Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

String gauge is only one factor of several that determine tension.

ok, so...taking the bull by the horns.

made a few adjustments to the neck and bridge and it actually feels better and almost all the fret buzz is gone.

you guys are right...do it yourself and if it feels right it is...........

Good job!

Next step............string height and intonation adjustments!

jps wrote:Next step............string height and intonation adjustments!

thanks a lot Jeff

lol

ricnbacker wrote:ok, so...taking the bull by the horns.

made a few adjustments to the neck and bridge and it actually feels better and almost all the fret buzz is gone.

you guys are right...do it yourself and if it feels right it is...........

Good to hear

I went out to jam today and made it half way through before the buzzing got to much.

apparently I did not do as good a job as I thought I did.

I need to find someoe to redo the nut job I had done and set this bass up properly.

any recommendations in Upstate NY. Mid Hudson valley??

PLEASE

I am also no opposed to sending it out to the right/trusted person

Welcome to the madness, Christopher!

I was a mechanic for 3 decades myself. But I never liked to work on my own cars! Go figure...

I do, however, enjoy working on my own guitars, and speaker cabinets (but NOT amps). Particularly the fussy ones. It takes longer to set them up properly. But it "feels" better to do it myself, and I'm more thoroughly satisfied than just accepting a "professionals" job. Or worse, not accepting it, and having to return several times to get it right. Not to mention DIY being cheaper.

I suggest you continue wringing out the bugs yourself. You'll learn what it takes, and be more pleased in the end. You picked a tough instrument to start with, due to dual truss rods, and a difficult bridge... But, again, once set to YOUR spec, you won't want anyone else to mess with it anymore.

Chris,

If you feel the nut slots have been cut, leaving your strings too close to the first few frets, setting a new nut is not too difficult. However, purchasing a set of files will be the expensive part. I know we went through this before but are you positive your neck has no backbow, even the slightest? My 4004 likes a slight amount of bow. Dead straight and my A string buzzes. If you suspect your nut slots are too deep, you can try shimming them as a temporary measure to either prove or disprove it.

You located in Up State NY. I would suggest Chris at Pick of the Ric's. He is in south central New Jersey. No one on the east coast knows Rickenbacker's better than he. He had told me that he could set a nut while I waited, when I needed this service on my 73 Autumglo. I foolishly went to a local "luthier" who obviously did know his a$$ from his elbow when it came to Rickenbackers. PotR may be a bit of a haul for you but Chris is a great guy and he is the best!!

Getting back to the neck straightness question, for Christmas last year, I requested a neck gauge from PotR. My niece bought it for me and I use it to check my necks from time to time. it is a great tool and it is easy to use. It quickly shows the slightest of bow.

Sepp

Surely a nut cut too deep would only cause buzzing on the open strings. If you get buzzing when you fret a note the nut has nothing to do with it, right?

Kopfjaeger wrote:Chris,

If you feel the nut slots have been cut, leaving your strings too close to the first few frets, setting a new nut is not too difficult. However, purchasing a set of files will be the expensive part. I know we went through this before but are you positive your neck has no backbow, even the slightest? My 4004 likes a slight amount of bow. Dead straight and my A string buzzes. If you suspect your nut slots are too deep, you can try shimming them as a temporary measure to either prove or disprove it.

You located in Up State NY. I would suggest Chris at Pick of the Ric's. He is in south central New Jersey. No one on the east coast knows Rickenbacker's better than he. He had told me that he could set a nut while I waited, when I needed this service on my 73 Autumglo. I foolishly went to a local "luthier" who obviously did know his a$$ from his elbow when it came to Rickenbackers. PotR may be a bit of a haul for you but Chris is a great guy and he is the best!!

Getting back to the neck straightness question, for Christmas last year, I requested a neck gauge from PotR. My niece bought it for me and I use it to check my necks from time to time. it is a great tool and it is easy to use. It quickly shows the slightest of bow.

Sepp

Hey Sepp

I am well aware of Chris at POTR's.. that's where I got the 4004 and sent back. I didnt know he serviced and repaired them too. I'll keep that in mind in case it comes to it.

"could set a nut WHILE YOU WAIT" pretty cool..I guess. I think I would feel more comfortable if he took his time...lol

the good news is, I found a guitar builder not too far from me. I brought the bass to him and he found that the nut was too high so he filed it down and did a set up. basically charged me for just a set up.

its playing fine now.

antonius wrote:Surely a nut cut too deep would only cause buzzing on the open strings. If you get buzzing when you fret a note the nut has nothing to do with it, right?

it shouldnt because the nut is now out of the picture...at least thats what I think

antonius wrote:
On my 4001 I could have a flat neck with very low action if I just played with my fingers, but because I also play with a pick I need a little relief (bowing) in the neck and just slighly lower than average action to prevent serious buzzing/choking around the 3rd-5th frets on the E string.

Interesting. I play lighter with a pick than with fingers.