Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

jps wrote:

rickenbrother wrote:Many guitar builders will tell you that the plainer the maple used for a neck, the more chance it will remain stable.

+1, I learned that from Rick Turner.

Agreed, and Ben Hall even explained this point to me when he was building my bass, but from a strictly visual standpoint, I will miss the figured necks.

Well, I guess that's some consolation for mine having an unfigured neck. But it sure would look nice with one like yours...

If you're gonna have a one-piece neck, figuring is a risky, unpredictable proposition. A two-piece neck that's book-matched will reduce the risk of distortion over time, and a three-piece neck, with a dense, straight-grained center strip, will be stable in the vast majority of cases.

The German luthiery tradition is one of multi-piece necks (even in mass-production). German archtop jazz guitars (and this would include Rickenbacker's own 760J Jazz-Bo) typically will have seven, nine, or even more laminations of different thicknesses and often of different species, for additional "free" decorative effect. Framus is known for its laminated necks of 30 or more layers, which remain very straight and stable over long periods of time.

Martin and others are said to use old airplane propellers (multi-laminations) for neck blanks on some models. Is this true or myth? I imagine these necks would be very stable. They are very decorative.

That's a question for Eric Schoenberg...

jingle_jangle wrote:.......Framus is known for its laminated necks of 30 or more layers.....

That thing has gotta be half glue

Does that much glue affect the tone?

The larger necks on the 4004's have kept me from owning one. I may have to start looking now. Something lighter than my V63 would be nice on my back!

teeder wrote:Does that much glue affect the tone?

It's really pointless to consider this, unless you've got ears like a dog. Not to mention that "half glue" is, of course, a gross exaggeration.

Having owned several Framus electrics with these necks (including a '60s hollowbody 12 string with a neck shallower, though a bit wider, than a Rickenbacker 12), I can tell you that they stay straight and play well, once properly set up.

superdick2112 wrote:Agreed, and Ben Hall even explained this point to me when he was building my bass, but from a strictly visual standpoint, I will miss the figured necks.

The figuring in the wood has always varied in the wood that RIC uses. Though the Cii's at NAMM did not have much in the way of flame pattern in the wood, there were nice grain patterns that did not show in the pictures.

For visuals, I like the one-piece neck on my '08.

That neck is a huge one, and to me it matches the sound of the bass. The 4004Cii may look refined, but it's a bruiser if you want it to be.

superdick2112 wrote:

aceonbass wrote:

rickenbrother wrote:Many guitar builders will tell you that the plainer the maple used for a neck, the more chance it will remain stable.

I've heard this as well. I'm thinking the two truss rods that Ricks have, as well as Alembics, will keep them stable in the long run.

And in the case of my 4004Cii, I believe the sheer size of the neck contributes to it's stability.
The neck on my 4003 is more narrow and thinner than my Cii neck, and it requires seasonal truss rod tweaks, while the truss rods on my Cii have not required any adjustments once the neck settled in.
Say what you will about chunky necks, but in my experience, a chunky neck is usually a stable neck.

My observation also.

bluewhale wrote:The 4004Cii may look refined, but it's a bruiser if you want it to be.

Powerhouse tone monsters is what they are!

superdick2112 wrote:Say what you will about chunky necks, but in my experience, a chunky neck is usually a stable neck.

Yeah. This is why my 2009 no longer exists... RIC replaced it with a thin two-piece neck 2010 model. The neck was thick and it wouldn't respond to the truss rods. It was basically permanently fixed with a certain amount of relief.

The cool thing about the two-piece is that the truss rods are barely doing anything and it's still pretty much straight.

my '08 neck is perfect , it has perfect action from nut to bridge with perfect relief . Whatever Ric was going for with the thick 1 piece neck they nailed it with this bass When I first got it a few years ago the truss rod vibrated when you hit a few notes , I simply tightened the nut a hair and haven't touched it since .

It's really pointless to consider this, unless you've got ears like a dog.

It was just a question Paul. Everything affects tone. Slight variations in wood densities does. Set-neck basses sound slightly different from the neck-throughs. So why would it be pointless to think more laminations doesn't?