Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

In the tweakery of my V63, I've discovered a new phenomenon: the truss rods are now vibrating when it's played, and they're rattling and buzzing with almost every note. At first I put it down to loose hardware somewhere, but I've determined that it's most certainly coming from the neck itself. (I also have some unfortunate separation at the neck/body wing juncture, but that isn't it either.) I noticed that it comes and goes and changes slightly depending on the rod adjustment, but it never completely goes away. I have the rods pretty darned tight to get the best action. (Loosing them and lowering the bridge makes the very highest frets buzz unacceptably, plus the rattle doesn't go away then either.) I've tried a number of different asymmetrical "tweaks" as Ted and others have suggested, but it's not going away.

Anyone else have experience with this issue, and/or any fixes? I'm willing to take invasive measures if necessary....

I can't understand how they can rattle inside the channel if they are tightened. Are you absolutely sure it's the rods?

I'd just pull them out, see what's wrong, maybe they flipped? Post some pics of the rods, are they curved? Don't straighten them, they were bent that way in the factory for a reason. I was just about to straighten the rods when John Hall advised not to. Then slide them back inside (with the curve in a back-bow to work against the neck) and set up. It's very easy to do and doesn't require special tools other than the 1/4" hex key which you probably already have.

Yes, they can rattle if the tape is not torn, worn, or missing. Verify the rods are rattling by striking the back of the neck with the heel of your hand. This usually makes the rods rattle if they are able. If you are sure the rods are rattling then do this.

1 Remove the strings
2 Remove the TRC and pickguard and lay a thick soft cloth on the body to protect the finish.
3 Loosen the truss nuts but not all the way at first.
4 One at a time tap the adjusting nuts until the rod emerges at the body end if the neck.
5 When enough rod is showing remove the nuts. Now you can pull the rods out careful to flex them upward away from the body as they come out.
6 Once out, check the tape if it is damaged, peel it off taking note of the steep angle of the tape (very little overlap)
7 Replace damaged tape with a good quality 1" masking tape.
8 Lube the rods with a little carnuba wax. Zymol works nicely. You do have Zymol don't you? If not, any non-silicone car wax will work. The wax prevents the tape from shreading on the way in.
9 Carefully slide the rods back in and reinstall the bearing plate and adjusting nuts.
10 Make both nuts finger-tight and then turn them about 1/2 turn with the wrench.
11 Put the pickguard and strings back on and tune up.
12 Adjust the neck as required.


As far as the separation goes. That can be tough. Asymmetric rod adjustments won't fix that and I don't think anyone would suggest otherwise. Most of the time the gap is very tiny and diffiicult to fill with a strong enough glue to actually hold it closed. You might be able to get some good quality CA in there (not Crazy Glue). Tricky business especially not damaging the finish in the process.

Thanks again, Ted - once more you've come through with a thoroughly understandable procedure to follow. I did the "neck-whack" test and you can definitely hear them rattle. I'll give it a shot when I come back from gigging this weekend (it's gotta come, rattling or not!) and report my findings.

Regarding the separation, yes I know it can't be helped with rod adjustment. I'd like to get some glue in there to stabilise it (maybe through the pickup route area), but I think, due to the finish cracking, it's going to need to get "surgically" dealt with. But for me, eventually it'll be an excuse to get it refinned even closer to an '64 RM FG, and a chance also to get the neck profile a bit closer to '60s specs as well....

No problelm Paul. I like to help out when I am able. I have learned a lot here and it is nice to give back once in a while. If you are going for a re-fin anyway you can try to flow some good CA in there. I would wax up the body in the area on both sides to minimize the finish damage then carefully clamp to squeeze the body sections together tightly. I have fixed the problem by removing the lower wing and regluing from scratch but that is not always practical. My '86 4003S/5 had the problem in spades. the neck actually bowed forward from it.