Rick 330 Neck Adjustment
Moderators: rickenbrother, ajish4
Rick 330 Neck Adjustment
I have a 1987 Rick 330. I am not much of a technician when it comes to guitars . . . but with the Canadian climate changes, the neck seems to go out or wack often and I have to take it in to get the truss rods adjusted all the time. I'd much rather learn to learn to do it myself. Any suggestion on truss rod/action adjustment on the 330? I usually use 11 guage strings. Thanks!
Krish: You will save yourself a lot of adjustments if you keep the humidity at roughly 40% where you store your Rickenbacker. Get yourself a small clay pot humdifier for the winter months and keep your guitar in the case when you are not playing it. I also have a humidifier in the area where I practice that keeps the humidity close to 40% relative humidity in the winter. In the summer, avoiding temperature extremes is a must. Under these conditions I require limited adjustments to my Rickenbackers.
In addition, the setup process is something worth doing yourself, especially if you need to take it to the shop all the time. Use the search function under utilities and enter "setup". You will see that this is an area that is covered all the time. One setup technique is described below.
First, there is a helpful order to setting up/adjusting an instrument. Should you change this order, it is advised that you start over.
1- Tune to the pitch you will be using.
2- Check the truss rod(s). Take your time and don't use a ratchet tool that doesn't let you feel how much you are turning the rod. A hexalite 1/4 socket tool with a long straight shaft works very well.
3- Adjust the truss rods by fretting the low string at the 1st fret and at the same time the fret where the neck joins the body. There should be a gap of .004 to .015 for guitars and .010 to .020 for basses. These measurements are in inches. The gap you are looking for is between the string and the 6th fret and the same at the octave/12th fret.
4- Check the nut by fretting the strings at the 2nd fret(a capo may help you) and there should be a gap between the string and the fret of .005 to .010 on the plain strings and .009 to .018 on the wound strings. This is personal preference. You may wish to cut nut slots higher on the bass/wound strings for acoustics. On a 12 string, getting the action as low as possible makes it easier to play.
5- Set the bridge height. A useful rule is, you must,on a 6 string guitar,set the high E/1st string so you can bend a whole step. Some people may want a step and 1/2. Once this string is set adjust the low E string to it's height. Around .085 of an inch is okay for most people and the acoustic players need it higher. It also depends on the radius of the fretboard.
In measuring the height of the strings from the fretboard at the 12th fret, you are looking to reach the factory specifications which is 3/64" for the treble and 5/64" for the bass side. Personal preferences may dictate otherwise, however, this is a good starting point.
6- Set the intonation and you are done.
In the case of pickups with magnets for polepieces, lower them to get the least amount of magnet pull on the strings. This gives the clearest 'view' should you use a strobe tuner.
In addition, the setup process is something worth doing yourself, especially if you need to take it to the shop all the time. Use the search function under utilities and enter "setup". You will see that this is an area that is covered all the time. One setup technique is described below.
First, there is a helpful order to setting up/adjusting an instrument. Should you change this order, it is advised that you start over.
1- Tune to the pitch you will be using.
2- Check the truss rod(s). Take your time and don't use a ratchet tool that doesn't let you feel how much you are turning the rod. A hexalite 1/4 socket tool with a long straight shaft works very well.
3- Adjust the truss rods by fretting the low string at the 1st fret and at the same time the fret where the neck joins the body. There should be a gap of .004 to .015 for guitars and .010 to .020 for basses. These measurements are in inches. The gap you are looking for is between the string and the 6th fret and the same at the octave/12th fret.
4- Check the nut by fretting the strings at the 2nd fret(a capo may help you) and there should be a gap between the string and the fret of .005 to .010 on the plain strings and .009 to .018 on the wound strings. This is personal preference. You may wish to cut nut slots higher on the bass/wound strings for acoustics. On a 12 string, getting the action as low as possible makes it easier to play.
5- Set the bridge height. A useful rule is, you must,on a 6 string guitar,set the high E/1st string so you can bend a whole step. Some people may want a step and 1/2. Once this string is set adjust the low E string to it's height. Around .085 of an inch is okay for most people and the acoustic players need it higher. It also depends on the radius of the fretboard.
In measuring the height of the strings from the fretboard at the 12th fret, you are looking to reach the factory specifications which is 3/64" for the treble and 5/64" for the bass side. Personal preferences may dictate otherwise, however, this is a good starting point.
6- Set the intonation and you are done.
In the case of pickups with magnets for polepieces, lower them to get the least amount of magnet pull on the strings. This gives the clearest 'view' should you use a strobe tuner.
Life, as with music, often requires one to let go of the melody and listen to the rhythm
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Please join the Official RickResource Forum Facebook Page https://www.facebook.com/groups/379271585440277
Thanks for all of the helpful information about the basic setup, Peter Also, I have a Rick 320 with toasters and a bigsby. I have flatwounds on it (12's I think and they are not pyramid strings . . . they might be D'Addario's) But at any rate, any further things that you/anyone suggest with respect to a setup with flatwounds on a 320? Thanks
Once you have your basic setup, you should have to adjust nothing but neck relief until you do a fret job or change type of strings or your string saddles accidently get moved.
I use the Buzz Fightin' Method. It is the simplest and most correct method in actual usage. If there is more fret buzz toward the nut, you need to add neck relief. If there is less fret buzz as you move toward the nut, you need to decrease neck relief. You set the amount of buzz you will tolerate by fretting notes from the 12th to highest frets and adjusting string saddle height. You do this FIRST as neck relief does not affect this area. Now, with that set, you fret notes from the 12th fret to the nut and notice if the buzz increases or decreases. Make the necessary adjustment, if needed. My method does NOT require a capo and it does NOT require feeler gauges for checking neck relief. You can check it anytime you wish and it only takes a few seconds to check. Don't forget to tune the strings to pitch before checking neck relief, and retune after every string saddle adjustment.
My "Buzz Fightin' Method" will automatically result in more neck relief with a higher action, and less neck relief with a lower action, just as it should be. It gives the lowest possible action for any particular playing style. Your ability to induce intentional fret buzz for effect will be consistent up and down the fretboard. It will free you from needing to make many tedious measurements and you arrive more quickly at the correct setup for your particular style. It does NOT matter what type or gauge of strings you use. Your setup will always be correct for the particular situation. Many guitars and basses can be maintained with less effort and better results, so you collectors should like this method. It gives very consistent intonation from the nut to the highest frets if your fretboard is made correctly. It will NOT work on a defective s-curve neck, of course, and can function as another useful indicator of neck quality.
I use the Buzz Fightin' Method. It is the simplest and most correct method in actual usage. If there is more fret buzz toward the nut, you need to add neck relief. If there is less fret buzz as you move toward the nut, you need to decrease neck relief. You set the amount of buzz you will tolerate by fretting notes from the 12th to highest frets and adjusting string saddle height. You do this FIRST as neck relief does not affect this area. Now, with that set, you fret notes from the 12th fret to the nut and notice if the buzz increases or decreases. Make the necessary adjustment, if needed. My method does NOT require a capo and it does NOT require feeler gauges for checking neck relief. You can check it anytime you wish and it only takes a few seconds to check. Don't forget to tune the strings to pitch before checking neck relief, and retune after every string saddle adjustment.
My "Buzz Fightin' Method" will automatically result in more neck relief with a higher action, and less neck relief with a lower action, just as it should be. It gives the lowest possible action for any particular playing style. Your ability to induce intentional fret buzz for effect will be consistent up and down the fretboard. It will free you from needing to make many tedious measurements and you arrive more quickly at the correct setup for your particular style. It does NOT matter what type or gauge of strings you use. Your setup will always be correct for the particular situation. Many guitars and basses can be maintained with less effort and better results, so you collectors should like this method. It gives very consistent intonation from the nut to the highest frets if your fretboard is made correctly. It will NOT work on a defective s-curve neck, of course, and can function as another useful indicator of neck quality.
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profjeff
Good advice, Peter. I live in Colorado which is probably similar in some respects to the Canadian climate that you describe. The humidity is often in the single digits in the winter, and when the furnace is running all day, I'm sure that it is even lower in the house.
I did have to adjust my truss rods pretty regularly when my 360/6 and 12's were relatively new. Now that they are both about 5 years old, they have settled in a bit. I followed Peter's method and found that, after following the basic setup procedures, the truss rod was the only thing that I needed to adjust regularly. I got really good at feeling the truss rod tension as I turned the wrench and could get it very close to where it should be just by feel. I noticed that Roger McGuinn goes by feel also (check out his 12 string video).
I did have to adjust my truss rods pretty regularly when my 360/6 and 12's were relatively new. Now that they are both about 5 years old, they have settled in a bit. I followed Peter's method and found that, after following the basic setup procedures, the truss rod was the only thing that I needed to adjust regularly. I got really good at feeling the truss rod tension as I turned the wrench and could get it very close to where it should be just by feel. I noticed that Roger McGuinn goes by feel also (check out his 12 string video).