Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Tweeked the truss rods, after backlogging old posts, 1/4 turn each as per everybody"s info.
got the neck dead flat as needed,but noticed alot of buzzing all over the neck(open/and fretted) all the way up the neck.
Left it alone a couple of days to acclimate, but no change ,moved bridge up "no change"
sighting the neck ,there is a dip on the bass side after the 12th fret (sighting between binding /wood joint) ,treble side is straight ,no warping. I did notice treble truss nut is alot tighter (threads coming thru' nut), than the bass side nut which is flush to the top of nut. appears the rods were adjusted uneven , could this have caused a twist? straight edge reads flat .
Brought it to a tech ,he saw the the twist right off! ,I kinda scared him off by hammering him with rick rules,
so he bowed out on the challenge, which i would rather, than" let em' screw it up worse" !
searched the threads on twisted necks , don't look to good!!! the guitar alway's sounded out of tune a bit, from day one....
Any Thought's ?

Depending on one's personal playing style, a dead flat neck may not be the ideal set up. How low are the nut slots?

jps wrote:Depending on one's personal playing style, a dead flat neck may not be the ideal set up. How low are the nut slots?

The slots look to low to me ,which was why I took it in (for a new nut), the tech said the nut looked fine,
don't think he wanted to mess with the guitar! ,The third fret test shows no clearance @ first fret I.E "nuts two low" right?
before taking out relief , buzz wasn't anywhere as bad, but still felt uncomfortable to play chords, sounded out tune a bit,
think it had the twist even then! Iv'e been adjusting my playing style to accomodate this guitar,playing lighter touch,etc.
Might need to put some relief back in(whatever it takes)......

Once you fret at the 1st fret you have taken the nut out of the equation, but for open strings it sounds like the slots are too low. You could put a shim under the nut to raise all the slots the same amount and see if that helps any. Since you say it buzzes all over the neck now you may need to put a bit of relief back into the neck. Does the guitar have lots of fret buzz through an amp or just acoustically?

jps wrote:Once you fret at the 1st fret you have taken the nut out of the equation, but for open strings it sounds like the slots are too low. You could put a shim under the nut to raise all the slots the same amount and see if that helps any. Since you say it buzzes all over the neck now you may need to put a bit of relief back into the neck. Does the guitar have lots of fret buzz through an amp or just acoustically?

Might go with a new nut, as a shim would just be temp., need to find someone qualified to do it right!
( anyone know a rick tech. in so. florida) ? have not checked it again thru an amp yet! , i'll do that 1st thing tonight.
Any thoughts on repairing the neck twist ? possible to loosen the treble side truss nut, to equate (balance truss adjust.) ?

thanks for all input,
Jerry

Yes, you can loosen the treble side rod a bit, see what that does. If you were in the Philly area you could take the guitar to Pick Of The Ricks, Chris does wonderful work.

jps wrote:Yes, you can loosen the treble side rod a bit, see what that does. If you were in the Philly area you could take the guitar to Pick Of The Ricks, Chris does wonderful work.

Think I'm gonna try that Jeff , as the treble side is so much more cranked than the other !
Can't be good like that, I'm wondering , would the treb. side being (like it is) "cause the twist on the other side"?
If so taking it back a bit might do the trick! "we'll see' !

Wish I was back in philly , I was raised there ,in the N. East , "miss it everyday " , florida blows, ( everyday)!!!!

Pics please!

Id loosen of the rods until they were loose leave for a week for the neck to rest.Is the neck still got a twist after this process? A pic to see how bad theneck might help people see the extent of the twist.

scotty wrote:Pics please!

Id loosen of the rods until they were loose leave for a week for the neck to rest.Is the neck still got a twist after this process? A pic to see how bad theneck might help people see the extent of the twist.

I've been trying to get a good clear pic to post, **** camera wont zoom clear enough to view neckspan!
soon as I get one I'll post it up. Tried to loosen rods tonight , the nut wrench is not a rick wrench , ( believe it 4 rics no wrench) " typical". don't want to round off nut edges! , Is the p.o.t.r. 1/4" 90% sockett the right one to get?

Backed off the treb. side truss nut ,gonna wait and see what this does!
If I do decide to loosen nuts all the way , do they need to come off 1/4 turn each per 24hrs. ,or just loosen E'm ?
Also slack the strings while neck is setting, or not needed ?

rick325 wrote:Backed off the treb. side truss nut ,gonna wait and see what this does!
If I do decide to loosen nuts all the way , do they need to come off 1/4 turn each per 24hrs. ,or just loosen E'm ?
Also slack the strings while neck is setting, or not needed ?

Just back them off so the nuts turn loosely.

http://www.amazon.com/Xcelite-Hollow-Nu ... 209&sr=8-1

Sounds like you could need a Rick tech, only because there's been a lot of things that have been done by various people to this 12 string.

Before any talk of adjusting neck relief, the neck needs to be flat, playable, and stable over several days or even a couple of weeks.

Best thing to do at this point is to slacken all the strings and truss rods, too, then let it sit for several weeks, checking with a metal straight edge to see how (or even if) the neck is straightening when it's under no tension or compression.

After some time has passed, then you or a tech can attempt a proper setup including new nut. There have been numerous threads on the RRF, on 12-string setup over the years.

jingle_jangle wrote:Sounds like you could need a Rick tech, only because there's been a lot of things that have been done by various people to this 12 string.

Before any talk of adjusting neck relief, the neck needs to be flat, playable, and stable over several days or even a couple of weeks.

Best thing to do at this point is to slacken all the strings and truss rods, too, then let it sit for several weeks, checking with a metal straight edge to see how (or even if) the neck is straightening when it's under no tension or compression.

After some time has passed, then you or a tech can attempt a proper setup including new nut. There have been numerous threads on the RRF, on 12-string setup over the years.

That's all I needed to know ,
Thank you .