Arnquist does it again

[loverickbass]

Here's a link to the pics of my 370/12 Mark upgraded. New taller frets,new nut,the full Arnquist treatment. Enjoy.

Cole


http://smg.photobucket.com/user/loveric ... y/Arnquist

[teb]

Gee, that chair looks familiar. Mine got the same treatment, plus a 12-saddle bridge in 2006. It's amazing what a small amount of extra fret width can do. Have fun.

[sloop_john_b]

Beautiful work. I'd love to play one of his 12-strings someday.

[loverickbass]

Todd mine is still on the FedEx truck so I can't comment yet. I'm having fits though, hope it shows up soon.

[loverickbass]

BTW did you leave your fretboard unfinished?

[deaconblues]

I'd love to play one of his 12-strings someday.

+1, they look amazing.

[teb]

Yes, the fretboard is just oiled on mine. I can't say that I've really noticed any difference in playability, feel, or sound though compared to the old finish or the varnished board on my 340/12.

[frickengruvin]

Arnquist is a master...he made over my 360-12v64 as well. Dressed the frets (left the fretboard alone though), unwound the pick ups, rewired the controls, cut and installed a new nut, added a 12 string bridge, including reshaping the saddles and trimming the saddle springs as necessary, r&r the Ric trussrod system and installed his, reshaped the trc to vintage shape, r&r all the tuners and strap screws, fill with poly-acrylate and re-install (to prevent stripping out) and lastly relocating the bridgeplate so the guitar would intonate properly.

It's absolutely astonishing how these upgrades turned this instrument into something I WANT to play instead of leave on the wall as art....

I highly recommend any Ric go to him for a makeover. the playability factor will increase substantially!

[loverickbass]

Why RIC doesn't do this at the factory I'll never know. Sad really.

[kennyhowes]

Why RIC doesn't do this at the factory I'll never know. Sad really.

If it ain't broke...

[loverickbass]

Oh it's broke, it's just there's no alternative to RIC. Take it or leave it is a better statement.

[Clint]

One man's "broke" is another man's "suits me just fine".

[kennyhowes]

One man's "broke" is another man's "suits me just fine".

That was my sentiment, moreso than "Take it or leave it"...

[sloop_john_b]

They are basically unplayable to me besides the 660/12 (and Collin's 1993, yowza), so I'd love to feel first hand what Arnquist does to improve them.

[teb]

It made a tremendous difference for me in playability, and the quality of my playing. This is a list MA sent me for the stock mods that he did on my first 360/12.

Rickenbacker 12 string modifications post 1985 era guitars

1- make a new black phenolic nut with the widest spacing possible
This spacing is based on the round over point of the
frets ... not the actual fretboard .
The pairs are cut at .070 for the D/4th ,G/3rd ,B2nd and High E/1st
The pairs for the Low E and A are cut at .080 apart

You gain about .110" in overall width !

2- trim the nameplate to vintage spec so that it
clears the slots in the face of the headstock

3-replace the stainless steel truss rod bard with one that is
shaped to the edge of the cavity wall .
The 'new' version on this era of Ricks ,
digs under the fretboard and when the rods are tightened ,
it wraps around the walnut
center section , causing the bar to dig and then pop the fretboards .
The replacement that I make is similar to the originals in shape .

4- the Sharkfin and bottom guard edges are rounded over .
This was original spec so you would not cut your hand on the plexiglass .

5- The 12 saddle bridge is mounted (I do not supply this part )

This entails -
5a-centering the base plate to the neck ,
5b-etching the bottom with the instruments serial number,
5c-etching a "T" for treble, a "B" for bass as this plate is NOT symetrical !
5d- The location is checked and 5/32" added to the length so that the
saddles when intonated , will be centered in the bridge chassis .
5e- the springs shifted and/or stretched to not rattle once it is adjusted/intonated.

6- the saddles are removed , and deburred on the outside edges of each pair,
The tops of each pair are gently rounded to give a visual 'pairing' of the two saddles .
This was done in the 1960's
The saddles are notched with the tops of the strings following a 10" radius .
This gives a smooth picking motion to the player.
The tops of all the saddles are sanded with 220 grit sand paper and
then steel wooled to give a nice finished look .
This was also something done in the 1960's .

7- The tuners mounted on the side of the headstock are removed , the screw holes plugged
and redrilled with a #44 bit , then the screws inserted ,then removed to
form 'threads' and a drop of Cyanoacrylate glue drizzled into the hole to harden
the walls of this cavity .
This allows the screw to tighten more and keep these tuners snug .

8- The jacks are checked and on "Rick-O-Sound" jacks ,the mono/standard jack switch is
cleaned and both jacks tightened .
The dual jacks of other models can be modded ... I install a .0047 cap on the jack
nearest the neck -so that when you plug into that jack , you
get the clasic 'crisp' tone . The other jack retains the normal 'full' tone .

9- The "R" tailpiece (while classic looking) is prone to gripping strings making it
difficult to change broken strings . These fins were once deburred before plating .. I deburr every one that crosses my bench .
For solid body guitars I suggest replaing the "R" with the flat /vintage style .
This allows the setting of intonation and restringing to be much easier .

10- The strap buttons - the threads are checked .
Many of these become loose over time , and a dose of C.A. glue and retapping fixes thi .

11- The pickups are checked for balance .... and the grommets replaced or
added to fix the height of the pickups for maximum sound.

12- the frets are checked for level and the height measured .

13- SET UP

The nut is finalized , the guitar is strung with your choice of string
gauge /brand (you supply this ,Do NOT put new strings on before you send me the guitar )
The truss rods are adjusted for minimum neck relief
The bridge height is set
The saddles are intonated for A 440hz unless you specify a different pitch .
The pickup height fine tuned
The controls are checked
And then the guitar cleaned of any shop 'dust'and or 'funk'

Later, on my 370/12 I also had the full-width frets installed for even more room, and again, it made a big difference in ease of playing for my big hands.

FRETS:
Remove frets using soldering gun to soften any possible glue and
to soften the finish around the fretwire .
Sand fretboard to remove the finish and to create a 'flat' ledge
for the notched fretwire to sit on .
Notch tang of CF Martin vintage fretwire and install
Level recrown and polish frets

If I hadn't had these things done, I would be playing a different brand of electric twelve string - even though I've never wanted to play any other brand.