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Rickenbacker Action

B

Bassic Urges

Oct 21, 2011
19
0
#1
I got a new Ric in January this year, and after messing around with the setup I decided to take it Colorado Guitar Company for some work. I had the frets leveled, nut filed, and requested the action as low as possible with no fret buzz.

When I got it back the action wasn't nearly as low as my other bass or other basses I have played, but not as high as it was. I was told the action couldn't go any lower, but there is still relief in the neck. Also, I should mention that I don't think he adjusted the truss rods at all. They were in the exact position I left them in when I left it at the shop (I marked the position of the nuts with a marker)

Which brings me to some Rickenbacker truss rod questions. Ever Since I got the guitar, the bass rod has been more loose than the treble rod. What I mean is that the treble rod takes less tightening to star flattening out. As it stands, there is much more of the thread showing above the nut on the bass rod than there is on the treble rod. Since there is still relief in the neck, I would like to try to flatten it out a little more to lower my action.

I am worried about this because the treble rod is so tight (actually both rods are tight, but the trebel is tighter). For those that have Rics, have you ever had this truss rod tightness disparity issue? I am considering just chancing it and tightening them both down an little more, but I don't feel real good about that. The other option I am considering is completely loosening both rods and starting from scratch.

Please, any of you that have had this issue or are well versed in Ric setups chime in on this. I really don't want to damage the bass (you know, pop off the fingerboard from over tightening the rods or some nonsense).

I have always proficiently setup my own guitars, but I took this Ric to a professional to baby it. Having well over a grand invested, I thought this would be my best bet. However, I think I will still be the one to get this guitar to play like it should (with a little help from my TB friends).

I should mention I have watched the Joey's Bass Notes videos and read through his website. Also, the bridge is set as low as possible just to rule out that factor for those of you who were wondering.
 
#2
Here's a good place to start: Rickenbacker International Corporation - Forum • View forum - Setup And Technical
Basically you want to get the neck as straight as possible as the first step. My 4003 has probably the fastest action of all my basses - with a dead straight neck. My bass truss adjustments are pretty equal as things go. I do have a 360 12 string that has the treble side nut torqued down and the bass side nut nearly loose enough to be free-wheeling. Go figure? The neck is straight and has been for about 5 years adjusted this way.
 
#3
If you live in the Denver area then bring the bass by my workshop and I will teach you how to set up the bass yourself and get the action low.

Sometimes one rod has to be tighter than the other. Also humidity, strings, the nut, the bridge are all important in a good setup.
 
#5
i have a 4003 with old-style rods, and i remember when initially setting the bass up that the bass side rod was much more stable/took the adjustment better than the treble side rod. I didn't feel too confident with that, so I kept working it until it was better. Still not 100% even, but with some careful time you should be good. Also, search up Joey's Bass Notes on google or something; they are an incredible wealth of info on all things Ric Bass
 
#6
f64 said:
Basically you want to get the neck as straight as possible as the first step. My 4003 has probably the fastest action of all my basses - with a dead straight neck.
Click to expand...

Last time I gave this advice "dead straight neck", the Ric-basher posse came after me. No such thing as a "straight" neck and other "laws of physics" nonsense. They also claimed that Ric is lying when they recommend as little relief possible. Just a heads up if they decide to invade this thread. :rollno:
 
#8
@ Cassius987, I returned the Rickenbacker I got just before this one because it has issues that I would consider unacceptable (pitting, saddle buzzing,). The replacement I received, the one I am mentioning in this post, has a much thinner neck and none of the other issues of the previous one.

This is the third Rickenbacker I have owned. The first was a Jetglo in 2009 I bought used from Guitar Center, but I had to return that one because it's neck was twisted so badly the E string was always out of pitch.

Basically, I reasoned that my current Ric is good enough. I realized that I may never own the Rickenbacker that I want without dumping some heart and soul into working out all the kinks. Besides, even if it is imperfect, so am I. I have always wanted a Ric, and since I have one now I am just going to make the most of it. I will probably keep this Ric forever unless I come across a really good deal on a 4003 Montezuma Brown or 4001v63.
 
#10
Bassic Urges said:
@ Cassius987, I returned the Rickenbacker I got just before this one because it has issues that I would consider unacceptable (pitting, saddle buzzing,). The replacement I received, the one I am mentioning in this post, has a much thinner neck and none of the other issues of the previous one.

This is the third Rickenbacker I have owned. The first was a Jetglo in 2009 I bought used from Guitar Center, but I had to return that one because it's neck was twisted so badly the E string was always out of pitch.

Basically, I reasoned that my current Ric is good enough. I realized that I may never own the Rickenbacker that I want without dumping some heart and soul into working out all the kinks. Besides, even if it is imperfect, so am I. I have always wanted a Ric, and since I have one now I am just going to make the most of it. I will probably keep this Ric forever unless I come across a really good deal on a 4003 Montezuma Brown or 4001v63.
Click to expand...

Yes but I'll reiterate my point via personal example. In 2009 I got a new Ric with a thick neck--that was what they did in early 2009. It was so thick the rods could not move it so it always had a little relief. So I returned it to RIC and you know what they did? They said, "You're right it's not working," and replaced the entire neck and body with a new one that had a thin neck and works great.

You got one that may have slipped through QC or developed problems later but the easiest way to rectify that is to get it into their warranty department where they can even replace the whole bass if they have to, I have never gotten something back from a warranty return that wasn't absolutely pristine.
 
#11
Bassic Urges said:
I got a new Ric in January this year, and after messing around with the setup I decided to take it Colorado Guitar Company for some work. I had the frets leveled, nut filed, and requested the action as low as possible with no fret buzz.

When I got it back the action wasn't nearly as low as my other bass or other basses I have played, but not as high as it was. I was told the action couldn't go any lower, but there is still relief in the neck. Also, I should mention that I don't think he adjusted the truss rods at all. They were in the exact position I left them in when I left it at the shop (I marked the position of the nuts with a marker)

Which brings me to some Rickenbacker truss rod questions. Ever Since I got the guitar, the bass rod has been more loose than the treble rod. What I mean is that the treble rod takes less tightening to star flattening out. As it stands, there is much more of the thread showing above the nut on the bass rod than there is on the treble rod. Since there is still relief in the neck, I would like to try to flatten it out a little more to lower my action.

I am worried about this because the treble rod is so tight (actually both rods are tight, but the trebel is tighter). For those that have Rics, have you ever had this truss rod tightness disparity issue? I am considering just chancing it and tightening them both down an little more, but I don't feel real good about that. The other option I am considering is completely loosening both rods and starting from scratch.

Please, any of you that have had this issue or are well versed in Ric setups chime in on this. I really don't want to damage the bass (you know, pop off the fingerboard from over tightening the rods or some nonsense).

I have always proficiently setup my own guitars, but I took this Ric to a professional to baby it. Having well over a grand invested, I thought this would be my best bet. However, I think I will still be the one to get this guitar to play like it should (with a little help from my TB friends).

I should mention I have watched the Joey's Bass Notes videos and read through his website. Also, the bridge is set as low as possible just to rule out that factor for those of you who were wondering.
Click to expand...
I would like to know how they leveled the frets without first straightening the neck.
 
#13
"They may not have been familiar with Rics."

That was the feeling I got after I received my bass.

@ Floyd Eye, It is my understanding that is the correct way to adjust 4001's, but not so with 4003's. I remember reading somewhere the truss rods on 4003's are supposed to be strong enough to adjust the neck without any assistance (though I did brace with my knee and pull the neck back as I tightened the rods).

I am going to try to meet up with Ric5 sometime soon and see if what he thinks about my Ric. If that doesn't get this bass in better playing condition, I might consider filing a warranty claim with Rickenbacker, though I have read in the forums here in TB that dealing with Rickenbacker can be a big pain in butt.
 
#15
Bassic Urges said:
I am going to try to meet up with Ric5 sometime soon and see if what he thinks about my Ric. If that doesn't get this bass in better playing condition, I might consider filing a warranty claim with Rickenbacker, though I have read in the forums here in TB that dealing with Rickenbacker can be a big pain in butt.
Click to expand...

Jeff/Ric5 is great. But I highly suggest going the way of warranty work if that doesn't fix it. You're going to let some whiners on TB stop you? Don't be so impressionable. 90% of what you read here is just opinion... yes that includes myself... you need to explore all your options and go with the best one for YOU, in my mind that is warranty work if things don't get anywhere with Jeff's help.
 

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