Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Thanks Scott! Anybody else out there?

Scott, Thanks for the heads-up!

My 4004Cii SN 03 24110 is identical to as you describe it Jeffrey and just as Scott shows above!

Uhmmm!

Maybe they expand after inserting them! Watson, help me get to the bottom of this! Where is my pipe and magnifying glass?

Holmes, could they have been inserted before the separate top lamination was added?

Sure looks like it huh?

I currently have an slight underbow on my 4004Cii and the rods appear to be pretty tight. I need to take a close look this weekend.

I have a 1962 425 with a slight relief in the neck even with the trussrods fully tightened. Are they replaceable on older models the same as newer ones? How can I fix mine without breaking the trussrods?

The old truss rod system did not work like the new one ... the new one you adjust by turning the nuts ... the old one you loosen the strings and the nuts set the neck and then tighten the nuts and then tighten the strings ... there are others here who can give you a better explanation than that ...

But I can tell you this for sure .. if you overtighten the truss rods then you will pop the fret board ... don't let that happen to a '60's Ric ...

I have some old 4001 basses but I think the truss rods are the same, somebody correct me if I am wrong please.
What I do is leave the strings tuned to pitch, put the guitar on the floor on top of a rug with my right foot in front of it so it doesn't slip, put the heel behind my left knee, then pull back near the first fret with my left hand, just enough to take the tension off the rods. (I have already taken off the truss rod cover and have put the 1/4" nut driver on the nut, or have it in my hand ready to go) This way the tension is off the truss rods and nuts as I tighten the nut, I try to keep somewhat even tension on both sides (basses seem to want the nuts tighter on the E string side) I then let the tension off and sight down the neck, comparing the neck with the strings which of course are exactly straight. If it is still bowed I repeat the process until it is good or the nuts are getting very tight,if so I wait for a few days and see if they turn easier again, if not there may be problems with the threads. This is the easiest and quickest way I have found to adjust these necks, it is VERY important that you always relieve the tension from the strings off the neck before you turn the nuts however you do it however. When you pull back on the neck even though the strings are still tuned to pitch, the tension is against your hand not the truss rods. Slow and easy is the best way to do this, if you try this and encounter a lot of resistance check back here before you break something, don't learn the hard way as some of us here have. (including me)

Well, we seem to have a difference of opinion. I did mine with tension on the neck. Which is right; tighten w/ or w/o string tension?

I'm not an expert on this ... I let others adjust the old necks ... but I thought it was the way I described it ...

Thanks Jeff. I'll try your way. I read something about a date of Sept. 1984? when the new style truss rod was utilized, so mine is definately the old type.

By keeping the strings at normal tension it is easier to see how the neck is behaving. This is my preference as ultimately that is how I will be playing it at any rate.

The major point here is to proceed slowly and in small steps with a degree of caution using a hand-tightening tool (such as a long shafted hexalite 1/4 inch driver) rather than a ratchet tool which may result in overtightening. In the case of older Rickenbackers, I agree with Jeff and Bob, by gently moving the neck into position and then tightening the rods.

I have often found that the full effect of the adjustment is not realized for a few hours, so I leave my truss rod cover off.

Just to clarify what everyone's saying but perhaps with a different spin:

1. The instrument, no matter old or new must be tuned to pitch otherwise there's no way to know what adjustment has accomplished.

2. The earlier dual-dual rod system requires you to bend the neck to where you want it and only then snug the rods up to hold that position. Across the knee, on a table with some books- whatever works- just bow the neck yourself first.

3. On the modern system, just tighten or loosen the rods as appropriate but it certainly doesn't hurt it (and might help in extreme circumstances) if you use the old rod procedure instead.

4. On the new system, it's permissable to add washers at the body end of the rod to get more adjustability and make less threads appear at the head end.

Yeah, I always relieve the tension even on new ones, to me it's a prudent thing to do, on any bass or guitar I've ever owned I've done that.
And it can take even more than a few days sometimes if the neck was extremely bowed. I bought a 4003 bass that had heavy gauge strings on it, and unbeknowst to me the previous owner had loosened the strings totally before shipping leaving the truss rods tight, and it sat like that for about four months until I recieved, it had a severe backbow(?)at the 12th fret in it when I got it, I put TI's on it a month ago, and it is still moving and getting better and better, it is almost perfect now, but I had to adjust it a little today because it had moved a little since the last time I had set it up which was approximately two or three weeks ago. The dual truss rod system is the best system going, IMHO.