Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Mods, please excuse me if this is in the wrong place or if it is disallowed, but I need some help. I know you guys are a treasure trove of information on all things Ric (and other makers' gear as well) so I really wanted to see if someone could give me a hand.

So a guy I know asked me to look at his Jazz bass because he liked the setup I have on mine, but his is acting really wonky. There seems to be too much relief in the neck (strings are bordering uncomfortable to play because they're too high off the fretboard) and the truss rod is tightened all the way. Aside from that, any notes fretted above the 5-6 fret are buzzing badly. Any higher and the strings bottom out and the string just buzzes against the fretboard at the highest fret. Is this neck in need of a setup or is it a bad neck? I've always done my own setups and I've dealt with some minor string buzz, but this is way worse. The saddles are cranked up pretty high and it's still bottoming out the fretted strings and the open strings are WAY too high. I'd like to get this bass setup and back to him if the neck isn't bad. This is just really frustrating. I can't seem to make any kind of progress. Thanks for your help and suggestions.

This is why we play Rics!

(Sorry, couldn't resist.)

Hard to say without seeing it, but could be warped. Check to see if the truss rod is digging into the wood, in which case you can add washers. Honestly, if I were you I'd I'd hand it off to someone who works on Fenders on a regular basis.

This should be moved to the Low End section as it is not Rick bass related.

However, Welcome to FenderLand®! I had an AV '62 Jazz Bass that had a terrible neck; within a couple of months of having it (I bought it brand new, not even store stock, it was ordered from Fender and shipped to me when done) the truss rod nut was max'd out trying to get the fingerboard even reasonably flat, so I sold it off. Your friend's issues are not unsimilar to mine. From your description it sounds (reads) like there may be a shim in the neck pocket that is too thick or in the wrong location (or both) besides the relief and truss rod nut problems, especially given the way high bridge saddles and buzzing on the 20th fret you mention. I'd start by removing the neck and totally loosening the truss rod and let it sit for a few days or more, then put it back together with no shim if there was one and begin the set up procedure. Hopefully this will take care of it, if not, buy a new neck (or, better yet, have your friend just buy a Rick ).

Thanks a lot, guys. I'll take it apart and check it out again later when I get back home tonight.

Hey Javi!

Sounds like the problem I had with my first Fender 5 string (an Am. Std.). It had a problem where the area of the fingerboard with the 5 highest frets was... pretty much the area above where the neck sits in the body pocket. I seem to recall reading somewhere that this "kicking up" of the end of the fingerboard isn't a particularly rare problem for Fenders. One of several reasons I sold that one particular bass off. My current Am. Dlx. 5'er is MUCH better!

Just thought I'd share.

Thanks, Big Al. It's been a while since I've seen you around. Yeah, I'm starting to think this neck may be a bit wonky. I'm going to try adjusting it again later this evening and see if I can't get this thing leveled out. It's a nice bass, but that neck may need replacing. I'll see how it goes. I haven't had too much time to do a lot with it yet.