Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

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Greetings all -

I'm going to sell my 4001.

It's a 1973 4001, and it's in fine condition except that the truss rod nuts are bent down at a poor angle. Because these nuts are bent, you really can't adjust the neck relief. Fortunately, the string height and neck relief are spot on, so no adjustment is necessary, but if you wanted to put heavier strings on it (right now, it's got 40-100s on it), you might want to adjust the neck (or not), and then you'd have an issue, potentially.

SO......I've tried the 'home-fix' approach to straightening out these nuts. I posted on the RIC forum in March, and got a bunch of helpful replies.

viewtopic.php?f=13&t=414685

However, these nuts are STRONG! I could not bend them back.

So, I need to

1) find someone who knows what they are doing and pay him/her to fix it
2) sell it as-is

What would you guys do?

thanks -

Richard

p.s. here is what the bass looks like

I'd keep it!

You have a fine instrument, in fine condition, and with string gauges that you seem happy with and are therefore unlikely to change - why are selling it or fixing the rods your only options?

Ash

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Greetings Ash - I am interested in selling the bass, so I either need to fix it, or sell it unrepaired. I've edited my initial post to make my goal explicit.

Thanks for responding.

thanks

Richard

Can the rods be replaced? What month; does it have CB?

jdogric12 wrote:Can the rods be replaced? What month; does it have CB?

You'd need to first straighten the nuts before you could slide the rods out.

What's CB? Sounds contagious.

CB = checkerboard binding

jdogric12 wrote:CB = checkerboard binding

aha

yes, it's got CB

also has FWFI (full width fretboard inlays)

and SS (Skunk stripe)

and a NAB (notched aluminum bridge)

plus POA (plenty of attitude!)

Getting someone to fix the rods shouldn't be too expensive - you've gone through the process of getting 'em out so you know the drill. New rods can be made for the bass, but may cost north of USD200 to be machined and installed. I had a pair made for my '74 4000 and it cost AUD 300 - around USD 220. I note that materials and unit labour costs can differ a bit between Oz and the USA - it's usually more expensive here.

antipodean wrote:...New rods can be made for the bass, but may cost north of USD200 to be machined and installed...

Hmm, now I have some idea of what my NOS rods may be worth....................

antipodean wrote:Getting someone to fix the rods shouldn't be too expensive - you've gone through the process of getting 'em out so you know the drill.

Greetings - I have not been able to extract the rods because the nuts are too bent. The nuts are pointed - at a roughly 30 to 35 degree angle - down into the wood and make extracting the rods impossible. The only way to get the rods out is to first straighten the nuts, and I have not been able to do that.

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Sir Ricardo wrote:

antipodean wrote:Getting someone to fix the rods shouldn't be too expensive - you've gone through the process of getting 'em out so you know the drill.

Greetings - I have not been able to extract the rods because the nuts are too bent. The nuts are pointed - at a roughly 30 to 35 degree angle - down into the wood and make extracting the rods impossible. The only way to get the rods out is to first straighten the nuts, and I have not been able to do that.

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The rods in my old July '73 4001 were just like that when I bought the bass in February 2003. I managed to get the rods out at take care of the problem just fine. It may take some effort, time, and a lot of swearing, but it can be done.

Sir Ricardo wrote:

jdogric12 wrote:CB = checkerboard binding

aha

yes, it's got CB

also has FWFI (full width fretboard inlays)

and SS (Skunk stripe)

and a NAB (notched aluminum bridge)

plus POA (plenty of attitude!)

You forgot to mention the TRC.
Also, the correct term is a gap-toothed tailpiece; the bridge is just the part which sits on it.


As for keeping/selling, the consideration is whether a $2000+ bass is worth spending money on to fix or whether you just want rid of it.

This bass is worth closer to $3000, and is definitely fixable.

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Guys, thanks for all the replies.

I feel I should clarify the situation, given the content of some of the replies.

1) I have tried to straighten the nuts. I used the methods suggested to me in the post I initially mentioned, but did not succeed.

2) The truss rods can't be extracted until the nuts are removed / straightened. Thus, the truss rods remain in the bass until such time the nuts are 'fixed'.

3) I had the bass sold locally via Craigslist until we figured out the nut situation, at which point the buyer understandably got cold feet. Although I had owned the bass for a while, I had never taken the truss rod cover off, and so had no idea about the nuts. Fortunately, the bass plays great as it stands, the string height is fine, etc. But as I mentioned, if you want to adjust the truss rods, you are in for some difficulty.

thanks

Richard

aceonbass wrote:This bass is worth closer to $3000, and is definitely fixable.

+1!

Can the rods be tapped back into the channels first and then attempt to straighten?