Adjustments to turn a 12 into a 6 String

scoobster28 · Post by **scoobster28** » Mon May 02, 2005 5:09 am

I have a 360/12 CW with a 12-saddle bridge, and as much as I love it I really want to see what a Rickenbacker 6 string is all about. I own a Telecaster copy and a 1970 Gibson SG Standard, and want to know if I should order a 330 or a 360 or a 350 (or a lightshow.... common Mr. Hall!). However, before I do I want to try out a 360 for a while, and thought I would just take off 6 strings and go from there.

Before I do, though, I need to know how I will have to adjust the neck to compensate for the missing six strings. Has anyone done this before? Will it ruin the guitar? I expect this to be a temporary thing, but not like a 1-month fix. More like several years until I graduate from law school and can track down a Blueburst or a lightshow.

Any ideas guys? I just thought I would string it up using half the nut slots and half of the bridge saddles. Can this be done?

Paul, you have done everything else to Rickenbackers.. he he, you should have some insights on this.

Thanks.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon May 02, 2005 6:14 am

Scoob, this is one thing that I would not do to a Rickenbacker. The drawbacks far outweigh the benefits, and you won't get anywhere near the feel you would need for an accurate evaluation.

joepee · Post by **joepee** » Mon May 02, 2005 6:20 am

"common John Hall"

I don't think John Hall is common.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon May 02, 2005 6:57 am

There's a comma missing after the common. It's quite a common misteak in syntacks.

joepee · Post by **joepee** » Mon May 02, 2005 7:14 am

Or maybe it was c'mon (for "come on"), which would have also needed a comma.

patrickkelly · Post by **patrickkelly** » Mon May 02, 2005 7:41 am

I don't see the harm in it...you'll need a new nut and a new bridge (or at least new bridge saddles) to locate the strings properly across the fretboard. Tweak the truss rod and you should be good to go.

admin · Post by **admin** » Mon May 02, 2005 7:51 am

Scoobster28: Before you go to all the trouble changing the nut and the bridge to your 12 string and tweaking the truss rods, why not play a true six string Rickenbacker?

Let us know the region where you live and perhaps someone on this Forum, with a Rickenbacker 6 string, can get together with you. They could play the 360/12CW and you could play their six. You meet a friend and you both enjoy playing a new instrument.

I agree with Patrick and Paul. It is no big deal making the change, but even after you do, the feel of the instrument with the heavier headstock is not going to give you the true feel of the 6 string you long to try anyway.

People have tried this modification before but there are extra tuners to rattle when not under tension, a tweaking of the rods and cutting a new nut and changing the bridge all to play something that will not be the same as a six string in any event.

As with any new instrument, you will want to know how it looks, sounds and feels. As for your faux six string you will not like the way it looks and it will feel awkward. At best, it is likely that you will be 33 percent satisfied only to start the process of going back to the 12 string.

As another brief point, perhaps those with a 456/12 will chime in here and let us know how they like the six string arrangment using the comb to pull away the harmonic strings. Notwithstanding the ingenius idea of a convertible model, I have discussed this model with a number of owners who use it exclusively as a 12 string as that is how it seems to sound best.

scoobster28 · Post by **scoobster28** » Mon May 02, 2005 12:05 pm

Why a new nut and saddles? Cannot it not be played with all the strings off center by a little bit? I had no idea it would require a new nut cut and such. The tuners rattling I considered.

And, it was supposed to be "Come on, Mr. Hall." Anyways, I live in the Albany area. I will wait until I go home to Rochester then and just crash at the House of Guitars for the day to practice. Thanks everybody for their insight.

admin · Post by **admin** » Mon May 02, 2005 12:20 pm

Yes you can play it with the strings a little off center but would that be a fair assessment of what a six string Rickenbacker would feel like.

jingle_jangle · Post by **jingle_jangle** » Mon May 02, 2005 12:33 pm

That's what I thought he meant, Peter, and that's why I said what I did...

scoobster28 · Post by **scoobster28** » Mon May 02, 2005 1:42 pm

Paul, I understood what you were saying. I am mostly interested in the sound of a Rickenbacker 6 string with toasters. True, the strings will be off 1/2 the distance of the paired strings (take the two strings, divide in half to see where the single string would be) but I guess i just thought it would be an easy thing. I guess not. House of Guitars, here I come!

admin · Post by **admin** » Mon May 02, 2005 1:49 pm

Best of luck at the House of Guitars Ben. I will be interested in your comments regarding the sound of the Rickenbacker 6 versus 12 string.

xtone · Post by **xtone** » Fri Aug 12, 2005 9:09 am

Get the 330 for a six string and the 360/12 for twelve string. I've owned both at one time or another. I just wish finance wouldn't dictate so much as to what I can keep! Low-gain toasters will give you more of the really "classic" Ric sound.

Xtone - AKA: The Thread Killer

tito · Post by **tito** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 6:11 am

I brought this up a long time ago at my local guitar shop. It was as if I smashed the most expensive guitar on the floor. .the whole place went silent. The one quote I remember quite well " once a 12 string always a 12 string "

doctorwho · Post by **doctorwho** » Mon Aug 15, 2005 7:04 am

The diacritical mark in c'mon is not a comma, it's an apostrophe.