Anatomy Of A Rickenbacker Bass Part 3

[rickfan60]

Brass could work. It is soft enough. The short side of the rod actually digs into the aluminum (or do you say aluminium?) If the block is too hard the rod end will just slip off or past it.

[Lost Coyotes]

Another great post, Ted.
Always look forward to these information packed articles...thanks.

[basmansam]

Awesome post. These should be sticky noted to the top of the section!!

[weemac]

Brass could work. It is soft enough. The short side of the rod actually digs into the aluminum (or do you say aluminium?) If the block is too hard the rod end will just slip off or past it.

I've used brass on at least 4 basses over the years and it seems to work fine. One trick is to drill the holes at a slight angle to counteract the wedging action that the truss rods force. (it avoids the rod ends skipping out) One other thing that helps is to drill the holes to the size of the flat part of the rod and then just file them a little wider to allow for the threaded part (which makes them oval) the block will then be a neat fit over the rods and will sit straighter in the recess. They have to be hand fitted as each bass is a bit different...
(Yes I was a Fitter/Turner)

aluminum, aluminium, amulinum, light squashy metal!

Eden.

[rickfan60]

That sounds like it should do the trick. I've seen at least one replacement done up in brass but not quite as nicely as the one you describe. The thrust plate is a make or break part. The entire system relies on it holding up under the load.

[weemac]

That sounds like it should do the trick. I've seen at least one replacement done up in brass but not quite as nicely as the one you describe. The thrust plate is a make or break part. The entire system relies on it holding up under the load.

It's one of those "originality vs functionality" things. I guess if you keep the original messed up one in the parts box, there is no harm in it...
Eden.

[nukebass]

Awesome thread. I have never seen an older truss rod and didn't know they were "springs." Fortunately the ones in my 4001 still work fine and I've never had a reason to look.

Is there a reason Rickenbacker designed the old rods this way or were these type rods common?

I still don't quite understand why the old rods can't move the neck the way the new ones can. It seems to me that the force required to hold the neck would be identical regardless of the rod design and the forces would be distributed across the contact area equally whether the rod moved the neck or not. The only thing I can think of is that we assume the rod force is equalized across the neck better when the neck is stationary than when the rod is moving it. Whatever the reason, they still work

[johnallg]

Ryan, my take on the old style rods is that they can't exert the kind of force needed to move the neck, only a spreading reverse "pinch" to hold it where it is (where you put it). Ted?

Very thorough covering of the issue of the rod types, how they work, and proper adjustment. I smell a small paperback booklet in this series....

[rickfan60]

I don't really know what goes on in there but I am pretty sure it has to do with the mechanical advantage (or lack thereof) of applying pressure that high up on the neck. All I know for sure is they work perfectly if the neck is manually set before the adjustment.

I'll leave the book stuff to Boyer. He is much better at it than I could ever be.

[bassduke49]

It is my goal to include much of Ted's "Anatomy . . . " series in the book, as soon as negotiations between his agents and mine are concluded to the satisfaction of both parties.

[rickfan60]

I am sure it will take months to work that out.

[ricosound]

The common problem of the fretboard demaninating or cracking for the first few frets on old 4001's is due mostly to the "free" end of the rod not digging in to the aluminum thrust plate and slipping when over tightened. This causes a wedging action to pry the fretboard up on the weak nut end. It helps when the rods are out to pay some attention to the thrust plate to make sure it's not all gouged up and rounded over. The plate has a natural tendancy to rock back as the tightened rod exerts force against it. The unthreaded end is cut at a slight angle like a chisel to dig into the plate to prevent this slipping.

[ricosound]

...BTW Ted, keep 'em coming

[rickfan60]

Will do! The next one is in the works. It is not a topic I know a lot about but I know enough to get the thread started. Hopefully the experts here will fill in the details.

[bassduke49]

Ted, would you like some "pre-editing"? Anything I can do to help?