Rickenbacker 4001 build : need advise

[Bloomfield]

I wonder if the 6mm thick fingerboard on the plan is a misprint. Real Rickenbacker bass fingerboards (that I have experienced anyway) are much thicker, around 8mm. I don't have any around right now to check though I do have most of a decent probably Japanese copy here which is also 8mm. I wonder if that is where some of the problems are coming from. You could potentially remove the fingerboard and glue a 1mm veneer under it, but it sounds like you have already recessed the bridge. Hopefully you can get the geometry sorted out and have it playing how you like.

bonne chance,

andy

[glebert]

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

Possibly. I am just wondering if the design that you bought led you astray on the fretboard height.

[tepsamps]

the schematic is ok with the neck joint picture that glebert showed, i did not see it, but the fretboard is 6 mm, value that i read on the schematic, not written, but for me it's 6mm. And about thick fretboards, say 8 or 9 mm, it makes the neck be 2mm thicker, You have to keep wood beneath the truss rod cavity no ?
OK, my bad, but hopefully the guitar is now playable and has a good bass tone.

[tepsamps]

Here is my rick, every thing is not perfect, i can lower the action now, but not too much to avoid the fret buzz. I don't find a good nut for bass, like in bone, as i find for guitars, they are too low, i use 1mm wood binding to put it higher, but the slot are too thin, the strings get stuck in, and it's too high now. I don't have all the files for each string, it's expensive and out of stock. So the action is not tip not, too high for my taste (closer to 3 mm than 2) but i have fun with it. I odered raw bone blocks to see if i can do better...

[dmartn149]

Wow, that's pretty. Don't some Rick basses have an indentation for the bridge to sit in? Also you can use a feeler gauge with the edge roughed up on a grinder for a nut file. It's not a great file, but it works good enough for a one off.

[glebert]

I think it looks really great!

[tepsamps]

Is your neck straight? What is the relief?

Actualy the neck is bowed. There is more action at the 12th fret than at the 20th. I can't figure out if it's the neck or the fretboard, it's a general default on my necks... Radiusing default maybe. I use sanding blocks...

[Helmholtz]

There is more action at the 12th fret than at the 20th.

This should not be. Does your neck have a working truss rod (or 2)?
Do you know how to measure neck relief? Do you have a straight edge that covers the whole fretboard?

[Bloomfield]

Sounds like the truss rod (or rods in the case of Rickenbackers) needs to bee tightened. Rick bass truss rods are quite thin and I find it helps to manually force a bit of backbow into the neck as you are tightening the nuts. ie) rest the neck upside down between your knees and push on the centre gently as you tighten the rods; it helps reduce the load on the rods.

Andy

P.S. You can check relief by holding the strings down at the first fret and at the body joint, then look for relief on a fret mid-way between those points. Try for about .75mm as a starting point on a bass; you may find you want less than that depending on action height and playing style

[tepsamps]

i have one truss rod. I press a string on the first fret and on the 20th and i see the bow. I tightened the truss rod, it helped a bit, and the problem is worse for the E string than for the G string. And i have high frets also, only on the E string at 17/18 or so. I have to file them a little bit.

[tepsamps]

Hi,
i don't open a new topic for this :

About guitar finish, there are many videos on youtube, in english, and while i can anderstand most of the words, i can't find the same products in France.

So what is "japan drier", what kind of product ? Is it just a brand ?

Many thanks!!!

[The Dude]

https://www.sunnysidecorp.com/produc...=t&b=s&n=72416

[tepsamps]

https://www.sunnysidecorp.com/produc...=t&b=s&n=72416

OK but it does not help me to find the same stuff where i live...