"An Allen What.......?"

Setup, repair and restoration of Rickenbacker Instruments

Moderator: jingle_jangle

User avatar
jdogric12
Rick-a-holic
Posts: 10853
Joined: Thu Dec 29, 2005 6:00 am

Re: "An Allen What.......?"

Post by jdogric12 »

Wow, that's a wildly varying set. I'd go with the TI Flats for sure, if you want flats. If you want rounds, the Pick of the Ricks Curt Mangan set is excellent. Regardless, use a wound 20 for the G and A octave for sure! It is the best approximation of the old "compressed round wound" that RIC used to sell.
User avatar
pathelms
New member
Posts: 29
Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2018 8:18 am

Re: "An Allen What.......?"

Post by pathelms »

Shoot yeah, i’ll give the CMs a try! Lot less pricey! I guess I shouldn’t have wandered in the Newman Marcus side of the string mall so quickly!! Thanks for the recommendations!

Reckon l’ll wait for my wrench before changing them out. Since it was set with a lighter gauge, some adjustment will probably be necessary.
User avatar
pathelms
New member
Posts: 29
Joined: Sat Oct 20, 2018 8:18 am

Re: "An Allen What.......?"

Post by pathelms »

Hi Y'all!

After nearly a year, I finally dropped off the Ric at a trusted shop in Nashville to properly set the nut.

It also gave me the opportunity/excuse to get out of re-stringing it (Right! No excuses next time!).

OMG. The G sounds sooooooo much better now with the correct gauge scheme. The TI Flats are super nice, but I'll definitely try the CMs recommended by Jason next time around.

NOW, here's a question: I received the guitar last year strung with all the concert strings on the outside and all the octave strings strung on the inside. Therefore, when I got to tuning the G stings, I had to skip the first tuning key to tune the concert key and had to follow suit that way for the rest of the strings - skip one, go back. It took some time to get used to it, particularly after a couple of beers - but I came around to it okay.

When I got home with the Ric yesterday, I quickly learned that the E, A and D strings had been strung as before, but G, B, and E strings had been strung concert inside and octaves outside - the opposite.

As a result, I can now tune all my strings in a logical consecutive manner....and therefore drink as much beer as I want.

I just assumed the original way was just another quirky Rickenbacker thing - symmetry over convenience. "I mean, they're not easy to play, so why should they be easy to tune?"

So, which is right?

Is there a right?

Should I take it out in public this way?
Post Reply

Return to “"Vibrola" Rickenbacker Technical Forum: By Paul Wilczynski”