PRIMER ON THE CARE AND FEEDING OF RICK FINISHES

beatlefreak · Post by **beatlefreak** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:36 am

One of the things to put in a book could be select transcripts of the posts in "Reflections of a Curmudgeon". That'd be cool.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 6:50 am

I appreciate the appreciation, and all the great suggestions, too!

RC, you're a generous guy, as usual...

A question:

Would you folks prefer the imaginary book without capitalization and punctuation ("New Wave Web Post" format), or with these dubious embellishments?

B4U answer, let me pull my tongue outta my cheek.

And don't try to tell me it's my head that's...well, you know where...do I have to draw a picture?

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 7:24 am

With embellishments, please. I'd suggest that'd be a long read, not a short post. I think so. Albeit a picture book with very short comments where punctuation wouldn't matter that much will be just as fine. Or a video film. That'll eliminate the need to capitalize or put those commas etc.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:21 am

aaarrrggghhh sheena im not trying to eliminate them im trying to preserve them although i think video is probably at fault 4 making writing seem 2 b such a tedious thing but a hiphop or bayarea hifee/hyfee/hyphee guide 2 ricks is an idea whose time is yet to come an i wanna be here 2 get it started b4 i ghost ride da whip outta here in good style cuz im too krunk for sum yall ya noe

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:30 am

Um. Whazzup, Paul?! Are you okay? I'm worried.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:33 am

Just a bit of Bay Area attitude, Sheena. Not to worry. Be cool.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 8:59 am

I never said "no book", so options are open. Wifey sez she wants to edit it. There are so many good guitar building/collecting/setup/resto books out there, although I know, I know, there are none featuring Ricks with some cool historical facts tossed in for good measure and entertainment/shock value. (Run-on sentence.)

Topic, David: Your last sentence shows that you are beginning to grasp the magnitude of it. Detailed answers take time and a careful choosing of words, not to mention several re-readings to make sure everything is clear on first glance.

Breathing on a guitar will change the intonation slightly. The answer to the first question is, therefore, "maybe". It brings up another question: how often should you check the intonation?Answer: whenever it sounds like it could be off. For some players who can't accommodate to the tempered scale, this is always and forever. For others, it's once a string change, for still another group, twice an eon.

Tight fit: Bridge elevation screws with rubber rings around them don't work. You can put springs on 'em, but in order for those to work, they need to be very heavy. Ball point pen-type springs are insufficient for the task. I use red Loctite to hold screws once adjusted, although a number of Forumites prefer green or blue. Red's tough, especially on small screws, so know yer Loctites.

Scratches on guards are a good place to use Scratch-X and Zymol. The Zymol will help the guards to shed pick marks.

Metal parts: I use Nevr-Dull magic wadding to polish frets and tunersbut not the jewelry-perfect plating on guitar bridge covers, pickups, and tailpieces, which will show scratches from it. On these parts, a soft diaper dampened with Windex, is all you need. Wax preserves their original state. There is no way to remove scratches and pits from chrome plating, once scratched or pitted, save replating of the same high quality. RIC's stuff is very high quality. Replace rusty screws with new.

I couldn't restore a guitar if I didn't know setup and intonation. Fortunately, this is the same for most guitars, and covered in great detail in most guitar repair guides, printed and online. You need to make Google your friend...

When setting up, remember: RIC sets necks at the factory with NO relief (i.e., absolutely ruler-flat), allowing the bridge and the nut to be the two determinants of action. A new Rick, laid onto a surface plate, should check out with frets at exactly the same height along the length of the fretboard, except for a slight falloff on the top three or four. If you can set a Rick up like this (providing that the neck angle has not drifted over time on any Rick over five years old or so!), you will have an easy-to-tweak, superb-playing guitar.

The topic here, my friend, is FUN, and we should not lose sight of this. I can never figure if we Americans have too much of it or too little...we seem to have lost focus.

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 9:02 am

Um. Bay Area attitude? I have a few mates in Bay Area, but they don't write like that!
Back to the topic (kind of), however... how about oil finishes? Just kind of a reminder, when you have time... (yes, i know i'm a bore!

)

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 10:13 am

Sheena, that's the fallacy of "sampling".

David: One TINY drop on the screw thread near the tip before inserting the screw, or apply with a toothpick to the point where the screw goes into the threads, after the screw's been adjusted, to hold the adjustment. Let set several hours.

A "few drops" would hold the space shuttle together.

This is for screws prone to vibration. I use it on the four bridge height screws, period. Don't use for sheet metal or wood screws. You can also use it on the four corner screws and nuts on each pickup. The factory uses super glue, which is a bear to work around.

I don't use Loctite on any other screws on any Rick I work on. Rick basses generally don't need any, being much simpler than the six and twelve string guitars.

It's also the bomb for Jazzmaster/Jaguar bridge height screws, which are notorious for working loose quickly, causing the strings to fret out with little notice.

beatlefreak · Post by **beatlefreak** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:09 am

Sheena wrote:
"Um. Whazzup, Paul?! Are you okay? I'm worried."

It seems that some of our forumites missed Paul's humorous (although to the point) vent. He's lamenting the general downgrading of the English language in recent years. The U.S. is slowly becoming more illiterate - Greatly helped along by people who don't use capitalization, punctuation, and who do use shorthand forms of writing ('u' for you, 'b4' for before, etc.) Add to that that we read books (remember novels?) less and less these days.

Anyone can misspell a word, but with spell checkers on computers a click away, it should be very remote. Likewise, anyone can make a typo. Lord knows I make more than my fair share. But even our grammatical skills have slipped in recent times. The only way to improve grammar, punctuaton and capitalization is through practice.

Long live the English language. we should all cherish it, and help preserve it for future generations. Now, back to the subject at hand.

beatlefreak · Post by **beatlefreak** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:54 am

The best way to check for a straight neck is with a straight edge. I use a stainless steel scale (ruler) with a length of 18". This allows me to place the edge of the scale from the first fret through the 21st fret. Then eyeball it. The edge of the scale should touch all of the frets. If you see space between the scale and the frets in the middle of the neck, you'll need to tighten the truss rod slightly to get rid of the bow. If there is space between the scale and the frets at either end, the truss rod needs to be loosened slightly to get rid of the backbow.

Truss rod adjustment is achieved using a 1/4" thin walled nutdriver. There is one (the 'proper' tool) available on the RIC website in the boutique section, but you could probably find one cheaper elsewhere. Do NOT use a 1/4" socket, as this can apply too much pressure on the truss rod.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 3:46 pm

That's it. best quality. $15 last time I checked. I further thin the socket walls by grinding until they are almost flush with the handle. You don't need lots of torque, you need lots of access. So it's unlikely you'll crack the socket it you do this...proceed slowly when grinding, though...

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Mon Sep 04, 2006 11:18 pm

It seems that some of our forumites missed Paul's humorous (although to the point) vent.

This problem is not exclusively English/American. Same thing happens here, in Russia: "padonkaffsky web language" with intentional mistakes, mostly spelling, which once was a joke, is now very popular in web communication, and some seem not to know how to spell some words correctly! As far as improper capitalization is concerned, methinks "real-time" means of online communication, such as ICQ, where one should answer fast, somehow caused lack of capitals and punctuation marks. There are other factors, of course, but that's too long a discussion. I did get Paul's point, just was a bit surprised this problem raised its head again in this thread.
Sorry for going off topic.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 4:40 am

I raised it again, tongue in cheek, as I said in the post...

But only as a reminder that those of us who read and write:

1) Will always control written language and will give up that control only when it is prised from our cold, stiff, dead hands;

2) Have a responsibility to use the written form of communication in a manner that shows clarity above all, so every nuance of word can be perceived;

3) Unless the intent is to be a deliberate Bozo;

4) Just to make a point.

My point here, Sheena, is that there are times to be literal and times to let weirdness wash over your interpretations. Your own written English is unbelievably excellent--a credit to you and your education! But, being married to a woman to whom English is a second language (Portuguese is her first, and she also speaks fluent Spanish and a smattering of Italian and French), I also understand that when English is taught as a second language, it is also taught that literal interpretation is the safest way to understand and be understood. What is lost in that translation are the culturally-aligned language variations like sarcasm, parody, irony, and my fave, satire.

As far as I'm concerned, I wouldn't be surprised at anything that happens on this Forum!

sowhat · Post by **sowhat** » Tue Sep 05, 2006 5:07 am

Tongue in cheek? Somehow reminded me that joke (originally in Russian, i must add):
----
Teacher: There are languages in which double negation means negation. And there are languages in which double negation means confirmation. But there's no language in this world in which double confirmation means negation!
Bored student: Oh, yes. Of course.
----
Irony is not always lost in a translation, as well as sarcasm and satire. Not to mention many jokes (which are not based on play-upon-words, of course, like "What's that? - It's bean soup. - I know it's been soup, but what is it now?") are international. But of course, there are nuances in meaning which may cause misunderstanding, and also cultural differences. But we're here to learn from each other and to find a common "wave" which will let us bridge the "language gaps", right? [a smiley]