Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

I have decided to have my 1966 335 Rick re-fretted, as per a recommendation from a local shop. I am also going to have the selector switch replaced, as I am too frustrated with it's poor performance. It will be replaced with a similar looking "off the shelf" switch.

Are there any questions I should be asking or recommendations I should be making to the person that is going to do the work? I have the utmost confidence in this person, but I also want to cover all of my bases. What does an average "refret" job cost?.

You will find that the off the shelf Switch is not going to accept the Rick switch handle/bat .

The switch is indeed fixable .Contact tarnish/corrode and they are really easy to clean.
The stickiness of the switch is solved with grease!
A dab on the long fins at the large flat end of the two longest fins fixes it .

You can do all of this yourself.

I would ask this repair person if this was done first ..or is he just looking for satisfying a customer without fixing the problem/symtom.

Refretting an older Rick ........

This is a multi tasked situation.

1- removing the frets WILL cause chippage.How is that going to be solved?

2- the finish will be disturbed , how is that going to be dealt with ?

3- The radius on the fretboard is inconsistant down the length of the fretboard.It is NOT a 10" radius. How are the fret end going to be terminated? Will they hang OVER the top of the binding , or is there an attempt to keep them inside the binding?

4-Has this person EVER refretted a Rick before ?
Does he know of these issues with old Ricks?

5- Bridge location and intonation with new strings .....what about that ? Bridge plate location, and does it need to be moved ? HINT...Are all the saddles between the half way point of the bridge chassis and the edge ---are NONE of the saddles between the middle and the neck side of the chassis ? This is a suspect fro moving !

If he has refretted lots of guitars and mainly Gibson , Fenders etc...Ricks are a different breed.

Thanks....a lot of food for thought here. What type of grease for the contacts and where can I get it?

Grease????? Vaseline will work and NOT on the contacts!!!!

The black bat that contacts the fins of the working part ..that gets the goo .

Use really fine sandpaper on the contacts .
How? Just open the contacts, insert paper , pull and TAH DAH!!!
Then the other side .....and call me in the morning.

Really fine paper, such as No coarser than 320 grit; 400 grit is usually what I've had work fine.

Ok...Home Depot tomorrow for the sandpaper!! And no "Grease"!! (How do explain taking Vaseline to the basement?)

You can use grease if you want , any kind of Car grease is fine , you don't need much .
A tooth pick with a dab on it is more than enough .

((How do explain taking Vaseline to the basement?) Just don't smile too much when you come back up; no one will suspect a thing.....
"oh, I'm just greasing my bat handle"... yeah, right...

So...back to the fret question...what gauge are the stock Ric frets?

And, does anyone have any tips on a refret for a '60s 12 string? Good/bad experiences?

Thanks folks!

Kenny, I guess you might contact Rick service, and inquire if they would sell you any fretwire. For any Rick refrets I've done, I just go for a wire that is somewhere around the width and height of either Martin or "vintage" Fender wire.
Part of the "feel" of the old 60s Rick 12s, besides the Maxima flatwounds, was the thin profile, compound radius neck, and the frets were milled pretty low.Dealing with chipping when pulling the old frets out and refinishing the fingerboards will be some of your challenges if you haven;t done a Rick before.

Due to Mark's comments, I never did the refret on the guitar. I did solve the switch problem, which hasn't been an issue. The refret is going to have to wait. I can't find anyone qualified yet to do the work, and I am not prepared to spend money on that guitar yet.

Thanks for the help, though. A disaster was likely avoided thanks to the Rick Forum!

The finish is already gone, so I'm not too worried about that part...