Ac'cent agony

[parker_knoll]

have recently decided to give me Ac'cent another try, i'm running into a major problem, which is that it slips. Basically the unit that holds the strings starts to slip off the semi-eliptical spring piece and i have to physically yank it back up into position. The flanges on the spring (is this making any sense) just aren't long enough to properly clip the string bar in place and there is loads of movement.

the old Ac'cent's were a) welded shut at the side so that they couldn't expand and slip around, and b) had a lower spring (better break angle) with much longer flanges on it. The new Ac'cent just isn't able to do its job. I'll have to throw it or get someone to make me a new spring for it somehow. It's like really basic engineering.

Not sure why we could make something better 50 years ago than now. Ric says they make their hardware themselves, so is this Ric manufactured product? it was expensive enough. I'm a bit annoyed by this.

[parker_knoll]

i'll get some pictures up

[egosheep]

Not sure why we could make something better 50 years ago than now.

Those were the days! For the same reasons you had real magnetic horseshoes back then. Golden era, and all that.

[admin]

Hang in their Toby. Were here for you. Please upload the photos. I will move this post to where it will be seen by the technical folks.

[parker_knoll]

here's some images. Hopefully you can see the Ac'cent in initial position, then where it rests after a bit of wanging.

[chucksimms]

Hmmm... I would think the tension from the strings would anchor it in place. I've had Ac'cents from the '60s to brand new on all my Ricks and never experienced it sliding. I wonder if anybody else has?

[paologregorio]

I have six Accent VBs and I've never seen that happen with the strings at pitch, or with any significant tension on the unit at all. . . strange.

[antipodean]

Hi Toby,

The string anchor piece looks to be far more "open" than the one on my 330 - i.e. the part is more V-shaped than U-shaped when viewed from the side. This looks to be a big part of the problem. I'm not sure whether you can reshape the string anchor successfully.....

Time to call RIC customer service?

[parker_knoll]

the vibrato arm starts high and after a little bit is low on the guitar, showing how much movement there is and of course the strings drop significantly in pitch.

I bought the part aftermarket from the US, but new, but i can't remember where. Would Ric customer service help?

The only other solution i can think of is to drill a couple of holes through the string retainer and then bolt it firmly shut to prevent it opening.