Installing a 12 saddle bridge

seth_lorinczi · Post by **seth_lorinczi** » Tue Sep 14, 2004 6:20 pm

Perfect, thanks so much Gary! Any advice on making a 12-string nut? I've made bass nuts before, wondering if there are any special issues for a 12....

Best,
Seth

kennyhowes · Post by **kennyhowes** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 6:00 am

"You can plop the 12 saddle on the existing plate..."
Umm, not if it's a '67, the spacing for the height screws is different. Seth will need the new baseplate.

Pre-cut 12 string nuts can be ordered from us too; they'll still need to be filed to the correct height, but at least there's a starting point.

grsnovi · Post by **grsnovi** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 11:18 am

Seth -

Pay attention to Kenny, he knows. I assumed the base plates were all the same based on my limited experience with two NEW twelve strings. Since yours is older, it sounds like you'll need a new plate too.

One modification that I have heard regarding cutting the nut involves adjusting the spacing on the strings - moving the E pairs out (closer to the edges of the board) and adjusting the rest to spread out the difference. Personally, I have never worried about the strings - yes - it does take me a few minutes of playing to "adjust" to the nuances of my RIC if I've been away from it for a while but I've never bothered to pursue the spacing adjustment.

Those who have swear its great.

flying_tum_tum · Post by **flying_tum_tum** » Wed Sep 15, 2004 2:49 pm

Why not just flip the existing nut over? Does anyone know if a bone nut is acceptable?

seth_lorinczi · Post by **seth_lorinczi** » Thu Sep 16, 2004 6:57 pm

Thanks for the tip Kenny, I'll give a call. The existing nut is a sad piece of work; I'd love to know why it's there in the first place. The guy I bought the guitar from claimed the new nut was to accomodate a revised "heavy string first" sequence, but unless I'm mistaken, Rick 12-strings are always strung that way in the first place....

kennyhowes · Post by **kennyhowes** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 9:22 am

Correctumundo.

spencer · Post by **spencer** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 10:48 am

I find a bone nut UNacceptable, for only Rics.
Almost all of my other 'brands' of guitars have a bone nut installed, but not the Rics.
I just tend to think they'd look goofy with a white nut.

seth_lorinczi · Post by **seth_lorinczi** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 1:17 pm

One of my '73 4001s has a white nut that I'm fairly sure is original. I asked Mike Parks about it and he was unsure which years/models got which color. I suspect it was a "what was available" situation....

johnashfield · Post by **johnashfield** » Thu Sep 23, 2004 6:48 pm

I have a bone nut on my 360/12 with the slightly wider spacing. I just got a nut from RIC to compare, though I like playing the guitar a lot so it may take a while to get to!

The wider spacing does feel nice, just be careful of any mods involving the frets (especially the profile). The small (or low?) frets on the 12 strings is essential.

One of the mods that was often discussed here was getting a fret job with bigger/higher frets that went over the binding. The bigger frets will ensure that any 1,2,3 position notes you play go way sharp. I had the frets leveled pretty quickly to where RIC normally puts them. The strings are not spaced so far that they go over the binding, so I could have saved the money and left it as is!