Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Quite a looker!

I just flew home with the bass last night. Fortunately I was able to carry it in the overhead bin as carry-on luggage. While I stood in line waiting to get on the flight, a guy approached me wanting to know what guitar it possibly could be. "That case is too narrow for a Fender". One good thing to know, at least through Delta (if you're carrying a guitar on a flight) is you qualify for "pre-flight boarding" status, so you get first dibs on bin space. Good thing, as they fill up quickly. Due to the size of the plane I was flying in, the case easily fit in one of the overhead bins with a couple feet to spare.

First thing I did when I got back home was loosen the truss rod screws to relieve some of the pressure on the fretboard. They were really tightened down beyond what was necessary. This decreased the crack size a bit, and there is no longer any buzzing on that side of the neck. I'm going to buy some Titebond, a good clamp, and a syringe this week. Hopefully this will be a pretty painless repair.

While I was at it I also lifted the pick-guard to make sure everything was original and intact, which it is. One thing I found interesting is there is no difference between the finish under the pick-guard, or outside of it. The coloring is identical. This guitar has obviously seen very little natural sunlight. But if that is the case, what baffles me is the yellowing of the checkered binding around the guitar. The binding on the neck is still pretty white, as are the neck inlays, but the checkered binding is much more yellow. Could it be from being in the case for so many years? I've seen this yellowing of the checkered binding on a lot of early 70's Ricks. My '73 checkered binding is much whiter - it's interesting to compare the two guitars side by side.

I also noticed the bridge pieces don't appear to be in the correct order. I think someone swapped them around at one point, resulting in the strings not aligning properly on the neck. Will have a go at that too and hopefully will have the bass in tip-top shape before long. Will be posting some new photos soon.

Congrats, Rod! That's a great looking bass!

I too, love the Flat Grovers. They're my favorites.

StewMac has some nice clamps either in their "Jaws" line and in some of the wooden cam clamps.
The Jaws fret press might have a caul available to match the fingerboard radius. You would need to line it with
thick felt or a piece of leather to not mar the fingerboard finish.
The Jaws are nice as you can adjust the pressure easily before it locks (they're made from Vice Grips).
These are likely easier to use than my improvised C clamp + blocks of wood method LOL!
StewMac also sells the syringes (I think, I got mine from them years ago....).

Couple things-
Before gluing, make sure the joint closes with light clamping pressure. If it won't close you need to find and remove the obstruction.

Also-
Either completely remove the rods prior to gluing or pull them out till the ends just about come to the end of the cavity.
You don't want to glue them together or glue them into the channel(s). So, while still clamped, you might try to move them back and forth so any
glue that might have found its way into the channel(s) won't set the rods.
The rods should be snug, but they should slide somewhat easily.
Just do not disturb the joint or clamp.

On diluting the glue-
It only takes a drop of water to get the glue thin enough to move through the syringe and flow into the crack.
The syringe should feel like the glue oozes (not runs) out. Too thin and the resins can't form a proper bond.

Thanks guys. Great advice. I already noticed the crack getting smaller when I loosened the truss rod nuts. When I do glue it I may have to carefully tighten them first to force it open a bit more. This morning I was able to loosen them all the way, bend the neck to the location I wanted, and tighten them up snug. The neck is solid and flat, the action is low. The hairline crack is still evident, but there's no more buzzing. It's actually quite playable as is, but I'd like to close up the gap if possible.

To help get the glue in there, (rods removed and once you've checked all goes together well), in the past I've made some 1/4 inch wedges that fit in the rod channels, these can be pushed in to help open up the crack ( as far as you dare) and then removed to allow the rest of the clamping procedure.

Another check you could do is, look down the rod at the profile in section of the rod, is the upper part twisted at an angle, does the rod look Rhomboid in section. This will take up more space in the channel and lead to another possible separation.

Thanks Sean. That's a great suggestion! As long as I don't snap off the 1/4" wedge in there I think I'll be good.

So I'm getting the idea that removing the rods is a given?

sys700 wrote:Thanks Sean. That's a great suggestion! As long as I don't snap off the 1/4" wedge in there I think I'll be good.

So I'm getting the idea that removing the rods is a given?

Yes, take a look at Joey's truss rod vid's and texts. They really should be out and as John said, they don't want to be in there with the glue.

I couldn't find the videos. Didn't he remove them due to too many people complaining?

I think he removed them due to too many people copying them to their own websites without giving credit to where they came from and making profits off of them by various means...

Ah, well, I think if you have already been on the rods and you're ''into'' how they work you should be ok, I have a nylon wedge that fits in the adjustment route, this helps kick the rod up and out of the slot, use the clamp you have for glueing to hold the fretboard to the neck around the nut area.

Thinking again, you may have, depending on the month of your 71 truss rod channels running down to the treble pup route, this is another way to get them out.

Yes Sean, I pulled the pickguard to check last night and the routes go all the way to the bridge pickup.

Month is March '71.

Very nice Rod, good shooting on bagging this!

Wow...what a beauty. Looks exactly like my bass that was stolen in 1980.

lol....don't worry, I don't have a serial number record and have no plans to try and reclaim it.
Just really cool to see one that looks so beautiful and great condition for that year.

Look forward to hearing how the repair goes and how it sounds once you gig it!