Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I've seen people advertise used Rickenbackers, saying the neck has been reset. I believe the
neck is set into a channel, glued in and then
the back glued on. It is my understanding that
trying to get the neck out would destroy the guitar. Is this true? Thanks.

I'll try to do a preface to Arnquist jumping in here; basically, a Rick semi-hollow guitar has a mortise and tenon joint[like a simple drawer
sliding into a dresser or cabinet].From what I've been told, at the Least, to access the inner joint to soften the glue, you'd need steam and/or
heat guns, and while you are doing one thing, you are affecting other areas.First, the neck itself
is a 3 pc. laminate, so 2 glue joints there. Then, you have the centerseam of the back of the guitar; 1 more to deal with. And finally, 4
internal glueing surfaces from the tongue of the neck Inside the whole guitar.See how complicated this gets? Mark says the back would have to be removed[read: binding gets affected, and finish=
time and $]Then, heat gun and/or steam to loosen the neck out of the slot from the backside.Are you getting the picture? "Labor/time intensive"
best describes the process.I have a '67 370-12
with a severely pitched neck/body angle, and I am
Seriously considering just cutting the neck out of the body and using the old body as a template to build a whole new one to original specs and then refit the old neck and get it in there Right to begin with.Mark, get over here and elaborate;
throw some $$$ figures at the audience....

Oh, and Larry, the whole body is mfd.at the factory with the back already glued on,shaped ,bound, etc., and the neck is glued and slid into the bodyas the last major operation
before being sent to the hand sanding areas.

The issue here is can it be done?

from my stand point ....a neck re-set really means more than the same to a Martin D-28 .That comes apart easily by comparison .

I find that the reality of a neck reset in a Rick is really making a new body and refinish.

To save the old body ,You have to deal with steam or some kind of heat.I use a silicone blanket material once the back comes off.

By the way ...You eat the binding when removing it ,the checked binding can be saved ,but not the white.
I use a 3 winged cutter to go around the edge and slice the back in the binding .that way the original top plate is intact.
Using the steamer ,I shoot steam into the remaining joint down the center to remove the back.many old backs are in fact plywood and they come off easier than the solid 2 piece ones.The solids warp horribly .
The plywood comes apart so you need a new back.

The trick is to release the neck from the channel .Steam works wonders here and the silicone blankets hold the moisture in and cause the neck to fall out of the body.
After the body dries out (for about 7 days) I check it for level.
If it is warped...
If it has come apart at the seam(s) ,then I discuss with the customer the ways to finish the project.

1 - attempt to rebuild and flatten the body(many times the body was not flat when the project started)
2-construct a new body ,duplicating the original construction methods ,but using hand picked wood for the new body.

This would include some rather interesting looking maples,not unlike the recent Carl wilson ltd. models.
Then a complete refinish and reusage of all the original hardware.

The only way to know it was not stock is to have the knowledge that this was done in the first place and/or knowing what kind of finishing materials I have used .

I do not spray Conversion varnish as I do not own Stainless spray equipment.
I do use other catalized materials though .

Thanks to both of you for answering my question.
The way I see it is if the guitar is not that old
it would be better to write it off and buy a new one. If you're talking about an old, valuable vintage Rickenbacker you're better to leave it alone as it will be worth more that way than taking the chance of having to replace the body.
If the body is replaced, the collector value is
gone. Rickenbackers really are unique in construction, and must be a luthiers nightmare.

A final note on Rick semi-hollows;If you are looking to buy an older one,read through the many posts we have here that can educate you as to what to look for[And look out for!] concerning these models.Just take the time to find out
what the structural idiosyncracies are, and don't buy something for big $$$ only to find out it needs Lots of intensive, costly repair.Unless, of course, you have Lots of expendable cash, and like 100% original but unplayable wall hangers!!

yeah,I just sent a 67 360-12 for 1100.00 with a headstock repair back to a dealer, I bought it knowing that it had that repair and he offered me 24 hour to check it out... I could have lived with the headstock, but the strings down by the neck PU were way off the neck and it didnt have bindings on the neck, I thought that was a little weird too, the bridge was real close to the body, so I knew we had a problem....I sent it back to Mikes Music, not knockin the guy but beware, he was trying to get me to take it back after i sent it back to him wanting a refund, he said he would do a free set up that it was usually 25.00 to set it up....why didnt he set it up before he sent it to me, playing like **** ??? BOGUS!!!!!
He sent my money back but it was very hairy there for a day or 2....

FATRAT the civil servant

It would be interesting to know if there is an official reason as to the mysterious reverse neck angle of the 1960 guitars .Is this a neck set issue or is the body warping from years of stress ,or has the bracing failed or is it some other reason.

This seems to be a fairly common thing .

Inquiring minds want to know !

This has been discussed before; it's the body warping under tension over time, especially 12 strings.

My question is really ...Why does this occur?

I know that it does .

But why?

Has this been looked into or is it something that has slowly been played with over the years until a solution was accidently found and that is what is being used now?

FatRat: Consider yourself lucky. You got a 24 hour approval and your money back. I wouldn't question that dealer's integrity one bit. Pretty good treatment actually compared to what can happen..............especially on Ebay.

Mark; more thoughts on the "warping 360-12 bodies; consider this.The 360 body is 14" long, from end of fingerboard to rear strap button. The mortise/tenon neck pocket extends about 3-1/4"
into the body, leaving almost 11 inches of the rest of the length of the body inside hollow all the way to the strap button. The area under the "beveled tailpiece area" inside does Not make contact with the back of the inside of the guitar.
The amount of wood removed from the beveled area on top probably makes the length of the top a bit less rigid, and the strings at the bridge are being pulled down with goodly pessure on top of the guitar.With the tension of 12 strings, Something Has to want to give after a while.Even though there is a kind of "X" bracing glued to the underside of the top, there still is not enough resistance to the tension. I'm betting that this is At Least one reason that Rick changed their method of routing the interior of the semihollows.John Hall, you care to comment?
I'm sure you're not unaware of these earlier problems that seem to show up more often than not on older 12s.Of course, there Are still 60s 360-12s out there, that for whatever reason, somehow Never developed the problem[particularly good, stable batches of maple??].

I think the idea of leaving the bevel area touch the back sounds like the thing to do .It would certainly be more sound structurally .The X brace could still be done ....but why not route a channel from the neck to the bevel to slide the neck into and can the X brace .Or is this something that has already been done .I have not stuck a mirror into a Rick 360 consistantly over the last ten years .I also missed to look on the CW that I just worked on .That was a beauty!!! great wood and classic look .If only we had made those ,all those years ago ,when I worked there .That was what we wanted to be making.

Anony: I didn't mean it like that at all, I was just letting you guys know its out there .I'm very very lucky, I know. It was just shaky being told you have 24 hours. I didn't know if I was out the guitar or cash or both but they sent it so Im sure they're fine. I got the music store's address off Gbase, not ebay, but not much difference is there.

FATRAT