Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

>>most Rick 12's have that oddly-shaped TRC, to clear the string slots.

Sure, I realize that its to clear the slots ... but I just think its a very poor design and hurts the classic Ric TRC look. Either the TRC or the string slots should be redone, IMO. I would think that a resesign of the TRC would be easier/cheaper for Hall and Company to do.

Its also interesting to me that not ALL Ric 12-strings have to compromise the original TRC design. Some (like my 620-12) seem to be able to handle a regular TRC and to tell the truth I would never have bought my 620 if it had one of those other "over hill and dale" TRCs.

Looks to me like the '63 and the 360/12C63 are more of a compromise. The 'gentler' indentation in the top side of the TRC on the other two is more appealing to the eye, IMO. Note the rounded tips on the '63 and 360/12C63 also........

?????
Every single TRC that has ever been made for a Rickenbacker 12 string from the very first one in July 1963 until the present has had a TRC shaped to clear the routs, the only exception I know of is the 360S/12 wih the Banjo Keys, a pic was posted of it by JWilli earlier.

The design is much more uniform now due to the way they are manufactured, but they have always had to be thinner than a 6-string TRC.

The earliest 12-strings had hand-shaped TRCs, no two are identical at that time....that's why George's 63 and the C63 are shaped the way they are, it was a learning curve. The first dozen or so Rick 12 strings have TRCs unique to the respective instrument.

I don't mean to be overly picky, but the c63 TRC always looked a little off to me...looking at the photos above it seems that the "Rickenbacker" lettering is lower and less centered on the c63 than on the '63 (you can see this best by looking at the distance between the top of the first "k" and the edge of each TRC). This is pretty pedantic but interesting all the same. I'm enjoying this thread as the TRC is one of my favourite components of the classic rick design.

Some early 12-strings had extremely carved TRCs due to the parallel string slots (prior to most other 12s that had slightly curved slots) like this one:

Looks like the trimming was mostly done from the bottom instead of the top!

Kent, could you post a pic of your 620-12's TRC?

Chris, good observation on the C63; the lettering could ride a little higher on the C63 nameplate as it does on the original.

The guitar Pete is playing is a pretty early 12-string, a 360S/12 domestic model that was sent to Rose-Morris as a sample in 1964...This guitar may have been Pete's first Rickenbacker 12-string before the 1993s were available. You're correct in that the TRC is hand-shaped on this guitar because the string channel routs were not curved as of yet, they were still straight and the TRCs needed more material removed in order for the strings to clear. This is one of the guitars I mentioned as maybe one of the first dozen Rick 12s..

unfortunately, my digital camera is on the fritz. But here is a 620-12 headstock I zoomed in on from the current Ric site.

It doesn't have that contoured cut.

1991 360/12


360/12 (year unknown)

my ONLY point here is that (IMHO) the regular TRC looks fantastic.... and the ones with the extra contour look ******. Ric obviously can (or could) create a 12-string headstock without having to resort to modifying the TRC... and I just wonder why they went to that alternate design.

a couple of interesting pix.


Pauly with an "upside-down" TRC



Obviously the TRCs with the extra contour are nothing new. Its simply my opinion that Rics look a whole lot better with TRCs that have a smooth curve on the top.... and that is something that is within the capability of Mr Hall & Co.

My lefty 2004 620/12, note parallel "Made in USA"...

..And a righty neck upside down too. Neat guitar, Peter. Are your guitars strung upside down?

Kent has pointed out something that I neglected to mention; most of the 12 string TRCs that have the raised lettering are not thinned at the top like the the plexi versions, although they are still shaped slightly smaller than a six-string version, IIRC. The 'vintage' screened style was what I referred to in my above post, my bad...

john, this is the only one that I have that is strung "righty", it came that way (RH option) and I never got round to re-stringing it.

Kent, it is subtle, but ALL the ones you posted do have a bit cut away on them. The top ("positive") curve is not continuous, but skitches just a little bit. I've always felt just a little uncomfortable looking at these, but there is really no solution that still keeps the RIC trademark TRC shape at least partially intact.

It's the earliest ones that look the worst, pre-curved routs. George's is a prime example.

Kent...that's why you go 'black-on-black'...makes that top curve invisible:


(Pardon my redundancy...)

I've always loved the all-black Ric look.

On my mapleglo 620-12 I replaced all the white plastic with black (including TRC). For the pickguards I used a black-cream-black layered material. Looks great, and one day I'd like to do the same with a jetglo Ric.