Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Just recently found this board and I'm excited to hear any replies...

First, I'm slowly but surely setting the action to where I feel comfortable with it. But I still need a few tips to getting it nice and low like I know this guitar can do. When I first began adjusting it, I noticed the neck had a slight overbow (I forget if it was under or overbow... the one that sets the action a little higher). After adjusting the truss rods a tiny bit, that was solved. But my problem is is that it is never quite perfect. I'm getting some buzz from my A and D (standard tuning) strings around the second and third fret while the strings around the 12th fret are still pretty high--too high. Anyway, I can get rid of a lot of the buzz from the first few frets by truss rod tweaking, but then the higher fret strings become slightly muted. And when I raise the action from the bridge, the strings overall again become too high. The action right now is ok as long as I'm careful where I know the trouble spots are, but I know with a little help, I can get this action super sweet.

Now to question two...
I bought my guitar used, and there was some slight corrosion eating away at the black pickup paint and causing some rust to form. Is there anyway of cleaning this up without damaging the pickup itself? Should I look into some replacements?

Now the easiest...
I'm a new Ric user, and I've always pronounced Rickenbacker like RickenBACHer (like Bach as in the composer). However, I know some people who pronounce Rickenbacker where it would rhyme with Quarterbacker (football position). To end my confusion, which one is it?

Thanks, and any bit of information you guys can pass along would be greatly appreciated.

Josh

The Official Pronunciation is Ricken-backer, like Quarter-backer. I used say it like "bach" too until John Hall posted the correct annunciation.

I can't bring myself to say "Bake" instead of "Bach"... Oddly enough, there's a typo in my local phone book where it lists a music store as carrying "Rickenbacher" gear.

When in doubt, just say "Ric"

If it is a very old store with very old stock they may be right. "Rickenbacher" labels once appeared on some of the earliest instruments.

Yeah, I frequently use a simple "ric"... It's just so hard to say it correctly

After reading my question, I'm not even sure what I was asking in my first question. Let me re-phrase... I was just wondering what are the correct steps in setting the right action? Will I ever need to look at the nut? Maybe buy a file? How do I get the perfect action that I know this caliber of instrument can achieve?

Josh

Hi Josh and welcome to the forum! About your tuning question, here's what Mark Arnquist had to say to me...:
1- tune to the pitch you normally use
2-check truss rod (not sighting down the edge of the neck ,
use the A and B strings as the straight edge to do this .
3, check the saddles for wobble ,
5- check nut slot depth
6- check intonation
Have you done this ? in this order? did you adjust anything ?
How do you know you need a new nut ?
More to follow!!!

Part 2:
To check the rods you press the A/5th string down at the first fret
if you have a capo use that .
Then while that is being done , press the same string down at the
last fret on the neck.
With your fretting hand , check -by pressing down on the string to
see if there is a space between the string and the fret ...see photo

You need to have some space of just a couple of thousands of an inch
.
Think as thick as a piece of paper.

After you have checked this , get back to me .
I'll bet this is the problem.

I will assume that you have not gone any further than my last email
back to you ...I hope so ..........

Now , if the string is touching the frets at the 5th fret ...the
truss rods need to be loosened ....how much ? 1/4 turn .
Which way? righty tighty .....lefty loosey

Which way is that? .......as you are holding the headstock in your
hand and th ebody of the guitar is on the bench , then you are
aligned correctly , now turn each rod the same amount to the left or
counter clock wise .
Then retune .... recapo and then check the string gap at the 5th
fret ...With the string fretted at the last fret .

Part 3 : that's an interesting one about the rattling and buzzing!!!

I set the low E at 3/32" off the last fret .NOT plugged in, it rattle
just terrible .

I never gig with my electrics NOT plugged in .....for me , they are
fine that way .

On that Schaller bridge , set the E strings to the height you like ,
the plain strings are lower , but check the bending ability ...that
sets the real height.If you fret out , raise it just a half a turn
at a time .

Then set the others in an arc that follows the fretboard.

Part 4:
Same deal with a bass ...but as the string is longer , the
elliptical pattern is larger and longer , so I add more relief to
the neck , slappers do not care .BUT bass players that don't slap do
.And round wounds (because they are crisper sounding ) require a
little more relief.

Have fun ......

And here's the last part where I was asking him about my strings buzzing on the frets while I was setting the height of the bridge...The doctor's got a good sense of humour but let me tell you that it did miracles on my guitar!!! Good reading!

When you go gig ,and don't plug in ,,,let me know .I'll pay to see
that !

Buzzing does not matter when not plugged in , it DOES matter when
you are .

Because they are designed to be plugged in ,I set them up as low as
I can.I would bet that you would hate my Les Paul's action ...the
low E is just under 3/16" from the last fret top and I use the
largest frets made in that guitar ...they are .065 tall .
The frets in a Rick are .040 at the tallest .

I have 28 guitars and only a few of them have their stock frets .I
use different sizes as each guitar performs a specific job and they
are like colors to me (as if I was a painter).

My acoustics have higher action .My Martins use different gauges of
strings as one get put into different tunings all the time (the
D-28) and the D-18 stays put with D'Addario phosphor Bronze J-16
strings , a great fingerpicking guitar ...terrible lead
instrument.Too midrangey.

Gauge of string and tuning also play a part in how to set up a
guitar .

Maybe you should get my Warner Brothers/REH Video --Guitar Care and
Maintenance it's $20 USA
It runs 120 minutes long and I show you how to set up ,adjust
,intonate and polish frets along with other things .You might find
it a benefit .And it will help you to understand what to do with any
guitar you own .I cover many brands in it .

MDA

Should the string height off the fretboard be the same at the 1st fret as it is the 21st fret? Cause if it is, my never has. I'm just eyeballing it, but it looks to be slightly over an 1/8 inch higher at the highest fret. I guess it's supposed to be? How low can you get (actual measurements) on a similar guitar? I just want to make sure I'm not as low as I can go and asking for more unrealistic expectations.

Also, in regard to Part 2 of Dan's reply, I can fit a piece of paper (a few probably) after capoing and checking the A string at the 5th fret... so everything is a-ok there. Really, I've only got maybe four frets across two strings that actually rattle and buzz. The others (higher frets) are more of a slight mute... chopping the sustain off the end of my notes.

Also, am I correct in my thinking that I need to find a nice balance between truss rod and bridge height? That the two should work together? Or is their an optimal truss rod position that works across the board, and we should solely adjust action from the bridge?

Thanks for hearing out my numerous questions...
Josh

Okay ......Here is the deal .

Those postings were from ME answering Dan's postings .I also sent photos to him as he was having difficulty understanding what I was saying .

Particular point of head scratching is the use of the string to check the trussrod(s) .

This is the deal and don't look at anything before this sentence or you will get confused.


If you have a capo use it ...capo at the 2nd fret .
Hold the A/5th string down at the last fret on the neck .
This is WITH the capo on the neck.
If you have NO capo ....use your fretting hand!

With BOTH ends of the string depressed (left hand press the string with your index finger , right hand with your little finger - hey that hurts , get over it!)

While doing that left hand first ....with your little finger , press the string down to see the amount of movement between the string and the top of the 5th fret ...tap it ...see that gap?

Okay , keep hold ing down with the lfeft hand , now check with the right at the 12th fret with your index finger ....HOLD the string down at the last fret STILL Come ON!!

Still don't get this ???????

Email me for the photos .This is easy ! come on you guys .
This is just something you don't do as a player .

However ..it does have a Van Halen quality to it.

Thanks guys, after much fiddling, I have found an action height that I'm happy with. I know my first ever post has been met with a lot of confusion, and I apologize, but I did recieve some very helpful little tips in what to look for. Like I mentioned before, I'm a fairly new user and after taking it to my local guitar guys a couple of times with no luck (I guess they don't see many Rics), I decided to tackle it myself. Now I understand a lot of the beauty of the adjustability of the whole thing. Very cool.

Thanks for your time in regards to my ignorance.
Josh