Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Mark,
I noticed tonight when playing my 4001v63 for the first time in about 3 weeks that it seems like the fretboard has shrunk and that now the frets stick out of the sides a little. The bass is still playable for sure but if you run your fingernail up the side of the neck (about where the binding would be on a 4003) it will "catch" at every fret because the fret is sticking out just a tad. Have you ever heard of something like this happening before? I'm sure this bass didn't have a bad fret dressing before, it just seems it has changed in the last three or four weeks. What can I do about this?
By the way, I keep this bass in a temp controlled room, but we have had colder than normal weather in this area in the last month, maybe 20-30 degrees for lows over the last month.

Thanks,
Gene S.

This is a universal problem that EVERY guitar maker/manufacturer/Luthier has .

The issue is expansion and contraction of differing woods/plastics/finishes and the humidity levels/temperature changes and re-absorption of moisture in the 'new' location the instrument moves to .

I don't have the ultimate answer to the dilemma,but I do recognize this and I trim down frets frequently at different times of the year for people.

The installation of frets before the binding causes some instruments to crack at the spot the fret and binding contact.I see this ALL the time with Gibson guitars .There is no 'cure' for it .It's the crowsfeet of guitars.

On unbound necks This is common to almost everyone.

On guitars that were fretted AFTER the binding was installed (Larrivee and CF Martin ) the ends still hang out and some times the ends pop up .The D-35 from CFM is famous for this .

JH may have an official answer to this and what he recommends .I don't want to put words in his mouth on this matter.

I dont have an answer for this but I have the same problem with a 88' 330/6 that I own. I live in SE Georgia and the humidity is horrendous here.

Last year I acquired an '88 4003 Blackstar bass and everything, including the fretboard, is painted black on these models. When I first got it, I noticed that the finish appeared to have been 'blown out' at the point where the ends of the frets meet the sides of the neck, all the way along the neck and on both sides. Initially, I was concerned about it having been refretted, but determined that was not the case as the paint up to the frets on the face of fret board itself was for the most part, undisturbed. Temperature and/or humidity played a role in a problem that is apparently endemic to the breed.

I found a solution for this when I spoke to the luthier that works on all my basses. He said this is a common thing (although I've never seen it happen in nearly 30 years of playing!). He told me the same thing that Mark did and he filed and dressed the ends of the frets so that they now feel very smoooth and look better than ever!