Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

So my 480's got some serious buzz going on. The Low A & E (pun) strings have open buzzing and i'm also getting buzz when I fret certain notes on the neck. It's not noticeable when i'm hooked up to the amp with a bit of gain so i've been letting it slide but its very obvious when playing unplugged and clean.

Now, I was going to have it professionaly setup, but then I thought, wait a minute. I'm a MAN and I can adjust anything. The action is already higher than i'd like it to be, and I don't think this guitar has ever been setup outside of leaving the factory 30 years ago. So if some kindly gentlemen could point out how I should adjust the neck to solve this issue, and what tool i'd need (preferably with pretty pictures) i'd greatly appretiate it.

see:
http://www.joeysbassnotes.com and follow the advice for old rickenbacker bass "
3000, 3001, 4000, 4001 4002 and 4005 basses" it is basicly the same...you will not need extra help to hold the thing down and to bend the neck, with 480 guitar you should be able to do it all yourself -to bend the neck into desired shape while holding your guitar between your legs and tighten up the nuts with 1/4 inch driver...

I don't get this whole 'bending the neck' thing. The article says I should hold it untill it looks straight but... it already looks straight to me. Also, wouldn't a guide for adjusting a bass neck be considerably different given the length in comparison to a guitar?

Hi Erik,

In all likelihood you've actually got a little back-bow if the open strings are buzzing, so you would need to loosen the rods. I believe that loosening the rods won't require the manual adjustment technique. If you "overshoot" and need to take out some relief, the manual adjustment technique will have to be used. The physical mechanics of the bass and guitar necks are identical - the difference in length is immaterial.

I'd start with about 1/4 turn on the bass side (low E) rod, and then let it settle for a day, then readjust if required. You may need to adjust both rods as you dial in your preferred amount of relief (or lack thereof), but as the issue is only affecting the E and A, this seems to be the best way to start.

grazioso wrote:.....to bend the neck into desired shape while holding your guitar between your legs and tighten up the nuts with 1/4 inch driver...

....which nuts?

antipodean wrote:I'd start with about 1/4 turn on the bass side (low E) rod, and then let it settle for a day, then readjust if required.

Hi, thanks for the info. Could you eloborate a little bit? How much and it what direction should I turn it. And when you say 'let it settle' do I perform the adjustment with all the strings in tune and leave them on?

...turn to the right (clockwise) 1/4 turn will lower the action which probably won't help the buzzing, counterclockwise will do the opposite.....if you don't want the action any higher yet have buzz,...the bridge is where the adjustment should be attempted.

Spike- wrote:

antipodean wrote:I'd start with about 1/4 turn on the bass side (low E) rod, and then let it settle for a day, then readjust if required.

Hi, thanks for the info. Could you eloborate a little bit? How much and it what direction should I turn it. And when you say 'let it settle' do I perform the adjustment with all the strings in tune and leave them on?

Counterclockwise (looking down on the nuts) is what you want as Johny says. Leave the guitar tuned to pitch!

johnnysain wrote:...turn to the right (clockwise) 1/4 turn will lower the action which probably won't help the buzzing, counterclockwise will do the opposite.....if you don't want the action any higher yet have buzz,...the bridge is where the adjustment should be attempted.

I've already attempted adjusting the bridge, the only thing that could be done there is raising it to bring the strings higher up off the frets, thus raising the action.

Or,.......
A luthier may decide to level the frets where the buzzing is happening.
It may be something to trust in someone who could precisely pinpoint the problem.

johnnysain wrote:It may be something to trust in someone who could precisely pinpoint the problem.

Unfortunatly I don't have that luxury anywhere locally. I called the limited number of places that I have avilable, a Guitar Center, a Sam Ash, and a locally-run music shop and was not overly confident sending the guitar off to any of the above. My only option would be shipping the guitar to someone like Jingle Jangle which is what i'm attempting to avoid.

So many experts on RICS in here.

If you posted detailed and relevant photos, I'm sure you'll get an excellent diagnosis and advice.

johnnysain wrote:So many experts on RICS in here.

If you posted detailed and relevant photos, I'm sure you'll get an excellent diagnosis and advice.

Well I can't really take any pictures of the strings buzzing... what sort of images do you need?

I'm not the expert but I've noticed some here asking for pics in similiar cases to make a better analysis.

I'd say a close-up profile of the neck and bridge to start. I'd be surprised if no one had any suggestions after that.

Then you can also take a ruler's edge and place it over both sides of the fret board to determine if any gaps exist in fret heights.

Okay, here are the pictures.