Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi,

I have a 1995 360/6 JG and have some trouble with the neck adjustment. I know this have been discussed several times but I have followed the instructions in the manual and couldn't make it right. If I set the neck with a light under-bow and the low E at a distance of app. 2mm (5/64") to the 12th fret I have a very noticeable buzzing. The biggest problem is that the bridge is nearly in the maximum position. I'm using ernie ball strings (regular slinky 10-46) and think this couldn't be the problem...


hooty

Welcome to the Forum, Hooty!

The distance of the low "E" to the 12th fret is not a useful dimension here, except as a check for other, more critical dimensons.

On a new Rickenbacker instrument, the factory suggestion is for zero relief, which you refer to as "underbow". ("Underbow" is the word for unintentional relief. Relief is what you, yourself, intentionally set.)

Yours is a decade old, and unless the rods have really been messed with or the neck is warped, you should be able to get to close to factory specs. For relief, use a capo to hold the strings down at the first fret. Now fret at the 14th and measure the distance under the strings at the 7th fret. For standard relief, you should be at file card thickness; a bit more at low "E" string.

Many players prefer some relief (don't ask me why; I think it's a remnant of playing guitars with a standard geometry, where the neck has an angle, etc...)

You say your bridge is at maximum height. That implies a badly bowed neck. The following should correct the bow. You should start out by slacking off on the truss rod nuts until you just begin to feel resistance. DO NOT under any circumstances just keep cranking down on the truss rod nuts. The fretboard could separate away from the neck! You should be turning the truss rods a 1/4 turn at a time, and checking after each resetting. It doesn't hurt to have the guitar on a table with a soft towel under it, and to push the neck a bit in the direction you want it to go. Have a friend hold the body down firmly.

On an instrument with a properly-set neck that isn't warped, the bridge should be at about the midpoint of its up and down travel.

Thanks for the reply. What I mean with "under-bow" is that the neck is already concave to the strings. I've used the mentioned capo-method between the first fret and the 16th and have measured a distance of about 1/64" at the 8th position. I think that's more than enough. The problem is when I straighten up the neck then I have to lift the bridge but its already all the way up...

Sounds like you need a neck reset, sadly.

On such a relatively new guitar, this is pretty unusual, and would cost almost as much as the guitar is worth.

I would next have the guitar checked over by a good luthier. He doesn't have to be expert in Rickenbackers, but should have experience in set-neck guitars. He could provide a second opinion on this surgery.

If it's just a concave curve to the neck and not a neck set problem, then it can be fixed by heat clamping the neck and re-bowing it back to convex. I had to have that done on my 331LS to get the neck back to normal.