Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

well fire away guys ,I'm ready

Humphrey wang ...stay home and off your computer

(inside joke sorry)

After you have adjusted the bridge and are satisfied with the intonation I am wondering what measurements you take or what procedure you use to determined whether a truss-rod adjustment is necessary. Are there specific measurement guidelines or do you use the "Ol' Eyeball Technique"? It has often been said that what you do to one truss rod you also do to the other but what observation tells you that it may be necessary to adjust one rod more than the other, for example.

First there is an order to setting up /adjusting an instrument.If you change this order you must start over.

1- tune to the pitch you will be using

2-check the truss rod(s)

3- adjust them by fretting the low string at the 1st fret and at the same time the fret where the neck joins the body.there should be a gap of .004 to .015 for guitars and .010 to .020 for basses.
The gap you are looking for is between the string and the 6th fret and the same at the octave/12th fret

4-checking the nut;fret the strings at the 2nd fret (you may use a capo if this helps you)and you should have a gap between the string and the fret of .005 to .010 on the plain strings and .009 to .018 on the wound strings.This is all personal preferance .I tend to cut nut slots higher on the bass/wound strings for people who play mostly acoustics.On a 12 string I get the action as low as I can .It makes it easier on the fingers.

5- after all that has been checked and or adjusted then you may set the bridge height.The rule is ...you must,on a 6 string guitar ,set the high E / 1st string so you can bend a whole step.some people want a step and 1/2 .I ask before I do this.Once this string is set I adjust the low E string to it's height.Around .085 is okay for most people and the acoustic guys get it higher.It also depends on the radius of the fretboard.In the case of Fender's 7&1/4" radius,I set the low E the same height as the high E.the rest just get set to follow the radius.
On a 10" radius I leave the low E and the A just a hair out of the radius .meaning by 1/2 the thickness of the string to 1/3 the thickness up out of the radius.It's barely noticable yet these strings get hit with the most force.

6- next the intonation and you are done

In the case of pickups with magnets for polepieces,I lower them to get the least amount of magnet pull on the strings.this gives me the clearest 'view' for the strobe tuner that I use.

Last thing...I have had one digital tuner and it was a Roland rack mount.I returned it after one month.I will stay with my analog Peterson strobe tuners.They are more accurate.

I have adjusted my truss rods to the above specs on my Ric 370/6 using a feeler guage. The rod on the bass side wound up being torqued tighter than the other rod. Is this right? Should they both be torqued about equal? I am using Ric 10-42 strings.

Thanks

Both rods should (in theory) end up with the same amount of tension.

This is NOT always the case.But you do need to have similar tension on them.
In the case of the original style rods ...this is more critical.
The new rods (since about 1985) are easy to use .If you are torquing one and then after the neck get where you want it...then snugging up the other rod,you need to re think this adjustment.

My own belief is that with the new rod system the second rod is no longer needed,but rather a continuation of familiarness to the public.After all it was marketed for so long with two and the two were supposed to be better than the competitions system.You have to love marketing.

Anyway ...try to keep them even.

Mark,

I picked up a new 360/12v64 about 7 weeks ago. The night I got it I was tickled to death with it - it was the first one I was able to tune (and get tuned) and play (in tune) of the ones I'd been playing at various stores for weeks.

Anyway, cut to the chase...

The intonation is off, most noticeably on the low E and A pairs - so much so that open (in tune) is out of tune fretted at the third fret.

I've measured the clearance and I have about 0.066" difference between the 1st fret and 21st frets (on the bass side/0.077" on the treble side).

So, I just turned each truss rod nut 1/6th turn. How long should I wait until the neck re-tensions and I should see results (before tightening more) if needed.

Thanks -

Gary

As was the case with Steve G. When I adjusted my 620/12 to specs very similar to Mark Arnquist's I had to adjust one rod (it was a couple of months ago so I don't remember which one) more than the other. The result was that the relief (both eye-eyeballed and measured) are now close to the same on both the bass and treble side. Is this correct? When Mark the MD says "keep the tension the same" are you referring to the amount of tension required to create "equal" relief (the same on both sides), or the "actual" physical tension of the rods. If it is the latter, I have no idea how to measure it, and do we know that it was really "the same" when I purchased it?
Thanks, Rob

Mark,

Never mind, three hours later and I think I'm good to go...

Bridge was high and the E and A saddles needed to be pulled back.

It purrs again

G

Could you please recommend a Rickenbacker Luthier in the Tampa Bay area of Florida?

I would find out who the dealer(s) are and ask them .

Ask players who own them .If you find someone that likes to work on Gretsch guitars ...you have the same person in a Rick luthier/repairman.They usually go hand in hand for some reason.

Some times ,calling and asking what guitar would you rather not work on also is a way to find out .It sure weeds out the time wasters.

Mark
I'm reading StewMacs' Trade Secrets #2, pages 26 & 27. On a 360 with older style truss rods, it shows removal through the headstock for replacement. Would this be the same procedure for newer 360/12's?

The bass rod end on my 360/12v64 with newer style rods was bent upwards after an adjustment. This prevents the cover plate from sitting perfectly flush and has worn some paint off of it. My concern is if I bend the rod back down, I'm afraid of weakening it at the nut.

I would like to replace it, but not by removing the fret board. I apologize for bringing this up again, but I just saw this in print for the first time.

Has anyone found the book,"Rickenbacker, Pioneer of the Electric Guitar", this article comes from?
Written by Naoki Ogane (1995, Rittor Music,Inc.) I would like to find an English translation.

I've decided to replace the truss rods in my 99-360/12v64. I was concerned that bending them back down on the threaded ends could have weakened or snapped them. Following JH's instructions, they came out with a little effort. I didn't expect them to have a 1 5/8" bow. As I removed them, the rods pulled up away from the headstock.
The new rods are straight and after rubbing with parafin, they slide in easily. I was ready to start stringing and I thought maybe the new rods are to be pre-bent? I'm not sure how the rods actually counter the string tension, maybe they bend after tension is on the neck? So I thought I had better post here for advice before continuing. The neck is straight and true without any rods installed.
I've installed the 12 saddle bridge and just received a 12 hole tailpiece from RICK12DR. Nice workmanship, should make installing new strings
much easier.

Are you replacing the vintage /bent over type ?

I rarely replace these .

The new single rods ....never .

The old ones I replace due to totaly scrwed up threads and or bone head repairman that start hacking away with a Dremel tool or cross threaded ends .But even all of those things are fixable .

I replace them only when there appears to be metal fatigue.

Most of the time I make new aluminum blocks and use aluminum or brass ,I also make them thicker and then add a pair of #8 steel washers to tighten the nuts against.

On 12 strings I give the rods a gentle bend and install then ,add tension then string and tune .Usually I have to loosen the rods to the 'correct' tension .

I'm a little confused.... I had a 1989 360/12WB which I just recently sold. In favor for a 2000 360/12v64, I noticed this has truss rods that are bent up at the top, so the name plate got scratched a little(just like JimD above). Is this a common thing with the vintage models? Should they even be replqaced?

I will start a new heading to answer this so it can be found by anyone easily.

This is not that confusing ,but it appears that this info ,to sort it out is not in one place about the two rod systems .

So ...I will sort this out .

Look under ...."What are the differences between the original and the modern truss rods?"