Rickenbacker 4001 Truss rod spacer

Maestro & Muse · #1 01-10-2011, 06:18 PM

Hi All,

I just recently purchased an '81 Ric 4001, but the original aluminium spacer that the truss rods bear down on was machined poorly (extremely off-line, strange that the RIC QC missed this...), and doesn't let the truss rods act properly, leaving an undesired bow in the neck.

Does anyone craft those spacers? They're apparently not the same as the new 4003 spacers that RIC sells. Failing that, has anyone had the same problem and tried shaping one of the 4003 spacers to fit their 4001?

Lastly, does anyone have any pictures of the headstock of their 4003 with the truss rod cover removed? I'd like to see how the 4003 spacer fits in, but I can't find any confirmed images of the 4003 headstock like that on google.

Thanks!

Maestro

Ric5 · #2 01-10-2011, 09:05 PM

Perhaps it is not original?

Go to this web site and post that question. There are some people there who can help. http://www.rickenbacker.com/forum_index.asp

Also the old 4001 has truss rods that simply hold the neck in place. You loosen the rods, move the neck, and then tighten the rods to hold it in place.

The good news is that once an old 4001 is properly set up it will not need an adjustment for decades.

Maestro & Muse · #3 01-11-2011, 06:55 AM

Thanks for the reply!

I've been everywhere on that forum, and no luck yet. It's definitely an original part. The issue was that the two holes in the spacers were not lined up properly, which causes the one end of the spacer to angle downward into the wood.

I'm indeed aware of how to adjust the 4001 rods, but with a spacer this bad, the method you've outlined doesn't work, sadly.

Ric5 · #4 01-11-2011, 08:57 AM

Find someone with a "good" one and get accurate measurements and have one made by a machinist.

Maestro & Muse · #5 01-11-2011, 09:07 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ric5

Find someone with a "good" one and get accurate measurements and have one made by a machinist.

Thanks. The machinist route was a way I was hoping I didn't have to go, because it'll be quite a bit of legwork to find someone who will take on such a small job. I'll look, though.

I've ordered a pair of 4003 spacers, them being as cheap as they are, and I'm going to try and shape them with the metal files I've got here, to see if I can construct one. The OP was mostly a call to see if anyone does the machine work. There are a couple of cats that used to do it on the RIC forum, but they've since moved on.