PLEASE - Help Me!

[maxwell]

For the sake of comparison, Here's a couple of photos of my Year 2007 330 R bracket. The Screw centers are 11mm from the superior surface of the bracket, and the Bolt center is 15mm. The sideways photo gives an idea how high the bracket is off the face of the guitar. The bracket does not touch the face of the guitar; slightly off at the front edge of the bracket (precludes rubbing, etc. of the bracket on the finish).

[maxwell]

(Whew, posting photos here is tricky.... making a new post is easier.)

My photoshopping skills are pretty rough. Here's a couple of altered photos of brackets. If you're going to keep the bracket, but probably won't be using it (or you could use it until you find another R tailpiece), you can alter the bracket holes, or you could get a bracket that has a wide open area and carefully drill new holes. But, no matter if you do something like this or find a new R tailpiece, those existing holes are "loose" and should be addressed. If they're only a little too large, perhaps adding a couple of drops of wood glue (alone) to each hole (after covering with tape) and seating the screws and bolt, then allowing the glue to harden. Some sort of lubricant on the screws/bolt would probably be useful (silicone spray?). Someone here, I forget who, maybe a couple of guys, are very capable woodworkers and can provide more/better advice (short of relocating the holes). Anyway, I'm just brainstorming. But if I were in your situation, I would elongate the holes on the adapter 2-3mm after reconstituting the holes.

There's a thread here about exploding R tailpieces, with a surprising number of incidents. All those guys probably looked for a new tailpiece, too. They're tough to find. Maybe continue to try to get a response from RIC; in the long run it may still be the best bet, in spite of the frustration.

[maxwell]

OK, one last post.... Re: screws/bolt with machine threads into wood. Your recounting of your conversation with Winfield reminded me of a discussion on the RIC forum regarding the use of inserts. These would be nice; searching/selecting the proper sizes might take some work. Placement would take uber-anal planning and precision. A nice long-term solution, whether holes are relocated or not. Anyway, this is an interesting discussion.

http://www.rickenbacker.com/forum/viewt ... ts#p160386

Here are some YouTube examples:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t7PP_0lmX-Y

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZvcNG6bQcRE

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VtXWjpnrfyc
(an exaggerated example; epoxy might work for reconstituting loose screw holes alone, rather than wood glue...?)

[Derrick]

Thank you Maxwell. Since this is a vintage 1966 instrument, I do not want to go drilling new holes, etc. I don't want to use the Winfield bracket at all now because I feel that the physics of the way the original "L" bracket of the "R" tailpiece almost "hooks" the butt of the guitar is better for the tensions of a 12 string. I feel it is better than the simple plate at the back used for the trapeze option like the Winfield that can be yanked out like it did. The dilemma is that I cannot find "R" tailpieces for sale now and Rickenbacker won't help. That's what forced me to try the Winfield in the first place.

[Derrick]

What year guitar? 6 or 12? The holes on the R bracket changed at some point too in the 70's or 80's, I can't remember when. If you can do a tracing of what you need, scan and email, I'll look through my parts bin and see if I have one.

Wow!! Well, this is a 12 string and it was made in 1966. I believe the model is 330/12. I have the original L bracket. It appears to be in decent shape. It's the "R" piece that broke. Thank you so much for any help that you might be able to offer. Not sure why this has to be so hard

[maxwell]

Here you go. Take Winfield up on his refund offer, send back your tailpiece and adapter bracket, and get this tailpiece (only) (an exchange w/ partial refund):

https://www.winfieldvintage.com/product ... -tailpiece

Apparently, this will work with your R tailpiece bracket. Read the full item description.

This should hold you over until you locate/procure another RIC R tailpiece .

[maxwell]

https://www.etsy.com/listing/946164294/ ... KEQAvD_BwE

...says it's refurbished, looks good.... * * * * P.S. -- I came back to look, and see this ships from Chile. NO mention of shipping costs!!! (Beware)


Here’s a refurb. I saw one of these on eBay from Argentina with a $500 shipping fee. This is much more reasonable:

https://reverb.com/item/39026847-ricken ... nd-bracket

P.S. -- ...Hmmm... (Beware, also?)

-----------------------

The Winfield Harp is looking better all the time.

[maxwell]

The one via Etsy from Chile does seem like a good bet. There is a shipping calculator, after all; $25 to my house. Good feedback ratings. You can't beat the price.

https://www.etsy.com/listing/946164294/ ... e8972d9e07

[jps]

https://www.etsy.com/listing/946164294/ ... KEQAvD_BwE

...says it's refurbished, looks good.... * * * * P.S. -- I came back to look, and see this ships from Chile. NO mention of shipping costs!!! (Beware)


Here’s a refurb. I saw one of these on eBay from Argentina with a $500 shipping fee. This is much more reasonable:

https://reverb.com/item/39026847-ricken ... nd-bracket

P.S. -- ...Hmmm... (Beware, also?)

-----------------------

The Winfield Harp is looking better all the time.

Why is it that those two tailpieces, the one in Chile, the other in Argentina, seem to be from the same person? The reflections off the chrome look like the photos of the two different tailpieces were made in the same room.

[maxwell]

Yeah, they do seem to be coming from the same seller: except for backdrop color of cardboard (and they both use cardboard), the positioning for photos and the sequence of photos are very similar. Purchasing one would be a great exercise in risk vs. reward, seeing how rare these are.

[jdogric12]

The South American ones are fakes. If you look at the guy's feedback apparently business is booming. He used to be called "GuitaRestorer" on Reverb, now he's changed the name to Arts of Guitar Parts, aka something with Federico in the name, which is the name that appears on the Etsy Chile account.

[maxwell]

Assuming that the likelihood of obtaining a genuine R replacement is pretty slim, do you opt for a fake R or a genuine Winfield Harp?

[Derrick]

Me thinks that if Rickenbacker couldn't make this part without well known chronic self destructing, then you couldn't trust a fake from abroad. Hence my original reason for posting. Now if you have a Rickenbacker, and the "R" tailpiece explodes, you are screwed because the company won't talk to you and these are no longer available through any trustworthy avenues. If your guitar suffers damage as a result of the exploding "R" tailpiece, then you double screwed.

[maxwell]

I was looking for small parts casting and computer-aided machining, thinking something like this might be an option (duplication); probably too expensive... https://duckduckgo.com/?q=small+parts+c ... =h_&ia=web

But here's a neat article within those results:
https://www.hotrod.com/articles/repairi ... ast-parts/

Here are search results based on that article:
https://duckduckgo.com/?q=Repairing+Die ... =h_&ia=web

Something to consider when all hope of a RIC replacement is gone. This seems to be what the guy/those guys in South America are doing, according to their item descriptions. It can be much more satisfying fixing something yourself; not sure if that applies to screwing it up (FUBAR).

[360dave]

Derrick.....see if you can contact Mark Arnquist in Southern California.
He is the recognized repair and setup expert for RIC guitars....not associated with the company.
Someone will have his contact info.
He might have something laying around...at worst he would be the guy to recommend alternative actions.