Questions about new used 360/12c63

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captainvideo
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Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by captainvideo »

Morning all,
I just took possession of a 2017 360/12c63. I own a 1996 330-6 and the bridge sits much higher on that guitar. I understand these guitars are constructed differently but the bridge on my 360 sits much lower and I’m a little concerned.

I do have the action at 5/64ths on bass side at 12th fret and 3/64 on treble side. So I believe it falls within Rick spec.

I’ve added a few pics. What are your thoughts?
Pic 2
Pic 2
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C66A8E1F-D28D-4196-8083-31B5C982A4E7.jpeg
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jps
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Re: Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by jps »

You're not showing us the more important and relevant photos, making it hard to determine what;s going on.
captainvideo
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Re: Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by captainvideo »

What would you like to take pictures of to show the guitar better?
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jps
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Re: Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by jps »

Neck angle inrelation to the body and strings.
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Re: Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by captainvideo »

Do these photos help any?
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jps
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Re: Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by jps »

Yes, particularly, the last one you posted. It's kind of small but probably good enough for the technical experts to give an assessment.
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libratune
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Re: Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by libratune »

As shown in the last photo (which I enlarged), the neck itself looks to be straight, but there is a slightly negative neck angle, which is not uncommon for set-neck guitars such as your 360/12, and there's not much you can do about that. If the action is comfortable and there is no string buzzing on the higher frets, I'd leave it as is. There is still a small bit of room to adjust the bridge down if needed.
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Re: Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by captainvideo »

Thanks for the advice.
It made it through band rehearsal today sounding good.

I'm still a little worried about it.
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collin
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Re: Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by collin »

Hi Bill, as Ron said the neck angle isn’t ideal, but it can still remain stable in that position indefinitely if the guitar isn’t subjected to harsh humidity conditions and you use the right strings. Just stick to lighter gauges and you’ll be alright.

Hopefully this terrible hand-drawn illustration will help, but the green lines show your current neck angle, while the yellow line shows what the ideal neck angle would be. What you want is a parallel set of lines across the top of the frets matching the surface of the bod, not a wedge-shape that is wider at the neck set area. Rickenbackers are one of the few set neck designs that have a straight neck angle (unlike Gibson, for example, in which the neck is set at an angle toward the back of the body. That angle helps combat the string tension, and with the added tension of 12-strings, it’s not uncommon for Rick necks to shift position, especially if used with high-tension strings (or heavy gauge) or experience a lot of temp/humidity changes. It’s just one of the quirks of their construction, and possibly a component of the unique tone as well.
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maxwell
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Re: Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by maxwell »

Thank you very much, collin, for this explanation and photo.
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collin
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Re: Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by collin »

maxwell wrote:Thank you very much, collin, for this explanation and photo.
You're very welcome, hope that helped.

Since Rickenbackers essentially have a neutral neck angle, they start out with the perfect position and any shift quickly has an impact on the bridge position and playability.

I will say, a shifting neck on a Rick is much, much less common on instruments produced today, or even in the past 35 years, compared to instruments from the 1950s-60s. There's a variety of reasons for this, but much-improved woodworking and now CNC precision of the neck tenon/joint are big success factors. It's surprising to see it happen on the C63 in this thread, and curious to know any other clues as to how this happened.
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Re: Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by captainvideo »

Collin,
Thanks for replying.
I could take more pictures maybe that one is a bit deceiving or makes the guitar look worse than it does.

When I received the guitar it had Rickenbacker 10 gauge strings on it. I emailed the seller to see if they know any more history on said guitar.
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jps
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Re: Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by jps »

My first thought was neck angle. The C63 is built with the traditional X-braced body as in the '50s/'60s era, but I don't know whether the modern bodies have a more fully supported neck tongue like the modern bodies do.
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Re: Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by captainvideo »

Here’s a comparison to my 330
http://imgur.com/MhKZBHU
http://imgur.com/LNp2kPm
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collin
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Re: Questions about new used 360/12c63

Post by collin »

jps wrote:My first thought was neck angle. The C63 is built with the traditional X-braced body as in the '50s/'60s era, but I don't know whether the modern bodies have a more fully supported neck tongue like the modern bodies do.
They do, which is the odd part. They’re better supported than the old ones, and CNC cut with precision so the fit of the tenon is nice and tight. Visiting RIC once, I seem to recall Ben holding up a bare body with neck fitted, but not glued. The pocket is that tight, being CNC cut. Eliminates so many problems of the older guitars, so this c63 is a rare case, IMO.
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