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Hi there,
I've always played roundwound .10's on my Rickenbacker 360 (nearly 20
years- damn that makes me sound old). I just bought some .12 to .52
round wounds. Should I worry about the neck at all? These things have
double truss rods, but I have never messed with one - ever.
If so, do you adjust them with the strings at full tension or loosen
them up first? Any advice - especially from Rick owners which are rare
around here, would be appreciated.
Happy Reverbs!
Spanky
> I've always played roundwound .10's on my Rickenbacker 360 (nearly 20
> years- damn that makes me sound old). I just bought some .12 to .52
> round wounds. Should I worry about the neck at all? These things have
> double truss rods, but I have never messed with one - ever.
Spanky - I have 0 experience with a Rick. Basically, put on the new
strings and then see if you need an adjustment.
> If so, do you adjust them with the strings at full tension or loosen
> them up first?
I would loosen the strings first. I tightened my truss rod with the
strings at full tension and the "skunk stripe" on the back of the neck
(on my Strat) splintered and I now have a rough spot there.
Also, only adjust in small increments...like a 1/4 turn is usually
good enough.
I'm not sure what you would do on a double truss rod guitar like a
Rick though.
Good luck!
BN
My eye doctor is a big guitar enthusiast and a Ricky owner - as a result, we
end up talking about guitars for 90% of my appointment time (sure, my
eyesight sucks, but I always pick up a few tips ;) )
I'll ask him about the truss rods - I know he has mentioned before that they
are tricky to adjust. I'll get back to you . . .
-Dick
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Neal" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2005 4:16 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Truss Rods...
>
>> I've always played roundwound .10's on my Rickenbacker 360 (nearly 20
>> years- damn that makes me sound old). I just bought some .12 to .52
>> round wounds. Should I worry about the neck at all? These things have
>> double truss rods, but I have never messed with one - ever.
>
> Spanky - I have 0 experience with a Rick. Basically, put on the new
> strings and then see if you need an adjustment.
>
>> If so, do you adjust them with the strings at full tension or loosen
>> them up first?
>
> I would loosen the strings first. I tightened my truss rod with the
> strings at full tension and the "skunk stripe" on the back of the neck
> (on my Strat) splintered and I now have a rough spot there.
>
> Also, only adjust in small increments...like a 1/4 turn is usually
> good enough.
>
> I'm not sure what you would do on a double truss rod guitar like a
> Rick though.
>
> Good luck!
> BN
>
>
>
>
>
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>
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> .
> Visit for archived messages,
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Brian's truss rod horror story it the first I've heard. Having several guitars,
I'm adjusting truss rods very often and I leave the strings in tune if possible.
That's the best way to see if you are making the correct adjustment. The only
time it's not possible to leave the strings in pitch is with the few guitars I
have that have the truss rod access at the base of the neck. The literature that
accompanies Taylor acoustic guitars actually encourages the buyer to experiment
with the truss rod and to leave the strings in tune. Many manufacturers now
include the truss rod allen wrench in the case candy.
To see how much relief or lack of relief is in the neck. hold the low E string
down at the first and 21st frets and look in the area of the 7th to 9th fret to
see how much space is between the frets and the string. Tighten the truss rod if
you want a flatter neck and lower action. If you're afraid of damaging the neck
(which ain't gonna happen), start with just a quarter turn.
-Marty
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Neal
To:
Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2005 1:16 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Truss Rods...
> I've always played roundwound .10's on my Rickenbacker 360 (nearly 20
> years- damn that makes me sound old). I just bought some .12 to .52
> round wounds. Should I worry about the neck at all? These things have
> double truss rods, but I have never messed with one - ever.
Spanky - I have 0 experience with a Rick. Basically, put on the new
strings and then see if you need an adjustment.
> If so, do you adjust them with the strings at full tension or loosen
> them up first?
I would loosen the strings first. I tightened my truss rod with the
strings at full tension and the "skunk stripe" on the back of the neck
(on my Strat) splintered and I now have a rough spot there.
Also, only adjust in small increments...like a 1/4 turn is usually
good enough.
I'm not sure what you would do on a double truss rod guitar like a
Rick though.
Good luck!
BN
.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
I always "preload" a neck prior to adjusting a truss rod....This means slightly
bending it back to release the tension on the rod....Then about 1/4 turn on the
nut and slowly release the pull back to allow the rod to take the tension. I
actually made a jig to make this easier and less stressful on the neck, neck
joint and rod.....When I got my first AVRI Jazzmaster from the first production
run, the neck on it would not properly adjust...I gave up on it and took it to
a Fender repair shop and he actually broke the rod trying to straignten the
neck for 12/52 flats....Fender replaced the neck (took 3 months) and I have had
no additional problems, (green piece of wood). Just an occasional tweak as I
prefer necks with zero relief when using flats. AVRI Jazzmasters and Jaguars
use "slab" fingerboards rather than "round lam" boards and are somewhat harder
to keep straight. I have no experience with Rick's dual truss rod assembly,
but my guess is that preloading the neck
will certainly ease the rod adjustment....On my personal Fenders, I deepen the
cutout on the pick guards which allows quick and accurate access to the rod
nut. I fabricated a special right angle screwdriver to turn the nut without
removing the neck.....You can sometimes lower the neck pickup and get at it
with a screwdriver, but that can bugger things up some if you aren't careful.
Patience with a light touch is a real plus when you are messing with a truss
rod.........eddie k
Dick Messick <> wrote: My eye doctor is a big
guitar enthusiast and a Ricky owner - as a result, we
end up talking about guitars for 90% of my appointment time (sure, my
eyesight sucks, but I always pick up a few tips ;) )
I'll ask him about the truss rods - I know he has mentioned before that they
are tricky to adjust. I'll get back to you . . .
-Dick
----- Original Message -----
From: "Brian Neal" <>
To: <>
Sent: Saturday, December 10, 2005 4:16 PM
Subject: [SurfGuitar101] Re: Truss Rods...
>
>> I've always played roundwound .10's on my Rickenbacker 360 (nearly 20
>> years- damn that makes me sound old). I just bought some .12 to .52
>> round wounds. Should I worry about the neck at all? These things have
>> double truss rods, but I have never messed with one - ever.
>
> Spanky - I have 0 experience with a Rick. Basically, put on the new
> strings and then see if you need an adjustment.
>
>> If so, do you adjust them with the strings at full tension or loosen
>> them up first?
>
> I would loosen the strings first. I tightened my truss rod with the
> strings at full tension and the "skunk stripe" on the back of the neck
> (on my Strat) splintered and I now have a rough spot there.
>
> Also, only adjust in small increments...like a 1/4 turn is usually
> good enough.
>
> I'm not sure what you would do on a double truss rod guitar like a
> Rick though.
>
> Good luck!
> BN
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
> .
> Visit for archived messages,
> bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
>
> Yahoo! Groups Links
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
.
Visit for archived messages,
bookmarks, files, polls, etc.
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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
Becareful with that Ricky. If you aren't sure take it to a tech.
I've got a '95 330 which I've experinced a lot of truss rod
adjusting. I never really put that much thought into and approached
it like my other guitars. Just make sure you loosen the strings a
bit. I've never had to preset the neck, I don't do that on any of
my guitars. One thing with the Rick having the set neck I'd be
extra careful if I did that. I'd recommend getting a longer 1/4 nut
driver wrench at the hardware store, a nice one with a handle. It
works much better than the little crackpipe tool that came with the
guitar.
Bill
--- In , Twangler <twangler@p...> wrote:
>
> Hi there,
>
> I've always played roundwound .10's on my Rickenbacker 360 (nearly
20
> years- damn that makes me sound old). I just bought some .12
to .52
> round wounds. Should I worry about the neck at all? These things
have
> double truss rods, but I have never messed with one - ever.
>
> If so, do you adjust them with the strings at full tension or
loosen
> them up first? Any advice - especially from Rick owners which are
rare
> around here, would be appreciated.
>
> Happy Reverbs!
> Spanky
>
