Rickenbacker Neck Bow

[nuematsu]

So I have this quirky Rickenbacker 4003 I picked up a couple months ago. I was using the crappy strings that were on the bass but they really needed to go. I replaced the strings yesterday with some new ones and now the neck seems to have a bit of a bow that I am fairly sure was not there before. The rods were set up a couple months ago so if I just need to get them re-set up that would be ok.

The thing is it sounds amazing now and plays even better then before, however the bow worries me.

I may have used a bit higher gauge strings then the ones that were on it. I replaced the strings with medium Ernie Ball Slinkys. Any advice on how to fix this or advice about this in general would be great. I want to try and keep it as nice as possible for as long as I can.

It is really slight but I definitely do not want to mess this bass up because it is my favorite thing to play in the entire world.

Also it is a 1992 Rick 4003 if anyone was wondering.

 

[Floyd Eye]

Adjusting the rods is easy enough. Set the neck dead flat.

 

[prd004]

The strings you put on are just different tension than what was on there. Anytime you do this on any bass the neck will need adjustment. If you don't know how, take it to a tech

 

[nuematsu]

Adjust the rods. Dead flat. Intonate. Done.

I am not very confident in my ability to do that myself with this yet so I will take it to the shop where I know someone is. Is there harm in letting it be like this for a day or so?

 

[electracoyote]

I am not very confident in my ability to do that myself with this yet so I will take it to the shop where I know someone is. Is there harm in letting it be like this for a day or so?

Probably not, but if you're worried there is no harm in slightly de-tuning the strings and taking a little tension off the neck.

Please try to find somone who has experience with Rickenbackers. Sometimes the conventional wisdom of set-ups doesn't account for a couple of Rickenbacker idiosyncracies.

 

[Ric5]

Ricks from that era sometimes have necks like that.

I had a blue 1990 4003s5 that had a neck curve like that. It was a joy to play.



You have to adjust the neck to flatten it out as much as you can and you need to use lighter strings.

 

[Floyd Eye]

I am not very confident in my ability to do that myself with this yet so I will take it to the shop where I know someone is. Is there harm in letting it be like this for a day or so?

No. It will be fine.


Make sure the tech is familiar with Rics, although the modern Rics (4003) are just about like any other bass except for the dual truss rods.

 

[nuematsu]

Ricks from that era sometimes have necks like that.

I had a blue 1990 4003s5 that had a neck curve like that. It was a joy to play.

View attachment 298173

You have to adjust the neck to flatten it out as much as you can and you need to use lighter strings.

Yeah it is really great to play. The strings I was using were completely dead and now it is a night and day difference. It is incredibly growly and clear now.

Ill take a little tension off the strings and take it to a guy that has experience setting these up tomorrow.

Thanks for the advice.

 

[kcole4001]

Do yourself a favor and get some reading in here: http://joeysbassnotes.com/Rick_maint.htm

What you learn will help you get the most out of your 4003.
There's no mystery to it, all you need is a little knowledge and your golden.

 

[thiocyclist]

Cool bass! Looks like you just need to tighten the truss rods. Bam. Fixed.

 

[msb]

It's not rocket science , setting up an instrument is simply part of learning how to play . And it's easy to set it up to suit your playing style .

 

[gwangi]

Yeah it is really great to play. The strings I was using were completely dead and now it is a night and day difference. It is incredibly growly and clear now.

Ill take a little tension off the strings and take it to a guy that has experience setting these up tomorrow.

Thanks for the advice.

Just make sure when you take your bass to your tech person that is doing the neck adjustment that he has a clear understanding that with these older Rickenbacker instruments you have to loosen the nuts for the truss rod first then the neck needs to be pulled straight back to where the neck is straight and then tighten the nuts down for the truss rod so the neck will stay in place, make sure the bass is lying on a flat surface.
If the guy tries to tighten the nuts first before loosening them first to get the neck straight he might take a chance of the fingerboard popping off.

 

[iiipopes]

Since 1984 the new design truss rods don't have to be loosened, set and retightned, although it never hurts to slightly loosen the strings and help out the truss rods by manually setting the neck first. From Mr. JH himself (about 1/2 way down):
http://www.rickresource.com/rrp/JHaccessories.html

Edit after reading post below: I own a 1981 4002 and two other instruments, and I have been setting up mine and my friend's Rickenbacker instruments for almost 30 years. My three all have the old truss rods, and all my friends have the newer truss rods.

 

[gwangi]

I read your post up top saying that it is a 1992 4003, I'm not sure if that still applies for the type of truss rod system that was on the older 4001 and 4003 Rickenbacker basses but I'm sure Ric5 knows what kind of truss rod is in your 1992 4003.

 

[superdick2112]

It's not rocket science , setting up an instrument is simply part of learning how to play . And it's easy to set it up to suit your playing style .

+ 1000

You will save big bucks over the years doing your own set-ups, and with practice & experience, you will learn how to get the best playability possible out of your basses.

 

[chef wong]

What you're descibing is exacly like the 1976 4001 I had. The neck would weaken when I put on a new set of strings, and bow forward for just a while. I'd have to readjust the neck for comfort. I realized after a couple string changes this wouldn't happen if I changed the strings one at a time at full pitch.

 

[thiocyclist]

That only makes sense if the tension increased every time you changed strings. If you go to the same tension or less, the neck will stay the same or flatten. It's how all basses are. Rics aren't special.

 

[Ric5]

That bass may be a good one to tune DGCF.

 

[Ric5]

What you're descibing is exacly like the 1976 4001 I had. The neck would weaken when I put on a new set of strings, and bow forward for just a while. I'd have to readjust the neck for comfort. I realized after a couple string changes this wouldn't happen if I changed the strings one at a time at full pitch.

I ALWAYS remove all the strings at once. Then I clean the bass if needed. Then I put on new strings. THIS DOES NOT WEAKEN A NECK ... EVER!!!

Sometimes when I work on a bass in my shop it will be destrung for several days.

The old 4001 basses were a pain to adjust. But once you adjust the rods the neck would stay adjusted for decades.

With a 4003 bass the rods MOVE the neck, and you probably need to adjust twice a year. With a 4001 bass the rods HOLD the neck in place. To adjust you loosen the rods and move the neck and then tighten the rods to hold the neck in place.

For necks that won't flatten out use lighter strings and/or detune to DGCF.

 

[PaulBoyer]

The changeover to the "new" style (more conventional style) truss rods came in late '85 or early '86. Easy way to tell them apart. If you're not sure of the date of your Rick, check if you can see both ends of the rods. If you see acorn nuts in the body ends of the truss-rod slots, and adjustment nuts at the headstock ends, then you have a post-'85 bass with the new-style rods. If you see adjuster nuts at the body end and two narrow slots at the headstock, then you have an early 4003 (1980-'85) which used the old "hairpin" style rods. It you see adjusters at the headstock and nothing visible at the body end of the slots, then you have a 4001 (or 4001S or 4000) with the old "hairpin" style rods. The old-style rod system is the one you must be careful with. You CANNOT move (bow or unbow) the neck by turning the adjusters on these old-style rods. As noted above, you must loosen them and move the neck by hand to where you want it, then tighten the nuts. It's also a good idea to put a cushioned clamp on the neck at the first fret position to help keep the fingerboard from popping off as you adjust the neck.