Well, they didn't... at some point, Paul McCartney had his 4001 modified with a zero-fret (to be more like his Hofners?), and Rickenbacker followed suit when they produced the 4001C64S.fabandgear wrote:I didn't realize Rickenbacker ever used zero frets! I've owned and played tons of Gretsch guitars and have never found the zero fret to be undesirable. I've heard the argument that folks who do a lot of string bending complain about them, but It's never been an issue for me. It is nice not to have to be at the mercy of a delicate nut for first position string action. Besides, I shouldn't think it would even an issue with bassists (funny, my Gretsch '63 6070 bass doesn't have a zero fret!)
As for the string-bending, I can see that -- a low-cut nut makes it harder to bend "under" adjacent strings. Come to think of it, I wonder how much of the "Ricks aren't good for lead" stigma comes from the traditional setup -- low action, low nut, and no neck relief. Hmmm...
- Scott
