Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi Josh,

Well, with a knot found on the neck, it seems possible that the heel removal could have greatly contibuted to the problem: knots or other "anomalies" can cause some pretty strange grain structure. If a dense piece of wood (in the heel) was removed, it is possible that the wood physically changed since the stress of the anomoly no is longer exerting force.

Or not. Pete just got me thinking. I'm no physicist!

First of all thanks every one for their input. It gets me thinking and may even provide a better answer in the end.

John,
good call, but the grain is straight near the heel. the anomalie is actually near the 8-9th frets. and is hardly bigger then the screw head holing the nameplate on.

JP

Well Josh, you got a beautiful guitar there. I hope you can find a decent way to fix this problem.

With every guitar I ever owned, anytime a gross adjustment was needed, it was to tighten the truss rod(s) or lower the bridge. So, with time, you ultimately have little to worry about!

Speaking of knots, I have a 4003 where the neck is bent *sideways* due to a change in grain direction. The bass is useless, apart from hanging on the wall as decoration. Here are some pictures of that part of the neck:
http://community.webshots.com/user/skidmark316

Just an update,

she is still holding strong with a frontward bow. Probably a few more days drying time before I rehydrate and tehn dry with heat.

Frankenstein will live again

JP

Mark: The photos show the knot clearly but not the bend, at least as far as I can see. Are you saying that as you are playing your 4003 the neck starts to angle more sharply down toward the floor, beginning at the knot.

Peter,
Yes, it bends toward the floor, as well as being
twisted. I took more pictures and uploaded them,
but the stupid camera didn't want to focus where
I wanted it to. They're still clear enough to see
the bend, and especially the twist, if you compare
the nut to the body.

Wel I worte Ed roman an Email lets see if he even reads it. I doubt it.
He claims to get 45 an hour...

JP

well after sending an email to Ed, Joanne, (eds wife),alan (the luthier), and scott (the salesman) - I finally got in touch with ed, and sadly he has denounced any and all resposibility for my guitar
the only thing he offered me was a new guitar at dealer cost.

I wrote an email to John Hall hoping he might consider using his clout to help me out, but I dont even have my fingers crossed.

Ed did mention that John Hall liked the Van Campren Mod mod, and even talked about doing it inshop. If its true or not Ive not a clue, and I certainly dont trust ed...


Moral of the story - always get warrantys in writing
and never buy from Ed Roman, send the word to all your guitar friends.

If anyone has any ideas how to get a backbowed neck out of bow let me know...
Ed told me to "just put it on Ebay, thats where it belongs anyway" but Im too nice to sell this guitar.
Not to mention I woudl still loose a ton of money with the mods included I woudl probably get less then a normal dakota...

JP

Ouch. Thats a pretty nasty thing for Ed to say given that he promotes the modification on his website. I have recently ordered a 380LPZ but before I finally made the decision I was VERY close to doing exactly what did.

Right....I was considering buying one from Ed also cuz I live close enough to try before buy....If Ed really said that then I don't need Ed Roman's business....or his guitars.

yeah ed and the luthier both acknowledge that they sold me a guitar that has a backbow, and ed being the boss has deemed it "my" problem.

If I were you I would either buy from a local small shop or order from http://www.the-music-connection.com/ric.htm which eveyone on this board raves about.
Please dont support Ed Roman

Ed also refers to christians as "oraganized crime"
and I got no pity telling him, all I wanted was a nice guitar I could play at church...

I also looked at the LPZ but didnt care for teh style, or the hollow body...
wish I had just left the Dakota alone - it was once an awesome guitar, and if I still had the ric warranty - I woudlnt be complaining..

JP

John Hall has clarified that his conversation did happen but ed described it backwards. Rickenbacker had considered the mod before Ed offered it, but did not go through with it because they determined it was not a good thing to do to the guitar. (now I find out, should have asked first. John is a great guy)

JP

Josh-- That's a pretty tough conclusion on the purchase of that Ric. All of us here can wish that some good comes in your favor from this outrage.

The bad press about this Ed Roman character continues to mount, and it's strange to note the dichotomy of opinion about him. The relatively small amount of comments I've seen previously has all been "either/or". Those who like the guy have been effusive in their praise. Those who don't have demonized him to the hilt. I've seen nothing that could even remotely be considered middle ground.

Well, it's not like I was ever going to buy anything from Ed Roman anyway; I already have my trusted sources and that's not likely to change anytime soon. But with this latest revelation from Josh, it's guaranteed now that I never will. And I'll be sure to warn others about what I've read here in this thread. As I've stated elsewhere here in the Ric forum, word of mouth is extremely powerful stuff-- don't fool yourself for an instant thinking that it isn't effective. If Ed Roman doesn't believe it, then perhaps it's high time to prove him wrong.

As a result of the message I got From J. Hall I took his advice and sought out a luthier with a heat clamp.
Lay's guitar shop in Akron ohio currently has my guitar. Lays is confident he can remove the bow and relax a slight twist. but he also mentioned that it is much more likely to return due to the lack of finish.

so I am planning a finish for my guitar. John also suggested strengthening the neck/heel area and maybe the neck PU route area. So I am probably going to use a low viscosity epoxy for the first few coats. this should strengthen the neck considerably, and seal teh guitar against all water - even vapor. (no more worries about humidity, but Ill still take good care of it)

and I plan to fill the lower route of the neck PU with something - not sure what to use yet...
here is the idea behind it skidmark316 has already don this mod to his Dakota..
http://community.webshots.com/user/skidmark316


Hopfully this Ric will live again, and it will truly be taking on the name I origonally gave it.

Frankenstein