Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have an '88 4003 with an odd neck issue. Neck is fairly flat from the nut to about the 15th fret, where there is a visible bow - upward so that the nut end is higher relative to the 15th fret. No amount of truss rod adjusting has ever altered that bow but it actually sets up fairly well with the E/A TR nut just barely snug and the D/G nut finger tight only. The caveat to this is a very slight backbow along the D/G side of the board around the 3rd fret. Again, no amount of rod tweaking has relieved that smaller bow, which leads to unacceptable buzzing of the D & G strings round the 3rd fret. Incidentally, the bass is strung with Chromes (.45-.100), like my other Rics.

Last Saturday I got adventurous and decided to have a look at the truss rod on the D/G side to see if it looked OK. Removal wasn't difficult, thanks to info from various previous posts here. Thanks! I found a rod that is VERY curved...with something on the order of 4-5 inches of deflection from the ends to the middle. The rod ends look fine - nice and straight, threads good. I know these rods aren't supposed to be flat, but am I correct that this amount of curvature is excessive? I gently worked the rod (to avoid kinks) down to a more reasonable/gentle curve and reinstalled it upside down. After several days of settling in and tinkering with the rod adjustment, the slight bow at the 3rd fret has not changed, but the larger bow at the 15th fret on the D/G side is gone. I'm thinking my next step should be to repeat this procedure on the E/A side rod. Any comments or suggestions?

Two other questions come to mind...What is an acceptable amount of curve (or deflection) in these rods? Which direction are they supposed to be installed - i.e., with the apex of the curve toward or away from the fretboard?

Thanks,
Matt

You might have to find the right amount of curve for the rods that works best for your 4003. The apex of the curve should go towards the fingerboard.

Also, if you find no amount of playing with the rods will solve the humps you might find, look at the grain of the maple and see if there is a, um, place of interesting grain in that spot - the wood may be causing any residual humps.

MattB wrote:What is an acceptable amount of curve (or deflection) in these rods? Which direction are they supposed to be installed - i.e., with the apex of the curve toward or away from the fretboard?

I've seen some bent into a full circle that do the job just fine.

Same issue here. I'm just about to install new rods in my v63. I'm not sure if I want install them straight as they come or add some curve to them. Would be nice to read some more opinions on this before I do the job.

BTW, there's some discussion on this issue here (at the end of the thread):

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=398702

Ole

Thanks for the replies and the link to the more indepth discussion! I flipped the E/A rod over this morning and the bow at 15th fret is now gone on both sides of the neck. Baby bow at 3rd fret is still there although fretboard grain looks OK to my eye, FWIW. We'll see how it settles in over the next day or two.

Thanks again,
Matt