Any "Replacements" fans here?

[Folkie]

Thanks for the posts! which strings would you suggest for this guitar?Gage/brand/type etc. also where do most place the octave strings on a Rickenbacker? Any advice would be appreciated. Also,did Rickenbacker make a nut that allowed for wider spacing of the strings on on older 620/12 guitars? I seem to remember there was a thread about this a few years ago. Maybe it was the same a 330/12 nut,is that right?

My two favorite string sets for my 12-strings are Thomastik Infeld Flatwounds (.10-.44) and POTR Compressed Wounds (same approximate gauges). The TI's are twice as expensive, but they last much longer, and they eliminate annoying rattles and finger squeaks. What's more, to my ear, they sound more jangly than rounds or compressed rounds. The strings POTR calls "Compressed Wounds" used to come stock on all Ric 12's. The tone is somewhere between the harshness of roundwounds and the mellowness of flats.

In answer to your second question, about 98% of the of the 12-string owners here prefer the stock Rickenbacker stringing (ie. with the low courses struck before the high octave strings on downstrokes). A few high profile artists (including Tom Petty and Mike Campbell) string their 12-string Rics the traditional way (with the high octaves struck first on downstrokes).

I don't know about the 600-series guitars, but in 2005, Rickenbacker adjusted the nut on their 300-series 12-strings to accommodate players with larger hands. Basically, this involved tightening up the individual string-pairs to allow more space between pairs. If you feel the string-spacing on your 620 is uncomfortable for you, you can always have a qualified tech cut you a new nut (and bridge) to make things easier.

[JakeK]

A few high profile artists (including Tom Petty and Mike Campbell) string their 12-string Rics the traditional way (with the high octaves struck first on downstrokes).

Only one of Campbell's Rickenbackers (625/12, Damn The Torpedoes guitar) is strung traditionally because that "how [he] found it". All his other Rickenbacker 12-strings are strung the Rickenbacker way

Tom, on the other hand, has ALL his Rickenbacker 12-strings strung traditionally. This is probably his preference moreso than that he's never known how Rickenbacker 12-strings are strung.

[Folkie]

Thanks so much for the correction, Jake. I'd read in a couple of threads here (I thought one of them was actually your own post) that both Petty and Campbell strung all their 12-string Rics "traditionally." I wonder why Mike never had that 625/12 restrung the correct way. I'm glad we agree that Tom Petty reversed the octaves on his 12'ers because of personal preference. Interestingly, Petty's own signature model comes from the factory strung Ric-style.