Possibly the idiosyncracies of my fretting technique,Todd. For the record, I use TI Flats on my 360/12, just as you do on your guitars. I just happen to like the wider pairs on my 330 for solos along the G. The notes seem to ring out more.
Do you agree with me that the stock 360/12's are more comfortable to play than they used to be? I mean how could the pairs possibly get any tighter? I can barely get my .50mm pick between the strings when tuning up! Are your pairs on the 340 and 370 that tight? (I couldn't tell for sure from the photos.)
As always, I defer to your judgement, and it sounds from your clips like you're getting some great sounds from those 12ers. If the Arnquist mod made such a difference for you, I don't doubt that it will help others with larger hands. But I'd still recommend it as a last resort.
It better be a last resort, because the total package (new nut, 12-saddle bridge installed, full width refret, tailpiece deburring, new truss rod bar, set-up, etc.) cost me about $600 plus shipping. However, if that's the guitar you have always wanted (which it is) and you aren't interested in other brands (which I'm not) and it sounds and plays superbly when it comes back (which it does) then it was worth every penny.
Actually, I have a "last-er" resort up my sleeve that I've been talking to PW about. I bought my 340/12 as a spare, to take some of the wear off of the 370/12. One of these years, I'll send it out to Paul for double binding, pearl inlays etc. and I may have him do what I call the "Wingerboard". I was playing one day and realized that my left hand seldom even touches the sides of the bubinga fingerboard. As a result, it would be possible to build a wider board that even has a slight overhang off the neck without it interfering with playing. It would be a way to convert a 360 neck/fingerboard into one with a similar playing width to a 660, or beyond without having to replace the neck. It's kind of a strange concept, but we think it would work just fine. At some point, excess width on a twelve seems to start slowing you down, so it would be a matter of figuring out how much to add or not add.
I don't seem to have trouble at the bridge end while flat-picking (which is what I do almost all the time) and never thought much about that end of the strings. This is how he set it up and I'll include a photo. I don't know how different it is from a facory set-up on a 12-saddle in terms of spacing.
From the Arnquist invoice
BRIDGE:
relocate bridge plate - center it to the neck
Rebuild new 12 saddle bridge ;
take saddles out of the chassis ,
deburr the outside edges of each pair .
bevel the outside edge at the top of each pair of saddle (as per vintage spec ) .
(this also gives you a better finished look )
Shift and stretch springs to better locations and to remove the chance of rattle.
Re-install saddles , set in a straight line , then
sand the tops round for more comfortable palm muting .
Notch the saddles at .045" from the center of each pair .
File slots using round edged joint files - "Grobet" brand
Install bridge and strobe-intonate saddles.
I don't have any dealers close by, so I never see Rickenbackers in stores and haven't tried to play any of the recent twelves.
Just for grins, I measured the pair-to-pair spacing on my twelves, 3" forward of the bridge, the general area where I usually pick them. A "space" would be the distance between the octave string on one pair and the primary string on the next pair (A octave to D primary, for example). The 370/12 (12-saddle Arnquist setup) has a spacing of 6mm-6.5mm. The 340/12 (6-saddle, factory setup bridge as far as I can tell and a nut I made, 1992 model) varies from 6mm-7mm. My Martin SPD12-16R acoustic averages 7mm, so there doesn't seem to be an awful lot of difference. Perhaps it's more a matter of what people are used to and feel comfortable with. I certainly have right hand difficulties with just about any six-string because I'm not used to those big spaces between the strings.
Arnquist's bill was $477.00 (done in 2006) and I bought the bridge from RIC for somewhere around $100 at the time. Shipping both ways was around $100 total. This is the full invoice listing all the work. He would normally also trim the TRC for better string clearance and polish the sharp edges on the pickguards, but I had already done the TRC and made and polished my own guards, so they didn't need any work. He generally removes the fingerboard varnish and oils it if doing the full re-fret. As much as some folks dislike that idea, I can't really say that I noticed any difference in playability or sound and it still looked quite nice oiled. After five years, my frets still look pretty good, but I've played it so much that there are a couple of finger dents worn into the fingerboard wood. In any case, it's still doing great. I originally had him set it up for RIC strings. When I switched to the TI flats, I had to tweak the rods about 1/4 turn. Other than that, it hasn't needed any adjustments. As I remember, the work took about a month.
Rickenbacker 370-12 Custom Fireglo
Labor ;
FRETS:
Remove frets using soldering gun to soften any possible glue and
to soften the finish around the fretwire .
Sand fretboard to remove the finish and to create a 'flat' ledge
for the notched fretwire to sit on .
Notch tang of CF Martin vintage fretwire and install
Level recrown and polish frets
BENCH TIME COST -------------------------------------------$300.00
BRIDGE:
relocate bridge plate - center it to the neck
Rebuild new 12 saddle bridge ;
take saddle out of the chassis ,
deburr the outside edges of each pair .
bevel the outside edge at the top of each pair of saddle (as per vintage spec ) .
(this also gives you a better finished look )
Shift and stretch springs to better locations and to remove the chance of rattle.
Re-install saddles , set in a straight line , then
sand the tops round for more comfortable palm muting .
Notch the saddles at .045" from the center of each pair .
File slots using round edged joint files - "Grobet" brand
BENCH TIME COST --------------------------------------------$35.00
TRUSS ROD BAR ;
replace short / thin bar with full width AMD bar
BENCH TIME COST --------------------------------------------$2.00
TUNERS;
Check them for loose side mounted tuners (did not need to fix this )
TAILPIECE:
de-burr the hook area ... (this was standard practice until around 1994 )
BENCH TIME COST --------------------------------------------$15.00
PICKUPS:
on bottoms, write resistance of each coil and it position in felt pen
BENCH TIME COST ---------------------------------------------N/C
NUT:
cut and fit a new phenolic nut blank
Notch to widest point at the outside strings .
tring pairs are set at ; High "E" ,"B" ,"G" & "D"- .065" apart
The "A" is at .070" and the low "E" at .075" apart
BENCH TIME COST ----------------------------------------------$75.00
SETUP:
Reassemble after fretting ,
restring with supplied strings
Final notch the nut
Adjust truss rods
Set bridge height
Strobe tune (temper tune the low "E" pair and the "B" pair)
(Check your D and G first position chords )
BENCH TIME COST ----------------------------------------------$50.00
Check all electronic functions
LABOR TOTAL ---------------------------$477.0
PLUS shipping ..about $50.00 going ground UPS
Guitar will be returned with $2,000.00 insurance and
wrapped in bubble wrap inside the box it was shipped in
I don't know the numbers, but it looks from your last photo like your 370/12 has much wider string pairs than my 360. Could you post some pics showing the string width along the neck to the headstock?
I haven't measured, but those look much wider than the pairs on my 360. This may sound crazy, but I might purchase a 12-saddle bridge and then have my tech space the pairs a bit wider apart at the nut and the bridge. It could make a major difference in tone and playability.
I can barely get my .50mm pick between the strings when tuning up! Are your pairs on the 340 and 370 that tight? (I couldn't tell for sure from the photos.) 