Guitar Techs & Rick 12 Strings

[Grey]

No disrespect to anyone here, though I doubt i'll be able to say this without rubbing someone the wrong way. I've been changing the strings on my guitars since I started playing. Electrics, 12-string acoustics, you name it, I can't fathom paying someone else to do a string change. I do my own setup's too, but when I buy a new guitar I usually have the first setup done by a local professional (espically if it's old) so I can understand that. But string changes and intonation? To me, that's something everyone should know how to do themselves, the way I was taught, that was part of owning an instrument.

To me, the easiest way to avoid a luthier who dosen't know what he's doing is to do the work yourself. I also find it very self-fufilling to work on your own guitars and know how to take care of them.

[jingle_jangle]

+1. Erik!

I think that most of us would agree with this.

Changing strings or setting up a Rick 12 string is a daunting task to anyone their first time. The horror stories do tend to stay with us, and can inhibit our enthusiasm for doing things ourselves.

First-timers: read up on the information you can find on the web and on sites such as this. Any complaints that surface you should take with a grain of salt. There's no black magic where enough patience is present. Complainers can stick to their Strats. (A couple of weeks ago, I built and set up a Strat from parts, in less time than it takes to do a proper setup on a Rick 12 string!).

Rickenbackers do take dedication, but anyone can learn to set one up.

Until I got into Ricks really intensely, I got my greatest satisfaction from working on vintage cars. This came from a belief that I have that if you know how something works, you'll use it more appropriately and have greater respect for it. This sort of thinking is not as popular these days as it once was, as cars are more like appliances than objects that reflect the personalities of creator and purchaser. But guitars are still old-school, in that they haven't changed in principle and theory and their construction is easily understood.

[coolhandjjl]

Didn't Tom Petty say one of the reasons he got his Ric 12 string was that it was the only one he could re-string while *not sober ? Sure says something about the techs in the previous posts who botched them.

* not his actual adjective

[jingle_jangle]

Sounds like a paraphrase of George Harrison's famous observation.

[Folkie]

Erik,

Kudos to you for having the balls and the expertise to set up your own Ricks. I had a near disaster experience trying to set up my own 330/12, way back in 1998. For that reason, I just try to concentrate on my music, and I leave the busy work to my guitar techs. My favorite tech charges me next to nothing anyway, so I have no inclination to do things myself.

Robert

[buchrob]

Learn to deal with someone who loves the instrument... mainly yourself. That way you don't have to explain anything to a tech about any specific problem.

Never give out a job to someone who doesn't want it because the work will be slapdash and the service rude.

It's not that difficult to pick up hints and methods on this and other sites.

Start with the fact that Rics are meant to be dead sraight and have a second truss rod that will help cure any skew or variation from side to side, and you are away to the races.

That way you are fully entitled to cast 2 ballots on the 6 vs 12 bridge issue.

[doesitmatter]

Can anyone recommend a good tech in the Chicago area?

Stone grove guitars in la grange. Paul has tweaked my necks and swapped out the high gains for toasters in my 330/12 for a couple of bucks. Bought an amazing 360 from him as well.

[stringsncords]

Anyone who is within 100 miles of Philadelphia has a true wizard for Rick set-ups; Chris Clayton at Pick of the Ricks.

Case closed!