Ric 360/12 (LH) - String Height and Playability

[HawaiianSunset]

Hello,

I'm new to the forum and have some questions. Recently acquired a left handed 360/12 and it is one tough beast to play. Chords in open position are the most difficult to fret/play. For example, my index finger is preventing the high E pairs from ringing true and clear when playing an open position C chord. There are other examples/problems with A and D chords and various embellishments of those chords in open position.

I'm wondering if the action on my guitar is too high, causing the strings to sit too high above the fretboard. There appears to be a bit of a bow in the middle of the neck (concave), too.

Can someone suggest how high the string height "should be"? Factory specifications? I know this is a subjective question and everyone has their preference but it looks like one would need a fingertip the size of a pencil to fit between strings. Any tricks to facilitate ease of play?

Are trust rod adjustments the same for left handed instruments? Are the rods turned the same way as right handed guitars? Could this be a problem at the nut? Would a 12 string saddle improve this situation?

Any advice would/will be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

[stsang]

Hi Craig,

Sorry to hear about your troubles. May I ask if you got a brand new or a used Ric? Also, what year is your guitar? If it's pre-1984, the truss rods are adjusted differently.

There are lots of other posts on this forum that address some of your concerns. Try this one out: viewtopic.php?f=1&t=101426. There's alot of information there about adjusting a Ric's action. Another good one (for 6-strings, but still relevant) is: viewtopic.php?f=13&t=400979.

Could you let us know how big a dip you have in your Ric's neck? I adjusted the truss rods on my Ric so that the neck is completely straight. As far as I know, there's no difference in the truss rod threading between left and right handed models, so you turn the truss rod nut clockwise to tighten (correct a dip) and counter-clockwise to loosen.

Also, how far off the fretboard are your strings? I currently have my Ric set up with the low E string approx 2-3 mm above the fretboard with no fret buzz.

Hope that helps. Good luck!

-Simon

[teb]

I do think that you'll want to get your neck straight and flat and the action adjusted to low and pretty fast, but the symptome mentioned when playing open chords certainly remind me a lot more of the old neck width/string spacing problem than one of string height or action.

A recent thread that might be worth reading:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=403005

[HawaiianSunset]

Thanks for the quick replies and the supplied thread links that may address some of the issues.

I do think that you'll want to get your neck straight and flat and the action adjusted to low and pretty fast, but the symptome mentioned when playing open chords certainly remind me a lot more of the old neck width/string spacing problem than one of string height or action.

A recent thread that might be worth reading:
viewtopic.php?f=1&t=403005

This does seem to be part of the problem (narrow string spacing) and I will probably consider a nut adjustment to spread the strings out a bit more. I liked your idea of extending the frets over the binding but I don't know if I'm that brave, yet.

May I ask if you got a brand new or a used Ric? Also, what year is your guitar? If it's pre-1984, the truss rods are adjusted differently. -Simon

The guitar is new. Rolled out of the Rickenbacker factory in 2010. It was really a bit of a lucky find.

Could you let us know how big a dip you have in your Ric's neck? Simon

I took a few measurements with a string action gauge and this is what I've found:

1) When depressing the low E at the first fret and twenty-four fret at the same time, I measured from the ninth fret: the reading was about 4 or 5/64s on the bass side of the fretboard.
2) Low E measurements with no fretting pressure applied to the string: first fret 4/64s and the twenty-fourth fret 8/64s.
3) When depressing the high E at the first fret and twenty-fourth fret at the same time I measured from the ninth fret: the reading was 3/64s on the treble side of the fretboard.
4) High E measurements with no fretting pressure applied to the string: first fret 3/64s and the twenty-fourth fret 7/64s

How does one go about removing the truss road? I'm assuming that b/c the guitar has to remain at tension, that I will have to lift the strings out of the nut and move them to the side to remove the truss rod cover. Is this correct?

Any other thoughts now that I have supplied the above measurements? Do they seem out of sorts? I'll try to post some pictures but that will have to wait until next week.

Once again, thanks.