.
So just get a real setup from somebody who knows how Rickenbackers work, same with the guitar. It's all in the setup.

tennis_nick · Post by **tennis_nick** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 12:40 pm

Sounds like someone assumed a Gibson or Fender like setup was the proper setup on a Rick.

Shop around, find a guy who knows Ricks. I'm sure they can get it to play better than "****".

I'd hate that to be your last experience with a Rick bass. I hope it ends up good for ya.

ricnbacker · Post by **ricnbacker** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 4:47 pm

GC or Sam ash for a set up and you wonder whats wrong with it?
the only thing wrong is it isnt set up right.

I got my Ric in March 2001 brand new still in the shipping box. I opened it up, checked it out and it was the nicest feeling bass I have ever touched.

since 2001 I had a guy adjust the rods once and I tweeked it once. anyone who may give it a try at a jam things it is awesome.

beatlejon · Post by **beatlejon** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 6:05 pm

Ok, took of your guys advise and got the bass playing pretty good. I wish I could have the 12 string set up properly....my guitar tech said it was not possible to fix...he said the neck was twisted...not bowed. I put a new set of Rick strings on it...its a little better but still a little sour when played.

alansan · Post by **alansan** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 6:23 pm

I've only owned two Ricks so far but I would like to add that most brand new Ricks I've seen in music shops were shockingly set-up, most likely from lack of maintenance.

With Ricks its worth researching and gradually learning how to set up the instrument to your liking. An added bonus of Ricks is that once you get them set up they are, in my experience, extremely stable from year to year.

A quick search on this forum will give you copious amounts of experienced advice on the subject.

lennon211 · Post by **lennon211** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 6:37 pm

Jon, it's worth the trip south to Louisville. My favorite luthier is here @ Guitar Emporium. He's awesome and ALWAYS does a awesome job on my Rics as well as other guitars. I have a 360/12v64 as well and I trust no one else to touch it. Try them.

thx1955 · Post by **thx1955** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 8:45 pm

Jon,
Hang in there, you're on the right road to getting both your Ric's sorted out. As I said in my email, give me a call if you want to discuss anything Rickenbacker.

j_gary · Post by **j_gary** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:03 pm

(Psssssst.........hey Jon, this is a Rick forum, you might want to take a dump on Rickenbackers over in the Fender forum.)

Okay, the smart-*** part of my response is over. I bow to the class and restraint shown by my brethren. Jon, I suspect if you are buying guitars with twisted necks the end result is likely to be ****, even if it were a Gibson or Fender. I would take a hard look at the road traveled from the factory to your hands. Someone hurt this guitar, as surely it would have been a warranty fix had it been born that way. I'm afraid she will never be right with a neck twist. If you can, take Matthew's suggestion, for she needs an expert to save her. I'd bring your bass as well.

If a drive is too much, I would seriously consider shipping both guitars to Paul Wilczynski or Dale Fortune, forum members and Rick Doctors.

thx1955 · Post by **thx1955** » Fri Aug 24, 2007 9:19 pm

Ok, folks ease up a bit, I'll admit, reading Jon's initial post my first reaction was "WTF", Jon spoke his mind, nothing more.

I live, sleep and eat Fireglo Rickenbacker's ! They're all good, and a bad Ric is twice as good on any given day as any other bass out there. Absolutely nothing compares.

So, lets offer some advice on how Jon can get some assistance on finding out just how good his c64 can be !!

Jon,
J Gary is right, if you can, take the time and go see Paul, if he were closer I'd for sure take advantage of his proximity, same applies to Dale, and Ted.

lowendbob · Post by **lowendbob** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 4:29 am

Jon is not entirely wrong. I owned 2 c64's and a c64S. On the first C64 there was nothing I could do to get that thing set up correctly. I do all my own setups and never had a problem before getting them just right.
So after a month or so of frustration that C64 was sold.

Jim Rhoades from Rhoades Music here in Pa. does good setups on RIC's.

I wouldn't let anyone from GC even touch my guitars.

edski · Post by **edski** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 7:48 am

Ricks should be able to handle "neck twist" better than most guitars due to the double truss rods.

Of course there are always clunkers of every type...

cheyenne · Post by **cheyenne** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 8:27 am

I dont care what brand of bass it is, I've never picked one off of the wall of any music store I've been in and have it play to suit me.

Feel is a very individual thing. I like a very low action, with just a smidge of fret buzz, and roundwound strings. The next guy may prefer high action with flatwounds.

If your neck has a "twist", a Rickenbacker has a far better chance of being able to be corrected with a simple rod adjustment than say a Fender or a Gibson due to the dual rod design.

If your action is to high, and your bridge is adjusted all the way down, I'd say you need to flatten out the neck and CHECK THE NUT SLOTS!

Rickenbacker basses come from the factory with the nut cut fairly high. This is to alow a person to make his own adjustments according to his taste. I dont care how nice a bass is set up,, if the nut is cut to high, it will play harder and sound "Tubby". (Dead).

This is only some suggestions and is no way a lecture. But,, If your a serious player,, you MUST learn to do your own setups.

You'll make some mistakes along the way,, but thats how you learn.

No one but you knows how you like your instrument to play.

If you indeed have a neck problem, let Dale or Paul look at it.

thinneckrick · Post by **thinneckrick** » Sat Aug 25, 2007 9:09 am

I bought a 4001 C64 brand new early this year. And the fretwork wasnt up to snuff. The fretends were sticking out of both sides all the way up the scale . It played and sounded great (after i filed the nut down). But the fret issue drove me nuts. so, away it went. Sure , I could have had the fretwork fixed . But since it was a brand new 2,400.00 bass i personally felt it should have been done right the first time. The way a bass is set up to play is a matter of personal preference, Nut , string height ,etc and its ok that they come from the factory needing a tweaking , But the fretwork problem was not. I still have a "friday bass" as a fellow forumite put it and i play it all the time. Nobodys perfect man.All in all Its my opinion that Ricks are one of the nicest handmade basses you'll ever find .They just need to look them over a little closer before they leave the factory .Gotta love em though!