The search for enlightenment....

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 5:52 pm

No, it is very tight. I am just a little concerned about the neck angle because there is a small but visible difference between where the neck was set originally versus where it is now. The offset is maybe 1/32" and will likely be a non issue. The last repair tech made the fingerboard slightly thicker that the original, presumably to reinforce what he believed to be a weak neck. I have taken his lead and made my replacement about 1/32" thicker than a standard Rick fingerboard for the same reason.

rick_ovic · Post by **rick_ovic** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:00 pm

Ted, I've just spent the past ten minutes at work reading this thread from top to bottom, having just discovered it.

The way you have told your story and described the journey being taken by John's bass is simply fabulous. I have thoroughly enjoyed it.

It gets my vote as Forum Thread of the Year 2006.

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:04 pm

Hey Darren, back to the ole grind?! Bottles!

Ted - if you heated it again and clamped it, would it settle fully back in and would the glue still be good - ie, hold?

s4001 · Post by **s4001** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:05 pm

This thread needs to be referenced when someone parrots the old 'Rics have weak necks' urban myth.

johnallg · Post by **johnallg** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:06 pm

Those weak necks are why you can't play lead on a Rick!!

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:27 pm

Darren: Thank you sir! I take that as a great compliment.

John: Perhaps, it could also weaken the joint and cause the neck to pop loose at some point. My plan is to get it bass to where it is mechanically sound and then string it up and see where she sets. If the neck proves to be troublesome I will explore the possibility of resetting it.

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Thu Sep 28, 2006 6:40 pm

Scraping binding and some of Boston's finest. The binding starts out a little taller than it needs to be. I use a flat stainless steel scraper to scrape it close to size. Those white curls of binding are quite combustible actually. They are made of nitrocellulose and flash like gun powder! I usually don't leave that much lying around while am working. The side dots are barely visible here and you can see some of the sparkle from the MOP inlays.

s4001 · Post by **s4001** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 3:22 am

I think I could find a use for that......

ram · Post by **ram** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 3:30 am

Ahh yes Sam Adams, one the best mass produced beers in the country - great for steadying the hands and forging nerves of steel while doing delicate operations.

BTW Ted, this is really cool watching this unfold. Especially to the ‘it would be neat if I could do something like that’ folks like me. The biggest I have done thus far is adding Ric-O-sound to my mono 4003-5s. So drilling a big hole and some soldering was it.

Please keep the updates coming. Great job!

jwr2 · Post by **jwr2** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 3:57 am

yes Sam Adams beer helps me work up the nerve to drill holes in brand new Rickenbackers ...

rickfan60 · Post by **rickfan60** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 4:14 am

Sam stays in the fridge when I am using power tools or doing finework. I only let him out at the end.

bob_the_bass · Post by **bob_the_bass** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 5:08 am

Wise words Ted, wise words

ealdrett · Post by **ealdrett** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 9:42 am

OMG!!
That's my old bass!! Kathleen!!My first 4005. How did it end up with you? LOL
What a small world! About time she got a new fretboard. That ebony thing was hideous when I first acquired her.
Glad she's going through a face lift and has a good home. She's been through a lot of shows here in Seattle.
Can't wait to see the final product.
Here's a pic of her before she was sold and shipped off to a buyer in Florida.

ajish4 · Post by **ajish4** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 9:48 am

I love this place!

ealdrett · Post by **ealdrett** » Fri Sep 29, 2006 10:01 am

I just finished going through the thread.
Yeah, she had major issues and I didn't know any good Rick luthier to work on her. I took her to two places locally. The luthier at BASSNW and Mike Lull. I don't think you want to hear what Mike Lull wanted to do to her and what he said about Ricks. I just packed her up and walked out the door without saying thank you. I will never support him.
As for the crack on the neck, yeah, she would never stay in tune and I bought her that way. The only thing I changed on her were the tuners(to chrome 4003 from the boutique) and strings(custom pyramids). Oh and the nut was replaced from being cracked.
Other than that, that's how I got her, in shoddy condition, but I wasn't complaining, the price was right. Bought her from Chicago Music Exchange over the phone without seeing her. This was before the net was still in it's infancy.
Loved the tone but hated that she never stayed in tune, even after many intonations.
As for the tuners, they went with the buyer.
Wow, I never thought I would see her again. She's one special bass, well to me anyway.
She deserves that restoration.