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Rickenbacker truss rod video

wyldryce

wyldryce

Feb 15, 2010
119
14
Annapolis
www.longdarkmoon.com
#1
So, in preparation for the sale/trade of my '77 Ric, the time came for me to adjust the truss rod on my trusty 4001 and armed with Joey Vasco's web page (though sadly without the video anymore) I decided I could take this on myself. I setup all my other instruments, and I didn't see why I couldn't manage with the Ric as well. Then it occurred to me, why not make a video of the process in an attempt to help anybody else in the future...so here's my (probably over-long) contribution to the Ric You-tube content of the world.

Hope this helps somebody out, and thanks again to Rickenbrother (Joey) over on the Rickresource forum for all the tech advice you've disseminated to the public!

Cheers,
R

 
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#4
Gilmourisgod said:
Well done! I hope you have posted this on RRF, they would really appreciate this, takes the mystery out of the process.
Click to expand...

thanks! Yeah, I did post it over at the RRF, though I only did it on the end of an old thread in which Joey discussed his video (which he has long since pulled). I don't know the backstory there, and I hope I won't upset anybody with it, but really, people should be empowered to work on their own instruments...at least that's what I believe. I am a member there, though I've only ever really been a lurker, so that was my first post. Consequently, it wouldn't let me embed, so I just posted the link. Maybe a moderator over there will sticky it?
 
#9
"Helping" a truss rod is always a good idea, we are not talking a lot of force here, the neck is a 24" lever, and you are pressing one end of it. I use light pressure with the heel of my hand or just a couple fingers, just taking some pressure off the rod as I turn the nut in 1 /8th turn increments. A lot of people dont, you'll see videos of Pros not bothering, presumably they have the experience to know what feels right. Common sense goes a long way, if it's really hard to turn a trussrod nut, something is wrong. It's either maxed out, threads are corroded or damaged, or you are doing it wrong, figure out which before continuing to crank on it. I think it's a good idea, regardless of what it says in the manual. I've never snapped a rod because I'm cautious, can't say how much of that is due to helping the rod, but it definitely didnt hurt.
 
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#10
Take a block of wood about 20"x2."x1". Attach a 2"x2"x1" block to each end of the long piece. Place the two blocks on the fretboard, and use a clamp to release the pressure on the truss rods by gently clamping the neck in the middle to the board with mild pressure to give enough support to the neck, and adjust the truss rod nuts.
 
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