Exploding "R" tailpiece? Fact or fiction?

[Sugarcane]

As a passionate owner of a 620, I read a lot about RIC guitars and inevitably came across the R tailpiece breakage issue.

It seems that it happens more to 12 string guitars, as a matter of fact I can’t remember having read about it happening to a 6 tailpiece. Maybe much less frequently.

Anyway I have also read that the company kinda fixed that by changing the tailpiece construction, but I’m not sure if it’s true.

[kt66]

got a source for that please ?

[Sugarcane]

got a source for that please ?

I read people saying that in other forums. Like I said, I don’t know if it’s true. But search the web and you’ll likely find lots of 12 string tailpiece incidents and one or two with 6 string ones, if any. And not with newer guitars.

[jps]

got a source for that please ?

I read people saying that in other forums. Like I said, I don’t know if it’s true. But search the web and you’ll likely find lots of 12 string tailpiece incidents and one or two with 6 string ones, if any. And not with newer guitars.

Well, newer guitars are, well, newer. If there is an R tailpiece incident, it is one that has had the stress of strings on them for a long time, as in, many years. Henceforth, newer guitars would not experience this happening to their tailpieces.

[Sugarcane]

Still, it seems to be an issue that affects mostly 12 string ones, and as far as I've read, it isn’t common these days.

[jps]

Yes, it is with 12 string guitars as they have much higher tension than their 6 string counterparts.

[Sugarcane]

got a source for that please ?

So, reading about RICs this afternoon, I came across the info I had read.

It was Mr. John Hall himself that said it on the company forums.

http://www.rickenbacker.com/forum/viewt ... f=1&t=3691