Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

The head on my '63 comes slightly forward as shown here.



The thin wood under the nut scares the S#!^ out of me.

Squire broke the headstock clean off in around 70 didn't he?

Once you need the tree, like my green 64 you know the action is high. Roger Waters had the same problem with his RM1999. From about 66 on you can see a "tree" of sorts just above the nut as he tries to keep pressure there as the strings pull the headstock away.

That's a thin one Ted!

It may well have taken a forward cant over the years. If I hit my A string too hard it will pop clean out of the nut. I could probably use a string tree on this bass but it will NEVER happen, thank you very much.

Funny, the A can be "popped" from my white 64 RM too...

I've considered making a new nut that is slightly taller (steel guitar nut blanks work well on Rick basses) so I can cut deeper slots. Once I get my workshop back online......

Good thread guys.

Sorry Andrew, I did not answer your question. I have heard that Squire broke his headstock off while on tour (perhaps here in the States?) and the bass was sent to Rickenbacker for repair. There is a brief telling of the story on his website http://chrissquire.com/ Click on the "Equipment" link

I don't remember my 68 having that problem ...

Hi Guys, yes great thread. From what what I've seen on both my RM's the necks & headstocks were made DEAD flat. Over the years string tension tried to pull the headstocks forward causing the string popping problem everyone is describing. Both mine look like Ted's pic with only the tiniest bit of wood holding them together after taking into consideration the rod route. Later into the 60's Rick started to add some tilt back to compensate for this it seems. And later basses have more wood left around the back of the nut for added strength. Neither of these basses have had a problem at the base of the neck but no doubt it happens.
Mark Arnquist suggested gluing reinforcement on the back of the headstock & routing the face back a bit to get some tilt.

Yes, basses made after 64-65 seem to have more wood at the base of the head. I have to assume that Rickebacker made some changes to strengthen things up a bit. The '66 through '70 basses seem to be much thicker in that area than the old ones are. My '63 gets very soft strings. Right now it has DR Highbeams (I love rounds!) but when I replace them it will be TI Jazz Flats (the lightes of the light pull strings) for good. I have many other basses that I can play with rounds. The old girl is going to have a very cushy life.

Heres the 67.

double post

That looks very much like the way RIC did it in the 70's. Nice shot Ken. Apparenlty, the 4001 evolved very quickly. It shows that Rickenbacker was not afraid to rethink things when improvemts were needed.

"... but when I replace them it will be TI Jazz Flats (the lightes of the light pull strings)"

Ted, the TI Jazz Rounds are even less tension than Jazz Flats. And they are also nickel, so they are easy on the frets.

Hmmm. The best of both worlds. I had not considered TI rounds. Thanks Ilan. I'll try them.