Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Danotron wrote:I won't speak for Rich or Diane but I think we all had a nice day helping him on this project, I know I did.

Cheers,

Dan-o

Yeah --- it was a very good session ... learned a lot and enjoyed seeing the process from start to finish. And I got a little confidence that maybe working on Rics is something that one can learn and might try.

rickenbrother wrote:

DavyR wrote:Still not clear to me. Most of us start with the strings tuned to pitch. So,

1) The strings are tuned to pitch,
2) THEN the neck is bent back (But how far?),
3) THEN, with the neck bent back into 'some' position, the nuts are tightened (But how far are the nuts tightened? In the video it says until they can't turn anymore. ?!)
4) What about afterwards when you attempt to adjust the neck to add/subtract tension?

1) Correct.
2) Like I said in the vid, pull down on the neck until the strings are completely flush against the fingerboard.
3) Again like I said in the vid as tight as you can go using a nut driver with the strength of your hand and not force them anymore after that.
4) If done properly, you won't attempt to adjust the neck to add/subtract tension, you do the process over again. Once again, like I said in the vid, you might have to do it more than once to get it right, especially if you're new to it. I've setup many 4001's. I usually get it right on the first attempt.

I'll be doing more setup and maintenance vids very soon. Not just limiting to bass guitars either. Don't be surprised if you see a 330, 360, 370 or other model setup/maintenance vid at some point.

Thanks for the response! My bad. I didn't 'listen' to the video close enough. I guess since most of us will not begin as you did, from scratch with relaxed rods and no string tension, the procedure may have throw me off a bit. Most of us will be attempting to add/subtract a bit of tension only.

Two more questions please.

This may be a mute point because you started from 'scratch'. Since the bridge on your video example was high to begin with does this mean that the neck had to be pulled down even MORE in order to flatten the strings against the fretboard? What if the bridge had be lower or very low?

Also, I have a 1971 4000 with a one piece neck thru the body. The upper 'body wing' creaks occasionally and is not 100% flush with the neck-thru-the-body. Can I clamp the bass over the tailpiece instead of on a wing of the bass in order to adjust the rods?

Thanks again! And, thanks for all your effort and time with this forum!!!

Wheres the "like" button on this thread?

OK, here's one that fits even better:

DavyR wrote: Thanks for the response! My bad. I didn't 'listen' to the video close enough. I guess since most of us will not begin as you did, from scratch with relaxed rods and no string tension, the procedure may have throw me off a bit. Most of us will be attempting to add/subtract a bit of tension only.

You should always start from scratch. Don't attempt to add/subtract a bit of tension only, unless you'd like to damage the rods and or neck..

DavyR wrote:This may be a mute point because you started from 'scratch'. Since the bridge on your video example was high to begin with does this mean that the neck had to be pulled down even MORE in order to flatten the strings against the fretboard? What if the bridge had be lower or very low?

This means that the neck definitely got pulled down enough to have the strings fully make contact with the fingerboard.

DavyR wrote:Also, I have a 1971 4000 with a one piece neck thru the body. The upper 'body wing' creaks occasionally and is not 100% flush with the neck-thru-the-body. Can I clamp the bass over the tailpiece instead of on a wing of the bass in order to adjust the rods?

Thanks again! And, thanks for all your effort and time with this forum!!!

Work on the short end of a table or workbench and clamp both wings to the table OR have someone else hold the body down as you pull the neck into position and tighten the truss rod nuts.

You're welcome and I humbly thank you and everyone else who expressed their appreciation.

rickenbrother wrote: You're welcome and I humbly thank you and everyone else who expressed their appreciation.

I guess that applies even to us skinny six and twelve string Ricaddicts.

rickenbrother wrote:

DavyR wrote: Thanks for the response! My bad. I didn't 'listen' to the video close enough. I guess since most of us will not begin as you did, from scratch with relaxed rods and no string tension, the procedure may have throw me off a bit. Most of us will be attempting to add/subtract a bit of tension only.

You should always start from scratch. Don't attempt to add/subtract a bit of tension only, unless you'd like to damage the rods and or neck..

Ohhhhhh! LOL! So, even though I need only SOME tension added to the rods in order to straighten the neck of my old bass completely, that I should loosen the strings all the way, loosen the rods all the way and then follow the video??? RIGHT?

You don't have to loosen the strings, but after clamping the body down or having someone hold it yes, you should loosen the nuts completely as you are holding onto the neck. The neck will not break or become damaged if for a few seconds or a minute, the strings are tuned, but no tension is on the rods.

As Dan said, that's his wife's 4001 which in this particular case, hadn't used in years...and for ??? many years, it had no strings installed, but yet had tension on the rods. After I took the tension off the rods, we let it alone for a quite a while before we did anything to that 4001.

DavyR wrote:So, even though I need only SOME tension added to the rods in order to straighten the neck of my old bass completely, that I should loosen the strings all the way, loosen the rods all the way and then follow the video??? RIGHT?

Leave the strings up to pitch, but, yes, loosen the truss rod nuts; the old style Rickenbacker truss rods work on a different concept than you may be used to with other brands.

jps wrote:

DavyR wrote:So, even though I need only SOME tension added to the rods in order to straighten the neck of my old bass completely, that I should loosen the strings all the way, loosen the rods all the way and then follow the video??? RIGHT?

Leave the strings up to pitch, but, yes, loosen the truss rod nuts; the old style Rickenbacker truss rods work on a different concept than you may be used to with other brands.

Yes, the rods are the 'old style' rods (and apparently an impractical design).

The confusion with me is that EVERYTIME you need to make an adjustment you have to start from scratch. So, after the first time, if the neck STILL needs more tension, THEN you have to again loosen the nuts, pull the neck into position (And, this second time, pull the neck into position with a 'bit' more force this time because you need a 'bit' more tension!!!???) and tighten the nuts. My confusion is that if the first attempt doesn't completely succeed, even though it should, you have to start all over again and apply more force.

The old style rods are not impractical, in fact they work very well when the procedure is done properly. If the neck was not set properly the first time, it's usually a newbie's reluctance to pull back enough on the neck. Once it's set right, you're done, not possibly tweaking the rods for the next day or two to get it right with a standard type of truss rod. Most people have the mindset of using the standard type of rod. That's why these truss rods seem impractical to those people.

These "impractical" truss rods pretty much never need adjusting once done once the neck has been set correctly the first time, unless you are making a change, such as different type/gauge of strings.

Aaargh! Help! Joey, where's the vid gone? I'm getting the dreaded 404 code - and me with a 4002 strapped to the bench and begging to be relieved from the torture that some misguided soul has inflicted on it in the past (the base plate was almost worn through!)

philipharris wrote:Aaargh! Help! Joey, where's the vid gone? I'm getting the dreaded 404 code - and me with a 4002 strapped to the bench and begging to be relieved from the torture that some misguided soul has inflicted on it in the past (the base plate was almost worn through!)

Try to do something nice for people and it just eventually comes back to bite you. I had been wanting to make a video
Philip, after an exchange here with a certain member, who after Jeff Scott and I had to re-explain everything to because I didn't explain well enough for him in my video, I thought to myself, what am I doing this for?
Money? No, I haven't made a penny off my website and I pay for it myself...not that I was looking to make money off of it though the info provided.
Help people? Yes!
Get aggravation for trying to help?...not expected, uncalled for and just doesn't make me desire to publicly offer any more info.
I cleaned up the exchange in that thread (wasn't this one) because it didn't look good for the forum.

I had been wanting to make a video like that for a very long time. Now I know that I might not be the best guy in the world to explain something on camera at the very first time of doing a video of something like that, but from the feedback I had received personally, I figured any reasonably intelligent person who could use hand tools and was comfortable working on guitars would understand.

My website might stay dormant until I can figure out how to allow people on by a membership basis. Same for my Youtube videos. So Philip, if you have a Youtube account I can give you personal access. My website might not stay limited to bass guitars for much longer. There may be info for maintenance of Rickenbacker guitars as well.
You can PM or email me about making the videos viewable to you. The same for my friends and anyone else that can just appreciate the vids for what they are.

Sorry if I sound like I'm soured about the whole thing, but I am.

rickenbrother wrote:

philipharris wrote:Aaargh! Help! Joey, where's the vid gone? I'm getting the dreaded 404 code - and me with a 4002 strapped to the bench and begging to be relieved from the torture that some misguided soul has inflicted on it in the past (the base plate was almost worn through!)

Try to do something nice for people and it just eventually comes back to bite you. I had been wanting to make a video
Philip, after an exchange here with a certain member, who after Jeff Scott and I had to re-explain everything to because I didn't explain well enough for him in my video, I thought to myself, what am I doing this for?
Money? No, I haven't made a penny off my website and I pay for it myself...not that I was looking to make money off of it though the info provided.
Help people? Yes!
Get aggravation for trying to help?...not expected, uncalled for and just doesn't make me desire to publicly offer any more info.
I cleaned up the exchange in that thread (wasn't this one) because it didn't look good for the forum.

I had been wanting to make a video like that for a very long time. Now I know that I might not be the best guy in the world to explain something on camera at the very first time of doing a video of something like that, but from the feedback I had received personally, I figured any reasonably intelligent person who could use hand tools and was comfortable working on guitars would understand.

My website might stay dormant until I can figure out how to allow people on by a membership basis. Same for my Youtube videos. So Philip, if you have a Youtube account I can give you personal access. My website might not stay limited to bass guitars for much longer. There may be info for maintenance of Rickenbacker guitars as well.
You can PM or email me about making the videos viewable to you. The same for my friends and anyone else that can just appreciate the vids for what they are.

Sorry if I sound like I'm soured about the whole thing, but I am.

I'm sorry to hear about his Joey,

I tried as well to check out #2 & 3 of your videos and was given the THIS VIDEO IS PRIVATE then the 404 page as well.

IDK what happened in the other thread, but EVERYONE has critics Joey. I hope a few bad apples spoil the whole project.