Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I had been leaving about .20 relief for years, then I read an article (from what I assume is a trustworthy source?) http://www.joeysbassnotes.com/Rick maint.htm

And so I was into getting my neck flat. I began four days ago, turning both rods clockwise about 1/8 at a time, letting it sit overnight, and repeating. Right after the adjustments, the neck straightens out - for a while, but after overnight I STILL have about the same bow as before, after about 4 days of this.

Do I just need to keep at it? Should I take it apart, and start over?
I don't believe the rods are bottomed out, and for sure the nuts are not stuck on the threads.. I put a drop of light oil on before, and tested them to loosen OK.

Using plain ol' Roto stainless 45-105...as always.

Any suggestions are appreciated.
Thanks
Mike

Of course, that should read ".020"
Oops.

Has it been playing well? That really is the only spec that counts...personally I don't try to mess with my set ups but I also live in an easy climate to "set and forget".

My fretless J had neck issues when it was new like what you said, and it took some patience to finally get the neck as good as it gets. I still have to live with some twist, compensate with a little higher action on the E string. Part of this is probably due to having very tension Fender flats on it. When I had the same flats on my 4001 the relief was close to too much - still playable. but no one is going to convince me to mess with the truss of that one!

I am sure there are other with far, far more experience than me tweaking the rods, but from what I gather with a 4003 you might just have to try a little more (? - are 4003's prone to fingerboard separation like the older 4001's?)...

Thanks.

Yes, it plays well enough, but after reading the info on that site, I decided it could -maybe- be better!

In any case, now it's a matter of solving the puzzle, so to speak.

As far as I've been able to determine, 4003 do not share the same separation problem potential as the 4001, but I could be off on that.

Joey's advice is good advice, and the 4003 does not suffer the separation problem because of different design rods and the way they work.

turning both rods clockwise about 1/8 at a time

Some people might find that giving 1/8 turn at a time is a bit conservative. 1/4 turns at a time are usually fine, but I've also found out (through many emails) that many will turn the adjustment more than I tell them to, so I keep it conservative. In my experience, getting the neck to where I want slowly, works out better than rushing it. Keeping after the maintenance and choosing strings wisely usually keeps the neck from getting to a point where it is difficult to setup well.

I've got a similar problem on a 4003s/8 on the G side. Have managed to get the neck as straight as I would like, but I am convinced that nut at the body end needs to be backed off a bit to allow the rod to work more effectively.

Anyone confirm?

To correct the unexpected bowing that happened to my 2006 4003FG, I did the 1/8 turn and rechecked after a day or three;it took several weeks to get the neck back to straight.It's not something that I wanted to rush.

Thanks guys...
Don...several weeks? Wow, didn't see that coming.

I have also found John Hall's suggestions helpful with a particularly difficult 4003 neck. Search the forum on the Ric site for details. He suggested clamping the tailpiece end of the bass to a work table and moving the neck into position then tightening the rods (this is just a summary...search for the specifics). I loosened both rods, laid the bass on a flat surface and placed a rolled towel under the neck about where the relief was (5th fret in my case). I had someone hold the base flat at the tailpiece and applied (slight)downward pressure on the neck (NOT AT THE HEADSTOCK!!!) to move it to a roughly straight position and then tightened each rod evenly until it held...so far so good.

Again, search the Ric forum and I'm sure you'll find this thread.

Sometimes it helps to set the neck manually while doing the adjustment. Pull the neck backwards away from the strings by hand first then set the nuts. On particularly stubborn ones, I have found that the masking tape wrapped around one or both of the rods has peeled off or torn while the rod(s)was being inserted. This can jam the rod and prevent it from working properly. How much thread is showing past the ends of the adjusting nuts?

Excellent suggestions, thanks for all your time.

Ted, mine has about 7/16" of thread showing.
Seems a bit much, yes?

I'm thinking I might disassemble and see what's going on inside.

That sounds like a lot. Take the guard off and snap a picture of both the ends of the rods and post them here. The acorn nuts should be just inside the recesses. If they are way in, then wood might have compressed a bit. That too can be fixed.

OK, but I have no camera. All I can do, is as you say, then report back?

Sure. That can work too.