Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hi, I have just purchased a Rickenbacker 620 in the (UK). I was absolutely delighted with the workmanship and when I plugged her into my Marshall JTM 45 reissue the tone was all I'd hoped for and more!

The only gripe I have, it is a small anomaly but it really does affect the playability of such a fine instrument, is that the 2nd fret seems to have been filed down a little to much resulting in the top E slipping off the fret board! A pull off on the top E is impossible without the string choking...

Just wondering if anyone else has had any similar problem with a brand new instrument?

This is something I would expect on a £120 guitar not a £1250 one!

I would be grateful for any thoughts or advice!

Welcome to the RRF. I will let Paul Wilczynski respond to questions regarding how you might rectify the technical issue that you have observed should you not wish to take advantage of the new instrument warranty. I have moved your post to the Rickenbacker Technical Forum.

As you have noted Rickenbacker instruments are of high quality but issues do arise from time to time as nothing in life is perfect. We are not the customer service department here and I would ask that you contact the dealer directly for warranty issues. I have taken the liberty of removing the dealer's name so that you can keep this matter private and allow them to assist you while at the same time keeping your relationship with them on good terms.

For further information regarding the Rickenbacker warranty you could also contact RIC through their service department who will be able to assist you. I can appreciate that having a problem with a new instrument is disappointing, however, I am confident that problems that have originated at the Factory will be resolved under the terms of the new instrument warranty. Taking this problem to a public forum is not something that dealers or manufacturers embrace and I expect your most effective approach would be to go through proper channels.

Thanks for the advice and I apologise for name dropping the dealer! It was not intended to have a dig - mearly to put the feelers out to see if anybody else had had any experience with customer service.

As it turns out, I received a sympathetic email from the dealer today asking to advise when collection by courier would be convenient, which is most definately a positive step.

I shall let you know the outcome.

Thanks

Good luck..I am trying to picture why a low fret would cause the string to jump off ..Sounds more like a Bridge or nut alignment thing. Maybe your bridge base is on a tad off. Does the whole guitar walk that way. What you describe doesn't sound like a fret problem..Good luck with that Dealer. Sounds like they are on top of it.

Rickenbackers do have their strings riding pretty close to the edge of the fretboard. I had this problem on one of my Rics. I ended up cutting a new nut slot.

MyBBruce wrote:Good luck..I am trying to picture why a low fret would cause the string to jump off ..Sounds more like a Bridge or nut alignment thing. Maybe your bridge base is on a tad off. Does the whole guitar walk that way. What you describe doesn't sound like a fret problem..Good luck with that Dealer. Sounds like they are on top of it.

Cheers, I looked at the nut first of all but all spacings are correct.... Its the angle at which the fret has been filed at the edge of the fretboard, not the height so much. There is just not enough of the flat 'face' of the fret for the string to stay on when pressed down causing it to slide off the fret board. It only happens on the 2nd fret so I haven't even looked at the bridge...

I'm pretty sure it can be resolved quickly and efficiently - just a bit of a kick in the nuts when the guitar you have dreamed of owning for so long has a rather impeding playability issue!

That said, she is gorgeous in every other way and would definately buy another (I'm a die hard Les Paul fan / owner so this is a bit of a sway of loyalty for me!)

I will let you know the outcome!

Hi Guys, Just to let you know, the good people at the store have arranged a courier, collected the guitar (at their expense) They inspected the guitar and concured there was a fault with the 2nd fret and are sending out a replacement tomorrow! Now thats what I call quality service!

New Rickenbacker arrived Xmas eve, the technician at the shop agreed that there was a defective 2nd fret and shipped a new one out same day. Needless to say this one plays like a dream and I haven't managed to put it down since!

Welcome, Chris!

It sounds like the dealer was top-notch in customer service. That's great to hear!

Congrats on your new guitar, and post a picture or two when you finally get a chance to take some!

Great

I'm glad to hear everything worked out so well, Chris. Welcome to the RRF.
JimK

i have a similar problem w/the low e, higher up on the fretboard, tho it's a used guitar. i have a gibson that i did not have that problem w/until i had someone cut a new nut, and plek it.