Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

So I've got my bridge bottomed out, barely any relief in the fretted part of the neck itself, but there is still kinda high action, like the whole neck-thru thing is bowing around the neck joint. Should I try lighter strings? If so, can anyone recommend good ones for a RIHS and scatterwound toasty?

Lighter gauge strings will help, but I'd strongly recommend Dane Wilder's (and other's) approach to resolving this problem - get a competent luthier to insert a maple block in the neck pup cavity to sort out that adverse neck angle, It worked for me.

Ash

I had TI Jazz Rounds or the Super Soft set of Chromes when I had my V63. The TI may take a bit of getting used to the very low tension but once you do you may find more typical basss strings feel like they came off of the Golden Gate bridge.

Lower tension strings aren't going to fix this problem. What Ashley said.

Ashgray wrote:Lighter gauge strings will help, but I'd strongly recommend Dane Wilder's (and other's) approach to resolving this problem - get a competent luthier to insert a maple block in the neck pup cavity to sort out that adverse neck angle, It worked for me.

Ash

Does this preserve the half inch spacing of the neck pickup?

lordblackmore wrote:Does this preserve the half inch spacing of the neck pickup?

Since the body wings were moved back several years ago, this area is weaker. John Hall claims that problems like this are rare, but I wouldn't do it.

Ashgray wrote:Lighter gauge strings will help, but I'd strongly recommend Dane Wilder's (and other's) approach to resolving this problem - get a competent luthier to insert a maple block in the neck pup cavity to sort out that adverse neck angle, It worked for me.

Ash

+1 -- this worked beautifully for Dan Basica's 4004L. I have to admit I would be skeptical a maple block would do much (my thinking with a bad neck angle is, "The damage is done", in the case of neck-through) were it not for the results I have seen it get.

Jdog,

On your bass, does it have that "China depth" route for the neck pup? What year is she? +2 on the maple block fix.

Sepp

lordblackmore wrote:
Does this preserve the half inch spacing of the neck pickup?

Yes it will, it fills the hole and then only removes enough timber to fit the pickup and no more..

Eden.

Thanks everyone. Is there a thread about this?

Jdog,

Yes, but for the life of me I can't remember when or by whom. Mark Walker repaired another v63 with a negative neck angle by partially filling the excessive pup route with a liquid two part epoxy. After putting the instrument on a fixture that pulled the neck angle neutral, he semi filled the void. I know the material he used was one where very little shrinkage would occur. Precision rifle builders use a similar product to embed the actions of their rifles into the stock. While this material is very durable, I like the maple block and re route method better.

Sepp

[quotePrecision rifle builders use a similar product to embed the actions of their rifles into the stock. While this material is very durable, I like the maple block and re route method better.
][/quote]

+1
I use acraglas for my rifles, but would go the maple block route for basses.

http://www.brownells.com/gunsmith-tools ... d1033.aspx

jdogric12 wrote:Thanks everyone. Is there a thread about this?

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=412344&p=833988&hil ... ty#p833988
Jeff Scott left a good link about half way down the first page.

I found that while surfing for stuff on the new 4003S.