Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I recently got my first Ric, a 2001 Fireglo 4003. Yesterday, I put Rotosound, .45-105 on it. It previously had .40-.90s' on it. The neck relief had been no greater than .020" at measured at the 7th fret. Now, it is much more (Obvious 'cause of the heavier guage/tension strings), and, I don't have a truss rod tool. AND,...I have heard lots of horror stories of Ric necks and truss rod adjustments. I want the relief at the 7th fret to be around .015-.020", and no more. Anything more, and the action is too high and too tough to play. It was set up very nicely prior to the heavier strings (and .45-.105 are not HEAVY GUAGE in my book). So, HELP!! Where can I get a truss rod tool?? And, any secrets I need to know before I start taking the concave bow out of the neck????? Thanks!

I just use a long extension on my 1/4" ratchet with a 1/4" socket and it works great....you can also just get a 1/4" nutdriver at the local hardware store. Any of the online dealers should be able to get you the official Ric tool but I haven't found it to be required.
Just make adjustments in small increments evenly between the two rods and you should be fine. The truss rod related problems were a 4001 issue.

Thanks for the info!! I just found out the my Carvin truss rod tool works for the Ric, too!! I have 5 Carvin truss rod tools, so, one is going in the case for my Ric!. So,I have adjusted the truss rods and got the action where I want it, but, I have determined that I like the lighter guage strings better on the Ric!! Lessons learned!!!

I'd go with the nut driver to avoid over tightening the rods.

Ditto what Brian said...the problem with RIC truss rods was on the old 4001's...and it wasn't so much the RIC truss rods as it was guitar techs who didn't know how those truss rods work.

You should be able to take that relief down even farther than you're shooting for. RIC necks are designed to have very little to no relief.

Oops-didn't see your last post, Joseph. The Carvin tool sounds fine.

Welcome to the Forum.

Enjoy your new RIC. Play it often and play it loud. Your neighbors might not appreciate it now, but they'll miss it when you move!

Thanks for all the info!! I am going to put ,40-.90 strings on it, set it up that way, and LEAVE IT!!!