Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

jingle_jangle wrote:Only one tonight, but it'll make Alisha feel all warm and fuzzy...it's the bridge being glued--finally--onto her 700C/6.

Here's how I typically mount the bridge:

The bridge is located immediately after the body is sanded and before any sealing begins, and its footprint is masked off. After all finishing, varnishing, and buffing is done, the bridge is screwed down, a sharp knife cut is made around its exact perimeter, and the finish and masking tape footprint is peeled away. This leaves a perfectly clean and open footprint of spruce. The bridge literally makes a "snapping" sound when it's fitted into the opening and glued. The contact once glued is 100% of the area of the footprint. Most builders simply scrape away the finish approximately around the center of the bridge footprint. Usually there's only about 40% contact or glue patch. Obviously, the better the contact, the better the transmission of string vibration to the top. It's a lot of extra work, but worth it in tone. And it virtually eliminates any chance of the dreaded bridge lift that afflicts some Martins and Gibsons.



The binding (originally pure white genuine celluloid), left pure white, would have IMO looked too "cold" with the guitar in such a cool shade of blue. This would have left the fretboard, a really glorious piece of bubinga, all alone and a bit too orangey-looking. So, I masked off the entire guitar except for the binding, and tinted the binding only, to give the perimeter of the guitar a bit of warmth and soften the contrast between the blue body and the varnished bubinga fretboard. Note the red position dots...it's details like these that lift these instruments above other traditional and run-of-the-mill appearing handbuilt acoustics.

37012player wrote:
Um Paul, Im wondering how you go about binding the sound holes, as you would have no routed rebate/ledge to support the binding material, as say you would around the perimiter of the body...? How to you keep it in place while the glue sets?

leesh wrote: = me

melibreits wrote:Fabulous.... Simply fabulous! What a lusciously lovely shade of Blueburst....!

Outstanding work, Paul!

Congrats again, Alisha--you know I'm jealous!

jps wrote:Paul, where can I get the ebony buttons for Schaller keys? I got a set from Larrivee to replace the original Gotohs on the LV-19 but they have chrome buttons on them.