Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

hello, fellow rick-ninjas,

i recently acquired 3 new 2015 4003 basses to go with my 2009 4003. i love them all, but i've run into a problem: i'm not able to get a truss rod wrench onto any of the 2015s. i have the official rickenbacker model 97002 1/4" nut driver, the grover GP140 1/4" right angle wrench, as well as a snapon SSDMR4B magnetic racheting screwdriver, which has a 1/4" socket.

(i've owned and adjusted 8 4001/4003 basses over the 37 years that i've been playing, and never ever had a single problem; never stripped a thread, never popped a fingerboard, etc.)

the problem seems to be the clearance between the nuts and the rear of the route. the truss rods on the 2015s seem to be installed deeper into the neck - that is, further away from the nut - than in previous years. to illustrate, here are a couple photos. the midnight blue is the 2009; you can see that the truss rod assembly isn't too far from the string nut, and there's plenty of clearance behind the truss rod nuts. on the the mapleglo, you can see that the assembly is all the way back against the back of the cavity, far away from the string nut, with very little clearance behind the truss rod nuts. you can even see discoloration where the ric techs had to force their truss rod tool into that narrow gap:
i chose the mapleglo for an example because the lightness of the wood makes it easy to see, but all three of my new 2015 4003 basses are the same; i can't get any of my truss rod tools onto the nuts.

has anybody else run into this issue? am i doing something wrong? does anybody have any ideas as to how i can address this?

thanks for reading,


pete g

Using a grinder or a file, make the outside of the head of the RIC tool smaller in diameter till it fits. Also, grind down the area around the opening of the tool, making it taper down like a bullet. This will also make it easier to get over the nuts.

If you don't want to modify your current socket driver, there's this one that is designed to fit much better: http://www.pickofthericks.com/1-4-truss-rod-tool/

cassius987 wrote:If you don't want to modify your current socket driver, there's this one that is designed to fit much better: http://www.pickofthericks.com/1-4-truss-rod-tool/

thanks for the thought, but that's the grover GP140 that i mentioned i already have (and yes, i did buy it from POTR by the way).

I consider this to be a flawed design if one has to resort to conjuring up their own tools to adjust a truss rod. Ric really should ship a compatible wrench along with the instrument. Otherwise, I'd consider sending the instrument back.

RIC shouldn't ship a truss rod wrench with their guitars any more than a car manufacturer should ship cars with tools. Most people are incapable of using tools on either product correctly, and would just end up voiding the warranty by screwing something up.

I think that's fine as long as there is a commercially available tool that will fit the truss rods for this model. I sounded like the wrenches available from the Ric dealer didn't fit, so that the solution was to "grind them down" until they were the right size.

aceonbass wrote:RIC shouldn't ship a truss rod wrench with their guitars any more than a car manufacturer should ship cars with tools.

Such as this set that was supplied when one bought their brand new 1968 Ferrari 365 GT variant?

aceonbass wrote:RIC shouldn't ship a truss rod wrench with their guitars any more than a car manufacturer should ship cars with tools. Most people are incapable of using tools on either product correctly, and would just end up voiding the warranty by screwing something up.

i disagree. they ship wrenches for bridge height, and many other manufacturers ship truss rod tools.

even if they didn't include the wrench with the bass, the official one that they sell should fit.

The only tool included with a guitar I bought a few weeks ago was the wrench for adjusting the truss rod, and it was a very inexpensive guitar.

I agree that this seems like oversight; having to modify a tool to make an adjustment -- whether you're a guitar tech or just a player -- seems ridiculous.

In the end this is not about "should they deliver a wrench with each guitar?".
- IMHO: No, better not.
It is about "should an expensive wrench from the factory fit". - And it does not! Booo!

This is absolutely ridiculous...

Hotzenplotz wrote:In the end this is not about "should they deliver a wrench with each guitar?".
- IMHO: No, better not.
It is about "should an expensive wrench from the factory fit". - And it does not! Booo!

This is absolutely ridiculous...

Totally agree. It's like having to modify the spare wheel of your car to make it fit.

It's a total load of cobblers....

Being a grumpy old bloke, if I bought a shiny new guitar and found that the truss-rods could not be adjusted using the standard tool, I would consider the instrument unfit for purpose, and would exercise my rights under warranty and return it.

aceonbass wrote:RIC shouldn't ship a truss rod wrench with their guitars any more than a car manufacturer should ship cars with tools. Most people are incapable of using tools on either product correctly, and would just end up voiding the warranty by screwing something up.

Considering that other makers provide truss rod and saddle adjustment screws with most of their instruments, I think it's quite reasonable to think
that RIC should include a truss rod wrench. But, then again, doing things that are customer friendly doesn't seem to be on their radar.