Rickenbacker 4001 build : need advise

[glebert]

So the ground wire would be inside the neck ? Along the truss rod ? I did not know !

If you use a brass nut or zero fret the strings will have a metal connection to each other, so only one ground wire (to one of the saddles) needed. Could also put a metal plate underneath the saddles.

[tepsamps]

If you use a brass nut or zero fret the strings will have a metal connection to each other, so only one ground wire (to one of the saddles) needed. Could also put a metal plate underneath the saddles.

Yes of course, i vote for the brass nut. Great !!

[nevetslab]

There is no tailpiece so saddles must be individually grounded or you can use a brass nut or a zero fret.

Sorry....I hadn't looked at the website link, and missed the discrete bridge saddle solution.

[tepsamps]

So i started over, i follow a plan that i bought, and now i'm facing different problems.
The main one, is that the action is too high, more than 3 mm, almost 4 at the 12th, though i used a rickenbacker bridge and the bridge nut is at the lowest.
I used a 7 mm thick fretboard while on the schematic they use a 6mm one. The neck through does that the fretboard is at the same level than the body and the rick bridge is a little deep inside the body, so the bridge nut is lower than in other guitars, but it's too high. Should i make a notch into the saddles ?
Second, it's the first time i use a 4 knobs configuration with 2 pickups. It's not clear, but it seems that with the selector in the middle, when i turn off the volume of the bridge PU, the sound is off, while it should remain the neck PU. And the bridge tonality at the min cuts the sound too. Weird...
I followed this schematic : https://guitarelectronics.com/2-humb...ries-parallel/
though i have a single coil for the neck and a humbucker for the bridge.

[Helmholtz]

The main one, is that the action is too high, more than 3 mm, almost 4 at the 12th, though i used a rickenbacker bridge and the bridge nut is at the lowest.

Is your neck straight? What is the relief?

[glebert]

Second, it's the first time i use a 4 knobs configuration with 2 pickups. It's not clear, but it seems that with the selector in the middle, when i turn off the volume of the bridge PU, the sound is off, while it should remain the neck PU.

This is normal with a standard Les Paul wiring scheme. It confused the heck out of me the first time I got a guitar that had hat, as my previous 2 pickup 4 knob guitar was different and didn't have this issue.

[tepsamps]

Is your neck straight? What is the relief?

Yes the neck is straight, i think that i have to berry the entire bridge 3 mm deep, but it's not easy to do it clean, very risky!!!

[shortcircuit]

Yes the neck is straight, i think that i have to berry the entire bridge 3 mm deep, but it's not easy to do it clean, very risky!!!

Before you start digging a hole for the bridge ,can you still tilt the neck ?? Maybe the relief is good, but the neck angle is set wrong. Just a thought

[Helmholtz]

can you still tilt the neck ?

Probably not: Neck through body construction.

[shortcircuit]

Probably not: Neck through body construction.

It still would be worth checking , as it does sound like that may be part of the problem . Agree probably to late for this build, but a lesson learned for build #2, if in fact it's off.

[tepsamps]

I played with my router and the result is very clean, i'm surprised.
The bass is almost ok, i had forgotten how bassy it is, only one octave lower but it's low!
The pickups are powerfull, i had to lower the gain on the clean channel (i use a guitar amp) to have a clean tone.
I post a pic as soon as i get my phone back.
Very instructive built, but neck through is too tricky for me, and the pickguard seems mandatory, with my tools at least.

[glebert]

Did you lower the bridge? I was having a bit of trouble following some of the description and understanding if the action was high everywhere (like up at the 1st fret) or if it was OK there and got higher as you went towards the bridge.

[tepsamps]

Did you lower the bridge? I was having a bit of trouble following some of the description and understanding if the action was high everywhere (like up at the 1st fret) or if it was OK there and got higher as you went towards the bridge.

Yes i lowered the bridge 3mm deep in the wood. Now i've got to tweak the nut because at the first fret it's too high...

[glebert]

.
I used a 7 mm thick fretboard while on the schematic they use a 6mm one. The neck through does that the fretboard is at the same level than the body

I might be misunderstanding but it seems like this is is not right. The fretboard should sit up higher than the body. Here is a picture of a 4001 neck joint that I borrowed off Reverb. If your fretboard is down at the level of the body this is why you had to sink the bridge.



Nut height is always cut down to make the action at the 1st fret acceptable, so that sounds like a normal thing.

[tepsamps]

OK, but that's harder to realize than what i did, i think.