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Rick 4003 Truss/Neck repair

B

Buzzo

Nov 15, 2009
158
1
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#1
So I opened up my 4003 a bit ago after a move and discovered that the neck was bowed quite a bit, intonation off, fretbuzz, etc....

I took it to a local luthier and he said that my truss rods were frozen and there was nothing he could do. Is he right? Am I screwed? Or are there some secret tribal knowledge techniques that people with more rick experience can help me out with?

It was made post-1984, as that seems to make a difference in truss rod type for 4003s


Thanks.
 
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#2
Buzzo said:
I took it to a local luthier and he said that my truss rods were frozen and there was nothing he could do. Is he right?
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Put it in a toaster oven for 5 minutes at 250º. That should un-freeze them.

How exactly did this local luthier determine they were toast, er, frozen? Have you, yourself, tried turning the truss rod nuts, say to loosen them, just to see if they will move? Rickenbacker truss rods are easy to pull out of the neck, if necessary, no repair guy (relieving you of $$$) required, unless you are one of those who don't know which end of a screwdriver to hold (for example). Simple hand tools are all that are needed: the aforementioned screwdriver - Phillips Nos. 1 & 2, socket wrench with appropriately sized socket for heel-end acorn nuts, possibly, a small hammer to lightly tap on the ends of the rods, and the truss rod tool for truss rod nuts.
 
#3
Y'know that's a solid idea. I'll try to take them out and make sure they're not broken

I tried to turn the truss myself awhile back but it felt quite stuck. I didn't want to force it as I am always paranoid I am going to break it.
 
#4
If the rods have never been adjust after buying the bass, there is a likelihood the little bit of paint that may be on the nuts is making it seem like they can't turn. Do you have a truss rod wrench? Have you ever adjusted anything on your basses? Turn the nuts counterclockwise to loosen the nuts a bit, then try tightening them a little, not much, maybe about 1/8 to 1/4 of a turn. The rods themselves don't move (shouldn't, anyway), it is the nuts that will turn; there are star washers that bite into the neck at the heel end of the rods that hold the rod in place.
 
#5
I've never had the need to adjust the rod on this specific bass, no. The neck was fine until one day it had like 1/2 an inch of action around the 12th fret.
I've done truss rod adjustments before, this was just so severe I was worried I would break something.

I have that 1/4th socket screwdriver tool, whatever thats called. Not a wrench type. I tried and it was just too hard to turn. Maybe if I put some penetrating oil into the nuts and let it sit for a bit, break up some corrosion?
 
#6
Corrosion? Do you live a super humid location, like by an ocean? No, I see you are near the Finger Lakes, so that shouldn't be the problem.

If you try penetrating oil be very careful none gets into the truss rod channels. But, you shouldn't need to use that.

Kind of weird for the relief to suddenly change, and to such a degree. Too bad you not closer to me so I could check the bass out for you.
 
#7
Actually, I just moved near the ocean!

So I opened up my 4003 a bit ago after a move
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I moved to Connecticuts coast. That being said I do my best to control the humidity in my studio room.

If you try penetrating oil be very careful none gets into the truss rod channels. But, you shouldn't need to use that.
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Alright, I'll use that as a last resort, and if I do I'll do it with the bass upside-down or something. I'll just try to use more force.


I'm going to try to mess with it a bit on Saturday, I'll update here then. I am not sure why the luthier I took this bass to said there was nothing he can do, he's been my go-to for a long time and he's never done me wrong....
 
#8
Buzzo said:
I am not sure why the luthier I took this bass to said there was nothing he can do, he's been my go-to for a long time and he's never done me wrong....
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A lot of guys think Ricks are some sort of voodoo, or something. I wouldn't be surprised if your guy actually did nothing at all once he pulled the TRC and saw two truss rods. Sad, but that does occur.
 
#9
Well actually, he knew right when I brought it in that it had two truss rods. The tl;dr was like

Me: "Hey, I pulled this rick out after a few months of non use, the neck is severely bowed, can you fix it for me"

Luthier: "Yeah, but if it's not been touched in awhile one or both of the truss rods could be frozen or broken, but I'll be glad to see what I can do"


He then calls me a week later and says he couldn't do anything to fix the severe bow in the neck.
 
#10
It just doesn't sound right. There's almost always something that can be done about a situation like this. It's just a matter of how much you want to spend to have it done.

Even a broken truss rod can be fixed.

These ones are not broken or they would turn freely and do nothing. They might be frozen, you know what to try in that case. They could be maxed out, in which case you add some of the appropriate washers.

I would go to somebody else. It just sounds like you need to clamp the neck straight before you adjust the truss rods so that you're not trying to move the whole neck with the truss rods. A luthier should have the tools to do this job. Unless you want to buy the stuff you need to clamp the neck straight for a single use fix.
 
#11
It just doesn't sound right. There's almost always something that can be done about a situation like this. It's just a matter of how much you want to spend to have it done.
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I'll look around after I poke at it this weekend and get nowhere.
I'm in south eastern Connecticut (near New Haven) if ya'll know of anyone who could help.
 
#13
Update: The truss rod nut on the low E side is absolutely refusing to budge. I can maybe turn it a hair in either direction but after that it stays stuck.

Although I am a little bit confused as to which direction to turn it. The manual states underbow = clockwise and overbow = counter-clockwise. However I am not sure what they mean by under/over? My neck looks like this:
There are a million people asking the same question online and I am still confused as to which way to turn it.
bow.png


The high G side truss rod nut moves freely in either direction.
 

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#14
Buzzo said:
I'll look around after I poke at it this weekend and get nowhere.
I'm in south eastern Connecticut (near New Haven) if ya'll know of anyone who could help.
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I'm about halfway between New Haven and New London. There is a Ric dealer in New London (Spindrift Guitars), and their repairman has a shop in Guilford (Stol Guitars); I've used him for a couple things and hes a conscientious person. There is a good luthier in Clinton (Paul Neri) who apprenticed with George Youngblood (who I would recommend if he didn't have a long wait list).
 
#16
Buzzo said:
Update: The truss rod nut on the low E side is absolutely refusing to budge. I can maybe turn it a hair in either direction but after that it stays stuck.

Although I am a little bit confused as to which direction to turn it. The manual states underbow = clockwise and overbow = counter-clockwise. However I am not sure what they mean by under/over? My neck looks like this:
There are a million people asking the same question online and I am still confused as to which way to turn it.
View attachment 3400463

The high G side truss rod nut moves freely in either direction.
Click to expand...
Okay, so you can't even back off the TR nuts? They should be able to be "unscrewed" CCW with little trouble unless someone put Loctite on the threads, or something similar; they are just long nuts on a threaded rod. The other possibility would be that the rods are rotating in the channels if the star washer/acorn nut at the heel end is not biting into the wood, but I'd be surprised that both are doing so.
 
#17
The G-side TR nut moves free both CW and CCW. The E-side TR nut will hardly budge. It felt like I could likely get it to come unscrewed if I applied enough force CCW. I am just not sure that is what I want to do here. I dont want to put too much tension on one single rod.


I can attempt to apply penetrating oil to the E-side nut to see if it loosens it up?
 
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#18
I also notice that at the base of the neck I can see the G-side truss rod (the one that turns just fine) in the small gap between the neck and the pickguard. I cannot see the E-side truss rod (the one that is very hard to turn) poking out. If I look at an angle, I can see it, its just 'in' the neck a bit. Maybe like 2-3mm. See picture. Green=G Red=E
 

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#19
I had a similar problem about 14 years ago. I don't recall, what year was your bass made? There was a period of time where the wood used was a bit soft, when RIC had to use a different wood supplier, and your problem appears to be be the same as mine was.

It's kind of hard to tell from the headstock photo you posted as the A string is blocking the view of the truss rod nut on the E string-side, but are there a lot more threads protruding from that nut compared to the G string-side nut?
 

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