Adding vibrato tailpiece to a 360

Setup, repair and restoration of Rickenbacker Instruments

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kjazz1958
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2000 2:29 am

Adding vibrato tailpiece to a 360

Post by kjazz1958 »

If I decided to buy the Rick 'accent' vibrato
tailpiece to my (vintage 1990) 360-6, could
I do it without drilling any holes?

Are the any other reasons why this would
be a bad idea?
markthemd
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 1479
Joined: Fri Aug 11, 2000 8:59 pm

Post by markthemd »

Have you ever used one of these ?

What are you expecting out of it?

Unless some things have changed,this tailpiece decreases the tension on the bridge saddles and sustain is lost.Now this is not night and day ....but ................

It's no Strat vibrato ,
it's more like the 1960's Gibson Vibrola that came on SG's and ES-355's.

You will need to polish the saddles and smooth the nut slots on the edges .You will also need to learn the CF Martin 'Lock stitch' to attatch your strings on the tuners.This really helps out a lot.
It is inconvenient though if you break a string while gigging.You will have to undo the 'knot'.

The closest tailpiece to this in production today that you could try out in one oof the big 'box' stores is a Fender Jazzmaster or jaguar .That is if you can't find a Rick with one of these.
Try that first .

To attatch this unit ,remove the tailpiece ,undo the strap button,place the tailpiece into possition ,reinstall the strap button,install strings ,play.That's it.

For an authentic version of installation go to

sales@rickenbacker.com

I'm sure they can help you out .
So you too want yours "ALAPWOB"?!?!
kjazz1958
Veteran RRF member
Posts: 8
Joined: Fri Dec 15, 2000 2:29 am

Post by kjazz1958 »

Thank you. My, but that was quick!
I'm considering getting into an early-60's
pop/surf thing without buying a strat.
I don't expect my 360 to sound like a
strat, but still it seems like the Rick
should be appropriate to that kind of
music. And I won't need to go nuts
with the vibrato, just a bit here and
there.
Frank_Somma

Post by Frank_Somma »

After numerous problems,
I recently switched from an accent to a bigsby and the tuning stability and playability of my 325v63 is much better. You may not want to drill holes in your guitar, but IMHO, the Accent sucks.
Even for light vibrato, it is a poor choice.
NO SUSTAIN!!!!
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