Defective R Tails

[beatle_bry]

Anyone care to say what their experience was returning a shattered R tail to Ric? With a please and thanks, is there any criteria on if Rickenbacker will give a credit?

[beatlefreak]

You'll have to return your old one to RIC in order to purchase a new one. Contact RIC Customer Service for their procedure.

[beatle_bry]

This isn't for me. There seems to be some discrepancy on if Ric replaces these free of charge, and under what circumstances.

Can anyone relate their experience, and if they pursued and received a replacement it would be appreciated.

[paologregorio]

Is your guitar still under warranty? If not then it costs you $ to buy the tailpiece, and you have to turn in your old one first.

[mcd220]

Not long ago, the tailpiece snapped on my CW12, (Scared the hell out of me ) To have 12 strings tuned up to 440, and have the whole thing let go like that, I really feared for the neck heel/body joint.

That kind of tension release has to be experienced to be believed!

The replacements are a whopping $100 (Probably to further hinder the copycats) and I got mine in good order from http://pickofthericks.com after the exchange.

I scanned in the old one for posterity, before I sent it off.

Christian

"The Walrus was Crosby"



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[fatcat]

IMHO I think that they should be replaced free as it is a known defect , and it may just take longer to break than the warranty period.

[tennis_nick]

IMHO I think that they should be replaced free as it is a known defect , and it may just take longer to break than the warranty period.

If under warranty I'd agree with you, but go to any manufacturer and regardless of if the break was their fault or not, if it's not under warranty, you're paying for that part.

First thing I do when I get a Rick 12 is buy a Trapeze bridge personally.

[paologregorio]

I have a broken, extra Rick 12 "R" tailpiece I would like to have repaired-any suggestions?

The "R" tailpiece on my 381/12 broke back in `04, before the exchange policy was in effect-the guitar was in its case when it broke-I discovered the problem when I opened the case and the tailpiece fell out onto the floor with a "clang" as the string ends sprung out of the case like a rapidly blossoming tree. I replaced the part(it was $70+tax and shipping for a total of $81.08-the receipt's dated 4/13/04). I still have the original broken tailpiece. I've read here and there on the forum that these can be repaired. Is it worth the trouble? Can anyone point me in the right direction? I thought it would be a good idea, in case it ever happens again-that way I can exchange the broken part, put on the extra "R" tailpiece, and still play the 12 if I want to. Is it cost effective to repair the tailpiece, or am I better off exchanging the extra broken piece for a new one?

[captsandwich]

First thing I do when I get a Rick 12 is buy a Trapeze bridge personally.

Does the trapeze require any modifications to the guitar or does it use the same bracket? I was thinking about getting one just to make it easier to change strings on my 12.

[paologregorio]

How much easier is the trapeze piece to string?

With the "R" piece, I just slide mine in the underside slots and hold them in place on the fretboard with a capo while I'm tuning things up.

Why oh why didn't Rickenbacker put the slots on the TOP side of the tailpiece and use a press on cover over the slots? It would have worked quite well, and been cosmetically indistinguishable from the tailpiece as it exists. Why didn't anyone ever think of this and do it. I suppose there would be a whole series of forum threads on the superiority of one over the other, silly prices for "one piece R tailpieces" on Ebay, along with comments as to tonal differences between the two, et cetera, but it would make changing the strings a far simpler matter!

[beatlefreak]

There should be no modification necessary switching from an 'R' tailpiece to a trapeze. They use different brackets, but the hole pattern is the same. The trapeze is much easier to string - the holes are accessible on top,

[paologregorio]

I have a broken, extra Rick 12 "R" tailpiece I would like to have repaired-any suggestions?

The "R" tailpiece on my 381/12 broke back in `04, before the exchange policy was in effect-the guitar was in its case when it broke-I discovered the problem when I opened the case and the tailpiece fell out onto the floor with a "clang" as the string ends sprung out of the case like a rapidly blossoming tree. I replaced the part(it was $70+tax and shipping for a total of $81.08-the receipt's dated 4/13/04). I still have the original broken tailpiece. I've read here and there on the forum that these can be repaired. Is it worth the trouble? Can anyone point me in the right direction? I thought it would be a good idea, in case it ever happens again-that way I can exchange the broken part, put on the extra "R" tailpiece, and still play the 12 if I want to. Is it cost effective to repair the tailpiece, or am I better off exchanging the extra broken piece for a new one?

Anyone have any 411 on this?

[mfb]

There should be no modification necessary switching from an 'R' tailpiece to a trapeze. They use different brackets, but the hole pattern is the same. The trapeze is much easier to string - the holes are accessible on top,

I don't think that is quite right if you are talking about the screw holes. The screw hole patterns in the brackets are different, further, the bracket for the "R" has only 2 screws whereas the trapeze has four.

The trapeze bracket will cover the holes of the "R" bracket but you'll have to drill new holes. The "R" bracket will not cover the trapeze bracket holes.

Although I find the trapeze easier to string I don't like the string ferrules sticking out of the top of it - just looks untidy - so, I string it from underneath which makes it a little harder. It would be a simple mod, I think, to enlarge the ferrule holes to accept the ferrules from the top, and to elongate the groove in order that the string is positively anchored and thus fed from the top or just dropped-in when restringing ...

[tennis_nick]

I believe Paul once said that the Trapeze and the ACcent work just as well being held on with nothing more than the Strap Pin screw, but I may be mistaken...

[ted_williams]

The trapeze bracket can be held in place by the endpin screw alone, however it may rock a bit. A trapeze tailpiece with keyhole slots for the strings would be very cool.