Well, I got my '91 WB back from Mark today after major surgery and it is absolutely outstanding. This one was damned nice to start with, but the intonation was awful down low and my fat fingers really need room. My first 360-12 was Arnquist modified and was substantially better than stock, but still a tight squeeze on some chords. Last year I bought a 660-12 VP/VC with the wider neck, but the string spacing across the fingerboard was so uniform that I had trouble getting used to it and I've never been too fond of that dinky body. So, when I found this one, I decided to give it the full width re-fret treatment along with the other standard Arnquist mods and 12-saddle bridge.
After unpacking it today and taking it for a test-pick, the intonation is unreal. I used to literally have to choose which chords were most important in a song, the D, the G or E/Em and tune accordingly. Not any more. An open E chord at the 12th fret just blew me away. No beats, no stragglers, just all E, but with a different voicing. The action is low and fast, the pairs are nice and tight and I no longer damp adjacent strings while playing chords down low. It wasn't an inexpensive operation, and I wasn't sure how I'd like the look of the unvarnished fingerboard, but Mark did a beautiful job. It looks quite elegant and if you really need room, it's worth every penny.
I put up a file that has 30 photos of the process. Since I just made new guards and polished their edges and trimmed and polished the edges of the TRC, he didn't need to do that part of his standard mod package, but the rest is all there and worth a look. After almost 40 years, I think I've finally got the Ric twelve I've always wanted. Life is good.
http://webpages.charter.net/tbradshaw/Arnquist%20Mods/
Fat finger/Arnquist Special
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beatlefreak
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Mark's e-mail is [email protected] and he can fill you in on all the details and options. I ended up, by the way, with just a hair less than 1.5" from the outside edge of the low E string to the outside edge of the outer high E at the nut. It doesn't sound like much, but when you compare it to a stock model, it's a fairly substantial gain - especially when you have that nice tight string pairing.
If you handed me the guitar in the dark, I doubt I could really tell whether the fingerboard was varnished or not. I've read hype that claims that it makes the board faster, but as far as I can tell it's bull. I still have the same old fingers and they seem to have a lot more to do with my playing speed than what's covering the fingerboard. Maybe it plays like the frets are a bit taller without having varnish piled up against them, but honestly I can't tell much difference. The main idea was just to get as much fret width on the guitar as possible to provide more room. You can feel the frets more at the edge of the fingerboard, the same way you can on my Telecaster and other guitars with unbound necks, but the ends are quite smooth and clean. Looking at the before and after pics that I have, I do kind of think the unvarnished fingerboard might look a little bit more refined-cleaner-neater-smoother (something like that - I can't put my finger on the perfect word).
When the 660-12 failed to trip my trigger, I almost bought a Gretsch CC-12 as the next best alternative to a Ric. It was a nice guitar and had a slightly wider neck, but I really just wanted a hollow-bodied Ric which I could play comfortably. I would have felt like some kind of traitor playing a Gretsch twelve. Over the years I've owned a Framus twelve, a couple Guild twelves a couple Martins, a high-end Takamine and three Ric twelves (not bad for a bass player). This one seems to be just about right now in terms of still having an easy-playing, fast neck, but giving me enough room for my flat, square fingertips. It's still a Rickenbacker, so you still need to play carefully, but now it will be much easier for me.
If you handed me the guitar in the dark, I doubt I could really tell whether the fingerboard was varnished or not. I've read hype that claims that it makes the board faster, but as far as I can tell it's bull. I still have the same old fingers and they seem to have a lot more to do with my playing speed than what's covering the fingerboard. Maybe it plays like the frets are a bit taller without having varnish piled up against them, but honestly I can't tell much difference. The main idea was just to get as much fret width on the guitar as possible to provide more room. You can feel the frets more at the edge of the fingerboard, the same way you can on my Telecaster and other guitars with unbound necks, but the ends are quite smooth and clean. Looking at the before and after pics that I have, I do kind of think the unvarnished fingerboard might look a little bit more refined-cleaner-neater-smoother (something like that - I can't put my finger on the perfect word).
When the 660-12 failed to trip my trigger, I almost bought a Gretsch CC-12 as the next best alternative to a Ric. It was a nice guitar and had a slightly wider neck, but I really just wanted a hollow-bodied Ric which I could play comfortably. I would have felt like some kind of traitor playing a Gretsch twelve. Over the years I've owned a Framus twelve, a couple Guild twelves a couple Martins, a high-end Takamine and three Ric twelves (not bad for a bass player). This one seems to be just about right now in terms of still having an easy-playing, fast neck, but giving me enough room for my flat, square fingertips. It's still a Rickenbacker, so you still need to play carefully, but now it will be much easier for me.
Mark did his basic mods on my 330 12 and it will soon be on its way to Seattle for some more. He took a great looking, but marginally playable guitar and morphed it into a wonderful "player" that just sings. I am so thankful for having discovered Mark. He is truly a pro, and obviously loves his work.