Reversed strung Ricks

[JakeK]

I'll bump this topic up with an expirience my tech and I had.

When I still had my old '03 360/12FG, I took it in to my tech for a restring (can't be bothered doing it myself), and he said Ric strung it the wrong way at the factory, and strung it the traditional way. I went with it reverse strung for about 3 years, until finally, I read how Ric reversed the stringing, and showed him some pics of McGuinn's, Harrison's (OS) and a '65 360/12, all strung the opposite way. He did not know that Ric strung it that way, and when I got it back, I was impressed how much of the jangle I got!

More recently, when I took my 660/12TP to him for the big setup and a restring, (I did him a favor by removing all the old strings) I was scared he might string it traditionally. When I got it back, he strung it Ric's way, and I was pleased with how well he remembered!

[whojamfan]

I couldn't believe the tone and psychedelic affect playing my Rick 12 upside down. It wasn't 'till the gravity boots gave out that I had any problem

[whojamfan]

Actually, I had a bear of a time restringing a Danelectro 12 I did a bunch of custom work to in the late 90s(and probably hadn't changed the strings since)last week when I put some new strings on it. I kept getting the octaves messed up, as I was used to my 360/12s string arrangement. I think I invented a few new words that day!

I used to really dig that guitar, but can't even play it now that I have a Rick. Big surprise.

[jingle_jangle]

Actually, I had a bear of a time restringing a Danelectro 12 I did a bunch of custom work to in the late 90s(and probably hadn't changed the strings since)last week when I put some new strings on it. I kept getting the octaves messed up, as I was used to my 360/12s string arrangement. I think I invented a few new words that day!

I used to really dig that guitar, but can't even play it now that I have a Rick. Big surprise.

Mike, why not recut the nut and string it like a Rick?

[whojamfan]

Paul, the bridge really isn't made to accomodate the larger strings where the octaves go on non Rickenbacker 12s. I suppose I could have dinked around with it a little more, but had just rewired it and replaced the pickups, and really didn't want to change it.

The only thing Danelectro on it is the neck, body, and bridge. I had a Johnny Ramone style pickguard made for it (since it looks like an upside down strat)with b/w/b/w/b material, 2 lipstick(side by side) humbuckers on it with series/parallel/single toggles for each, and kill switch toggles for each(the original had 4 effects buttons that duplicated with the new pickguard). I have 2 concentric knobs for individual volume and tone for each pickup, and a dual mono jack(as the original was either straight guitar or guitar plus effects.)

I really used to love this guitar(had Bill and Becky Lawrence pickups in it)and felt the lipsticks would give me a more 60s tone. They do, and I'm happy with them, as they sound different than my Rick. The Rick though, really outshines this guitar in every way, and ends up getting all the playing!

[Clint]

Strung up the Rickenbacker way I find 12 strings to be much more versatile guitars.

[doctorwho]

Strung up the Rickenbacker way I find 12 strings to be much more versatile guitars.

Ditto!

[RonLovesRic12strings]

In my opinion, a guitar tech that mistakenly restrings a RIC-12 in the "traditional 12-string" manner is guilty of malpractice. Hello!! The guitar nut and bridge saddles dictate the correct RIC 12-string order.

Rickenbacker 12-strings are quite straight-forward and forgiving (although can be time consuming) when it comes to restringing and set-up. For this reason, I do my own maintenance. I would venture to say that most guitar techs are not familiar with the RIC-12 nuances.

Due to ignorance on my part, I had a "respected tech" restring my 370/12 RM when I first acquired the instrument. Without consulting me, he replaced the old Rickenbacker strings with some cheap set of Ernie Ball extra-light 9's !!! The guitar, literally , would not play. The strings rested on most of the frets and were almost contacting the pickups. With a smile, he handed me the guitar and said, " it's done". The icing on the cake was he "took the liberty" to polish the guitar....he used a rag wheel and created multiple surface scratches on a near-mint instrument.

Bottom Line: If you use a guitar tech, make sure he's very knowledgable in RICs, and use this forum and The Rickenbacker Forum for valuble information about your particular RIC(s).

[beatlefreak]

I would venture to say that most guitar techs are not familiar with the RIC-12 nuances.

I'd go further, and say that many guitar techs aren't familiar with Rickenbackers - Period!

[JakeK]

My tech has worked on Rics prior to mine. He never knew about the way the 12-string was strung until I told him, but he did know about the right string gauge to use. Hey, my local tech's all I got. I'm happy to have him, and I did give him Ric setup knowledge from the manual that came with the 360/12 I used to own.