Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

Got a question: I finally decided to really fine tune the bridge setup on our 325v59. I've always felt there was a bit of "deadness", a lack of ring and sustain, and there's no problem with the strings, Bigsby, neck relief, or nut. And since I wanted to slightly lower the action at the bridge anyway...

Well, on close inspection, I noticed the treble side of the bridge plate was "lifted up" a bit from the body of the guitar, noticeably more so than the bass side of the plate (which is flat against the guitar). So I loosened all the strings, and removed the bridge assembly, thinking I'd examine the underside of the plate (to see if there were any secret messages hidden there) and then screw the plate down tightly. I discovered, however, what appears to be two wires coming up (out of the body) thru a small hole next to the treble-side bridge plate screw hole. (I assume these are grounding wires..?)

One wire is braided, and lays almost entirely flat... but the other wire is a solid copper-colored piece, about 5/8" exposed length, almost as thick as a low E string (almost .050 thick) and is very stiff and solid... and THIS seems to be why the plate was not lying flat against the guitar. Is this as it should be? It doesn't seem so to me; it would seem that the entire bridge assembly (plate included) should be solidly mounted against the guitar body for greatest resonance and sustain. And this stiff wire is definitely preventing that.

Any ideas about this? As I may have mentioned in a previous post, we got this guitar "gently pre-owned"; it was manufactured in 1996, and although it's in nearly mint condition (still has the "made in USA" sticker on the pickguard), it is at least possible that the previous owner may have modified something...

Thanks for any information and/or suggestions!

Best regards,

Gene Bogart

Gene ,I got your email just now ,I've been out of town ,sort of ..35 miles away .

There should only be one ground wire under the bridge plate .

Remove the guard and see if both are connected .
If they are ,select the shrtest one and remove it .

For years Rick used #24 AWG wire multi strand wire with a PVC coating .
Before that ,same size with a cloth coating .
There are also some older guitars with cloth wrapped wire with a single conductor of wire .

All the new stuff that I have seen is multi strand.

remove one of them as it is useless and also a ground loop .It will infact attract HUM.