Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Hey all,

I just started to install a new nut from Rickysounds on my 1982 360/12. I popped the old nut off and holy **** the new nut is 2-3 mm shorter than the one that was on there! It’s so short the strings won’t even clear the fretboard if I installed it!! I for SURE ordered the right one. I did NOT buy the 660/12 or 1993/plus nut so don’t ask haha. What is going on? Does my 82 model require a more vintage style nut? I didn’t see Rickysounds or pick of the ricks selling more than one type of 360/12 nut. I’m pretty confused here.

I’ll share pictures later when I get home. I always have to resize them to share on this board.

What should I do?

Hey folks,

Here's photos. You can see the two nuts are very different. Robbie from Rickysounds says there are some variations to the "older" Rickenbackers (mine is 1982), and that I might just have to make my own nut.

I think a shim should fix it (I would look for a maple one), but, yeah, bizarre. Seems yours has a thicker fretboard than current Ric guitars. Best solution is have a custom one made by a capable luthier. You could even specify that the strings be spaced according to your optimal placement, which I have done in the past, using Microsoft Visio. I still have the drawing !!

Yep, early 80's fretboards are super thick. That is normal. A shim ought to fix it.

jdogric12 wrote:Yep, early 80's fretboards are super thick. That is normal. A shim ought to fix it.

Right you are, Jason. Yet another interesting observation about changes to the construction of Rickenbacker guitars over the years.

Ah thanks for the heads up.

I briefly had a mid-2000s 360/12 a few years ago but never gelled with it so I didn’t have it long enough to remember characteristics like fretboard thickness.

The radius of the new nut is off as well so changing that AND shimming just seems like not doing the right job. Looks like I’ll have to order a blank nut and make one myself.

Thanks for the advice!

Hey Everyone,

So I need to make a new nut fort his guitar because the high G string is terribly buzzy, but only on the 1st fret. Everything else is set perfectly so it's got to be the nut slot too low.

These days, luthiers are sort of hard to come by in my area due to Covid. They're way booked out.

I do have my own set of nut files and a fretboard radius gauge for 7.25" radius. What I need to know is where I can get a good blank nut for this guitar. Any advice? Unless there's a really good vintage-style blank I can buy I imagine I'll just be buying a generic blank nut and have to file it all round. I suppose I can do that easily enough, I just need help sourcing a good blank for my Rick!

Thanks.

I don't mean to trivialize your struggle, but new parts are rarely "plug-n-play" for another model made 40 years earlier, especially when it comes to setup items like nuts, saddles, bridges etc. Or anything requiring a template (especially pickguards).

Most repair guys who work on Rickenbackers will simply make a nut from scratch, versus reworking a new blank from RIC. There are just too many variables on a handmade instrument like this, and many specs on a Rickenbacker weren't really standardized until 1984 (and even then, there are changes over time).

Some folks use Corian (which is too brittle for a 12-string) or nylon material, but the best is probably Micarta. The most common use for this material is custom knife handles. It's available in black, is very strong and can be worked with precision. It's the closest thing to the original black phenolic nut material. Cut this town to the thickness and profile of your original nut, and re-cut all of the slots accordingly.

https://www.amazon.com/Green-Canvas-Mic ... 013V80DYU/

+1. Pre-slotted nuts always need final tuning to account for fretboard and fret thickness on individual instruments. It is not reasonable to expect otherwise

I definitely don't expect anything I could buy to be ready to go. I was hoping at least for a blank that is roughly the correct dimensions that I could cut myself. I was kind of hoping to avoid carving a nut from a big block of raw material, although I suppose I could... I made a truss rod tension block from a cube of scrap aluminum, it was just a pain in the a**

If you have a bandsaw (or access to one), cutting raw material to shape only takes a few minutes, you can go from block to slotting in less than an hour.

Yeah, it's a bit of work. But it's also the quickest way to get where you need to be.

What strings are you using? Make sure to have wound .020's for the G fundamental and A octave. And a 10 for the G octave, not the puny 8 that so many unrecommended sets come with.

jdogric12 wrote:What strings are you using? Make sure to have wound .020's for the G fundamental and A octave. And a 10 for the G octave, not the puny 8 that so many unrecommended sets come with.

I use TI Flats, but I replace the octave G .10 with an .08 because lots of 12s have issues with a tiny buzziness of the super tight .10 when tuned to G, so I put a slightly skinnier string on so it's a bit quieter compared to the wound G. Taste thing really, and not related to my issue of the open string buzz.

akpasta wrote:

jdogric12 wrote:What strings are you using? Make sure to have wound .020's for the G fundamental and A octave. And a 10 for the G octave, not the puny 8 that so many unrecommended sets come with.

I use TI Flats, but I replace the octave G .10 with an .08 because lots of 12s have issues with a tiny buzziness of the super tight .10 when tuned to G, so I put a slightly skinnier string on so it's a bit quieter compared to the wound G. Taste thing really, and not related to my issue of the open string buzz.

I do the same, using a .08 for the octave G. I find it sounds good, plays easily and is less prone to breaking than a .10.

Previously, whenever I would break a string, it tended to be the G octave, and haven't had an issue since moving to a .08.

collin wrote:

akpasta wrote:

jdogric12 wrote:What strings are you using? Make sure to have wound .020's for the G fundamental and A octave. And a 10 for the G octave, not the puny 8 that so many unrecommended sets come with.

I use TI Flats, but I replace the octave G .10 with an .08 because lots of 12s have issues with a tiny buzziness of the super tight .10 when tuned to G, so I put a slightly skinnier string on so it's a bit quieter compared to the wound G. Taste thing really, and not related to my issue of the open string buzz.

I do the same, using a .08 for the octave G. I find it sounds good, plays easily and is less prone to breaking than a .10.

Previously, whenever I would break a string, it tended to be the G octave, and haven't had an issue since moving to a .08.

Cool to know others had the same idea. I don’t have strong breaking problems I use a thin pick, but I find the .08 produces a more even sound with the flat .20w. .10 was too much louder.