"What you want is a business card thickness between the 5th fret 
    and the strings when pressing down the string against the first 
    and last fret on the bass side less on the treble side. As 
    straight as you can get it with no fret noise except when you hit 
    hard -- then a little fret slap is acceptable ---but clean during 
    normal playing lower then bridge accordingly after the truss rod 
    adjustments."

   [Encapsulight, NoSPAM@Please.com, 11/2/1998]


   "You do not need a pro--just use common sense when adjusting the
    truss rods and only turn the nut 1/6 of a turn at a time taking a
    look at what you have done to the neck each time!!! Just make sure
    that you adjust the so the neck is as as close to dead straight as
    you can get it a full pitch string tension, without causing any
    fret buzz related problems- --then lower the bridge till you just
    start to get some buzzing of strings on frets while playing and
    raise the bridge slowly till no more buzzing occurs. That will be
    the best you can do with the neck set that is!!"

   [Encapsulight, NoSPAM@Please.com, 11/1/1998]


   "My favorite way of doing truss rods is the way Fender recommends -
    Use a capo (lightly) on the 1st fret, hold down the string at
    around the 19th fret(avoids measuring ski-slope), and measure the
    relief with a flat automotive feeler gauge(couple bucks at K-Mart)
    at the 7th or 8th fret. On Ric 12's, I like about .008" on the
    bass side and around .004" on the treble side.

    Old-style rods are a whole different story in themselves - doing 
    them wrong can cause the fingerboard to separate from the neck 
    down by the nut."

   [Teleologist, Teleologist@Sorry.NoEmail, 11/4/1998]


   "This is absolutely true and for the most simple of reasons.  The
    old style truss rod requires that the person doing the adjustment
    pushes the neck into position and only THEN turns the truss rods
    to snug up the tension to hold that setting. The old rods were not
    designed to actually move the neck . . .  only hold it in place
    after manually moving it. When tightened without releasing
    pressure from moving the neck, most of the energy of the rods is
    directed to popping off the fingerboard. It's a good system when
    you know how to use it, but unfortunately many people didn't
    understand it."

   [John Hall, ceo@rickenbacker.com, 11/05/1998]

   See the Rickenbacker Owner's Manual section on String Height Adjustment,
             http://www.rickenbacker.com/us/height.htm

   [Gerard Lanois, gerardlanois@netscape.net, 2/4/1999]

   See the Rickenbacker Owner's Manual section on Neck Adjustment,
             http://www.rickenbacker.com/us/neck.htm

   [Gerard Lanois, gerardlanois@netscape.net, 2/4/1999]