Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi. I'm about to buy a 79 4001. I've been reading up about how to adjust the trussrod and all that stuff. But I got really confused.

"it is important to manually move the neck to the final position you desire and snug the rod up to hold that position, rather than require the rod itself to provide the bowing force."

What does this mean?

The truss rods in the old 4001 were designed to hold the neck in place, not force it there. You force the neck (underbow) with your hand, applying pressure to it, and then tighten the rod(s) to hold the neck in place. The newer 4003 system allows the underbow to be achieved simply by tightening the rod(s) rather than applying pressure by hand. Not as difficult as it may sound.

The rods on these older instruments are not 'torquued up to set the neck , but rather you have to remove them (YES I said Remove them) , then bend the neck to the arch you need , then reinstall them (all this is without any string tension on the neck ) and THEN tighten them .

I raise the bridge , tune the instrument , then relax the rods to the correct relief and THEN and only then set the bridge height.

THIS is the reason why so few repair people can work on Ricks with authority .

I tip my hat to John Hall for ceasing the old rod method .

Mark, why do you need to remove them? I never have, and have had no problems...

You some times need to bend the rods , first ....then reinstall them , tighten them , tune the strings , then release the rods to get minimum relief !!!

how far can the nuts typically be turned? do the move a full revolution onder the neck?or are you only supposed to go a little bit?

The manual says half a turn at a time. This is how much I tightened my truss rods when I put Pyramids on my 4003 (half turn). As to how many turns you can make in total, I don't know. I plan to keep Pyramids on my bass, so I will not be messing with the rods any more.

You need to pay attention as to What Year the instrument in question was made; a '79 4001 bass has the old,sometimes problematic trussrods.A 4003 is a different animal; better truss rods.

my Ric is an `01,

what i notice is that there is a only a few threads left for turning them clockwise.and the spot where i get the best bow to the neck is very close to being loose,sometimes the nut loosens up and the rod vibrates when i play, so what i am asking is, can the nut/rod be turned a full revolution to get an adjustment that remains tight?

This may sound un-nerving , but some times all that is needed is to set the instrument down on a table , and support the headstock area with a phone directory and apply some pressure to the center of the neck , this causes the neck to move a little , and then the rods can be adjusted.

The only time rods are a concern, with the new post 1985 style , is when they are 100% loose and that makes for a neck that will not stay put.
These are generally non existant.

Pressing on a neck that is the older (pre 1984)style rods almost NEVER happens.

well i did it,thanks to you guys.

the adjustment was very minor. although the only thing that worries me now is that the nut does tend to back off a bit from the vibrations and fingering, then the rod will rattle a little till i tighten it again.

so there is another question. how do i keep that nut from backing off ? have any of you guys heard of this before?

You could possibly get a very small, thin lockwasher and put that between the hex nut and the aluminum spacer bar.Any other ideas, Mark?

I apply teflon tape to the thread on worn rods , this will snug them up and it is extremely cost effective .

Go to any place that deals in plumbing supplies .

those are great ideas mark and don,thanks