Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Has anyone had any experiences with a 360-6 string rattle and what sounds like feed back? I am no pro by far, but I keep getting string rattles and what sounds like feedback at or close to the bridge. The guitar is only 2 months old and was set up by a professional at the shop i purchased it from.
Again, I have only been playing for a couple of years, but even when I single out strings to test the rattle, it happens.
Any suggestions?
Thanks

Rick,

I assume you are not getting rattles near the nut? Do the strings rattle when played open or when you fret them, or both?

Robert

No, it is not near the nut. In fact, it almost sounds like feed back going to the tailpiece (R) logo.
It mostly happens when I fret, but the feedback sound also occurs on open strumming.

Check for symathetic (apparently not, in this case ) vibrations of the strings between the bridge and the tailpiece.

Thanks for any help I can get on this. It is truly annoying.

Take it back to the guy who set it up...He should look at it again, without charge in my opinion... Or take it to someone with a good reputation, who's worked on Rics before...It's probably something really simple..It might cost some more money but will be worth it for your peace of mind....I had mine set up and I wasn't happy with rattling come from the bridge. The guy looked at it again and I still wasn't happy. I sent it back to the suppliers who did a few things and it is a lot better but I still want a real expert to get it at its best ( gonna cost time, petrol and money but will be well worth it )......Don't worry though, at worst, if there is an inherent fault with it, then Rickenbacker themselves will put it right under the warranty. ( although I know rattling and buzzing can drive you nuts )

Check the screws of the bridge. Use the hex from the key envelope and turn it in every head just a few (!) degrees. If there is one screw that is "easier" You found it.

The screws have to be "balanced", to touch the bridge plate with the same force at one. (How better to explain?!) One screw that is not really in the game can cause annoying fine rattle.

I had some strange rattle - that was the solution. May it be this simple way.

BTW a drop of oil for the threads of the screws makes it much easier to feel the right degree of torque for every screw.

Hotzenplotz wrote:Check the screws of the bridge. Use the hex from the key envelope and turn it in every head just a few (!) degrees. If there is one screw that is "easier" You found it.

The screws have to be "balanced", to touch the bridge plate with the same force at one. (How better to explain?!) One screw that is not really in the game can cause annoying fine rattle.

I had some strange rattle - that was the solution. May it be this simple way.

BTW a drop of oil for the threads of the screws makes it much easier to feel the right degree of torque for every screw.

If like me, you haven't got a clue when it comes to technical 'things' then nothing is easy!! You could end up doing more damage than good.....You could make it worse in that you could create problems that were not previously there..You then end up not just with the original problem but a whole lot more!
I'm not being negative, just realistic........I really think the OP should follow my previous advice and take it to someone to look at.

To check the bridge can not cause damage. So no problem. RIC explains in the manual even how to adjust the truss rods. (And I did.) They trust their guitars and buyers.

And if this does not work there is still Your first choice.
I prefer to understand how my guitar works in every detail (great forum here for that!). So I can help myself.
- If there is a problem on stage I can not suddenly say "Sorry folks, I have to go to a technician...".

Maybe different personal skills can cause different opinions and decisions.

I'd agree with Sascha. There are a lot of guitar techs out there but not a lot of guitar techs who know Rickenbackers. Sometimes you are your own best friend in that you play the RIC a lot and get to know it well. The fixes suggested here are simple and won't hurt the guitar. I would give them a try and get to know your RIC. There are more posts in this forum about dealing with fret buzz and a few on the Rickenbacker copr. forum too.

There are just a few things that can cause rattle with a nearly new guitar:
- a wrong adjusted neck (see manual)
- a not perfect sitting saddle screw (see manual)
- the truss rods themselves (implausible at a new guitar)
- dead or bad strings

Did I forget something?

Thanks for all your help gang.
I will probably take it back to the guitar shop i purchased it and let their tech have a go.
It's frustrating when you buy an excellent guitar such as this and have such an annoying problem.

Just one wish: Please tell us what it was. I am sure a little thing with a big smile in the end.

Sascha and Tim.........With the greatest respect........You're telling an inexperienced OP not to to take it to a tech because, even though they may have worked on thousands of guitars, there's no point if they may not be experienced with Rics, and yet telling him that he might as well have a go himself. Isn't that a bit contradictory.... Why would he be more qualified to 'mess around' with the Ric than them...especially if he has only been playing for a couple of years ( playing has nothing to do with do it yourself guitar teching either)......Having a go with truss rods, neck adjustments, bridge/saddles is no small thing and no manual and well intentioned advice is a substitute for knowing what you're doing......By all means mess around on a $200 guitar but not a Ric....and believe me, if you don't know what you're doing, of course you can mess it up and cause even more damage...( be it a car, guitar or anything else )
As for knowing what to do if something goes wrong on stage.........I mean, come on, that's a different thing..... apart from changing the strings, tuning and basic guitar maintenance, what else can you do if that happens......You can't exactly start messing around with the truss rods in the middle of a gig..I don't mean any disrespect but not everyone is technically minded, especially myself, and what might come easy to you isn't the same for everyone.
I think you're doing the right thing Rick and I hope it goes right...It is frustrating and can drive you mad but better to be safe than sorry (I'm betting that plenty of guitar techs could tell you stories of guys having a go themselves and getting it badly wrong)

I disagree, sorry.

Every Rickenbacker is delivered with a care and maintenance manual (maintenance!!!). How far somebody goes into that maintenance thing is her/his own decision, hopefully based on a right evaluation of own skills.
My advice for the whole life: Only do things You think You are able to handle.

A manual surely is not written to learn how to do things, it just shows the steps of doing things right.

Obviously some dare more than others. That's life.