Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Gone already...

Welcome Sergio...again!

Hmm... Right. Maybe that's why I couldn't find it. Thanks anyway, F. Paul. Thanks, Andy.

A warning though, not all finger rests are the same spacing.

Yes, I know. That's one of the reasons why I'll ask Dale to make one for my 21 fretter.

Good to see you, CrazyRick!

Maybe this has been discussed before, but why is there more space between the bottom of the tail piece and the bottom of the guitar on Jaclyn, whereas it looks flush on Susannah?

Hi Mark. That's a good question. Well, I can only think of one answer, as contentious as it may sound: by late '69/early '70 (Susanna was "born" January '70) RIC were yet to get the bridge assembly placement right on the earliest 21 fretters. Jaclyn is "younger" (b. November '70), hence she has the correct bridge assembly placement. Anyone?

I have discovered that if you try to use heavier-gauge strings on Susanna than the original light-gauge "purple-silk" factory strings that Susanna came with, she will not intonate correctly. She will intonate correctly, though, with those factory-original Rick strings AND with light-gauge Rotosounds too, but it is close - one of the bridge adjusters is almost at the end of its stop when she is intonated for the lowest action I can get without fretbuzz with either type of string.

My guess is that, as production went on during calendar 1970, with my Susanna being one of the first 21-fretters ever made in early January 1970, some buyers gave feedback to the factory from those first ones in the form of warranty claims, saying that the bridge needed to be more centered in its adjustments with factory strings, so that other gauges and outer windings could be used and tuned in with the bridge in its factory supplied position. So rather than redesign or extend the range of adjustment of the existing bridge/tailpiece casting, the factory followed the path of least resistance and simply moved the entire tailpiece itself closer to the bridge pickup and away from the end peg of the body. My 21-fretter, being made in early January of 1970, stayed entirely original because the original buyer in Europe just never ever sent it back to Rickenbacker for the tailpiece relocation.

And as Sérgio has said, by late 1970 the factory was making all new 21-fretters with the tailpiece in the new shorter position by then.

Since I have a good stock of original NOS Rick "purple-silk" strings available here, it is not an issue for me, and in fact I like the light-gauge originals anyway

By the way, Susanna is not flush either, but she is closer than Sérgio's Jaclyn, maybe half-way between Jaclyn's position and a true stock flush position from a pre-December 1969 or a post-March 1971 20-fretter:

There you go. Thanks, Elys.

Susanna and Jaclyn,

I miss you both so much, and wish you were here!



Warmly,
Your loving sister!

Cool photo, Sean!

Glad you liked it! You've got mail...

Hmm... Where is that 21 fretter these days? And when was it manufactured?

Me too, Sean?!

I always pictured you with long hair Sergio. Great picture.